The ''Juche'' calendar, named after the ''

Juche ''Juche'' ( ; ), officially the ''Juche'' idea (), is the state ideology of North Korea and the official ideology of the Workers' Party of Korea. North Korean sources attribute its conceptualization to Kim Il-sung, the country's founder and f ...

'' ideology, is the system of year-numbering used in

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...

. It begins with the birth of

Kim Il-sung Kim Il-sung (; , ; born Kim Song-ju, ; 15 April 1912 – 8 July 1994) was a North Korean politician and the founder of North Korea, which he ruled from the country's establishment in 1948 until his death in 1994. He held the posts of ...

, the founder of North Korea. His birth year, 1912 in the

Gregorian calendar The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It was introduced in October 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian calendar. The principal change was to space leap years dif ...

, is "''Juche'' 1" in the ''Juche'' calendar. The calendar was adopted in 1997, three years after the

death of Kim Il-sung Kim Il-sung died of a sudden heart attack on the early morning of 8 July 1994 at age 82. North Korea's government did not report the death for more than 34 hours after it occurred. An official mourning period was declared from 8–17 July, du ...

History

The calendar borrows elements from two historical calendars used in

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

, the traditional system of Korean era names and the

in which years are tied to the traditional birth of

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

. In contrast to these two, the ''Juche'' calendar begins with the birth of the founder of the Democratic People's Republic,

. The decree on the ''Juche'' calendar was adopted on 8 July 1997, on the third anniversary of the

. The same decree also designated the birth anniversary of Kim Il-sung as the

Day of the Sun The Day of the Sun () is an annual public holiday in North Korea on 15 April, the birth anniversary of Kim Il-sung, founder and Eternal President of North Korea. It is the most important national holiday in the country, and is considered to be ...

. The birth year of Kim Il-sung, 1912 in the Gregorian calendar, became "''Juche'' 1" in the North Korean calendar. Thus, the current year, , is "''Juche'' ", the next year, , will be "''Juche'' ", and so on. The calendar began to be implemented on 9 September 1997, the

Day of the Foundation of the Republic Day of the Foundation of the Republic () is the Republic Day and National day of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, held on 9 September. The Day of the Foundation of the Republic is one of the most important holidays of the country, al ...

. On that date, newspapers, news agencies, radio stations, public transport, and birth certificates began to use ''Juche'' years.

Usage

The year 1912 is "''Juche'' 1" in the North Korean calendar. There are no "before ''Juche''" years; years before 1912 are given numbers based on the Gregorian calendar only. Ranges of years that begin before 1912 and end after it are also given in Christian calendar numbers only. Any other years after 1912 will be given in either ''Juche'' years only, or in ''Juche'' years and the corresponding year in the Christian calendar in parentheses. In material pertaining to relations with foreign countries, "the ''Juche'' Era and the Christian Era may be used on the principles of independence, equality and reciprocity." The ''Juche'' calendar is a popular

souvenir A souvenir (), memento, keepsake, or token of remembrance is an object a person acquires for the memories the owner associates with it. A souvenir can be any object that can be collected or purchased and transported home by the traveler as a m ...

among tourists visiting North Korea.

Examples

References

External links

Example of "''Juche'' 103 (2014)"
from

Pyongyang University of Science and Technology Pyongyang University of Science and Technology (PUST) is North Korea's first privately funded university. It is founded, operated, and partly funded by associations and people outside the country. PUST was jointly planned and constructed by forc ...

{{calendars 1997 introductions North Korean culture Calendars Modified Gregorian calendars 1997 establishments in North Korea

History

Usage

Examples

See also

References

External links