''On the Juche Idea'' () is a treatise attributed to North Korean leader Kim Jong-il on the

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 Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and T ...

n ''

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. It is considered the most authoritative work on ''Juche''. The work, although probably

ghostwritten ''Ghostwritten'' is the first novel published by English author David Mitchell. Published in 1999, it won the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize and was widely acclaimed. The story takes place mainly around East Asia, but also moves through Russia, B ...

for him, legitimized Kim as the sole ''bona fide'' interpreter of the ideology. The treatise systemizes Kim Jong-il and his father

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 ...

's thought on the ''Juche'' philosophy. The treatise marks ''Juche''s departure from the materialism of

Marxism–Leninism Marxism–Leninism is a communist ideology which was the main communist movement throughout the 20th century. Developed by the Bolsheviks, it was the state ideology of the Soviet Union, its satellite states in the Eastern Bloc, and various c ...

and posits the consciousness of the massess as dependent on the working class leader. According to Kim Jong-il, the ''Juche'' idea is composed of a philosophical principle, socio-historical principles, and guiding principles. The philosophical principle can be summarized with Kim Il-sung's maxim that "man is the master of everything and decides everything." The socio-historical principles entail that the working masses are the subject of history. The guiding principles are: independent stance, creative method, and giving precedence to ideological consciousness. Emphasis on independence in particular has given raise to Kim's ''

Songun ''Songun'' is the " military-first" policy of North Korea, prioritizing the Korean People's Army in the affairs of state and allocation of resources. "Military-first" as a principle guides political and economic life in North Korea, with "mili ...

'', or military first, politics.

Background

''On the Juche Idea'' is one of Kim Jong-il's major writings on ''Juche'' and considered the most authoritative work on it. It is a standard textbook on the subject. The treatise is a systematization of both

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

and Kim Jong-il's thought on ''Juche'' philosophy and offers the most comprehensive account of ''Juche''. Kim Il-sung's thought in particular began to be formulated as an original philosophy from the 1970s onward. ''On the Juche Idea'' was sent to the national seminar on the ''Juche'' idea on 31 March 1982 held on the occasion of the 70th birth anniversary of Kim Il-sung (15 April). The occasion was also honored with the unveiling of the ''Juche'' Tower in

Pyongyang Pyongyang (, , ) is the capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is known as the "Capital of the Revolution". Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. According to the 2008 populat ...

. In the treatise, Kim Jong-il links the birth of the ''Juche'' idea to Kim Il-sung's personal history as a guerrilla fighter during the

anti-Japanese struggle The Korean independence movement was a military and diplomatic campaign to achieve the independence of Korea from Japan. After the Japanese annexation of Korea in 1910, Korea's domestic resistance peaked in the March 1st Movement of 1919, which ...

. ''On the Juche Idea'' thus furthered

Kim Il-sung's cult of personality The North Korean cult of personality surrounding its ruling family, the Kim family, has existed in North Korea for decades and can be found in many examples of North Korean culture. Although not acknowledged by the North Korean government, many ...

. Publishing the treatise helped Kim Jong-il to gain legitimacy, particularly emphasizing his intellectual prowess. At the time of writing Kim Jong-il was working as the ideological chief of the country on behalf of his father. Although it was probably

for him, by being named as the author Kim Jong-il became the "one and only bona fide interpreter of the 'immortal Juche idea' of Kim Il Sung."

Content

Kim Jong-il explains that ''Juche'' is a departure from

rather than simply a reinterpretation of it. According to Kim, ''Juche'' offers not only an "independent and creative" direction to the Korean revolution, but also establishes a new era for human history. It is philosophically

idealist In philosophy, the term idealism identifies and describes metaphysical perspectives which assert that reality is indistinguishable and inseparable from perception and understanding; that reality is a mental construct closely connected to id ...

as opposed to the materialism of

Marxism Marxism is a left-wing to far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand class relations and social conflict and a dialectical ...

. The work is considered somewhat abstract in style. In comparison to Kim Il-sung's writings, Kim Jong-il pays particular attention to

consciousness Consciousness, at its simplest, is sentience and awareness of internal and external existence. However, the lack of definitions has led to millennia of analyses, explanations and debates by philosophers, theologians, linguisticians, and scien ...

and the concept of the leader. These two are often linked. According to Charles K. Armstrong, the main message of the treatise is that "regardless of material circumstances, the masses owe unquestioning obedience to the Great Leader, who alone can bring the masses to consciousness", adding that the "message would be extremely useful for the North Korean state in the difficult years ahead", referring to 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 ...

and the

North Korean famine The North Korean Famine (), also known as the Arduous March or the March of Suffering (), was a period of mass starvation together with a general economic crisis from 1994 to 1998 in North Korea. During this time there was an increase in defec ...

in the 1990s, a decade after the publication of ''On the Juche Idea''. In ''On the Juche Idea'', Kim Jong-il divides ''Juche'' into three components: the philosophical principle, the socio-historical principles, and the guiding principles of the ''Juche'' idea.

Philosophical principle

The philosophical principle entails that ''Juche'' is a man-centered philosophy. Man has independence(자주성,Chajusong), (창조성,Changjosong) and (의식성,Uisiksong), which places man at the center of the world. This is described by the maxim coined by Kim Il-sung in a 1972 interview with Japanese journalists: "man is the master of everything and decides everything." Man transforms the world and embodies ', or independence and autonomy. By putting man at the center, Kim Jong-il denies the existence of any supernatural power, although the ''Juche'' philosophy itself can be said to have quasi-religious elements.

Socio-historical principles

The socio-historical principles of ''Juche'' can be summarized as follows: the working masses are the subject of history. Human history is the struggle of the masses to realize their independence and defend it. Man's socio-historical mission is to transform both nature and society. Here Kim departs from

by primarily setting man against nature rather than the proletariat against the bourgeois class.

Guiding principles

There are three guiding principles in ''Juche'': #First, ''independent stance'' means ''Juche'' in ideology, independence in politics, self-sufficiency in economy and self-reliance in defense. These four aspects of the independent stance can be already found in Kim Il-sung's 1965 speech given in

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

, '' On Socialist Construction in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the South Korean Revolution(조선민주주의인민공화국에서의사회주의건설과남조선혁명에대하여)''. Even though ''On the Juche Idea'' mentions economy, it is not given precedence. Words like "development" and "growth" are more often used to refer to ideology rather than economy. However, noting that an economy built on "self-reliance does not mean building an economy in isolation", Kim does hint at limited economic reforms. Sure enough, a law on joint-ventures was passed in 1984. #The second principle, ''creative method'', means that all problems arising in the revolution and construction are to be solved by relying on the creativity of the masses. #The third and final guiding principle is giving ''precedence to ideological consciousness'' over all other work.

Legacy

''On the Juche Idea'' has been since used as a justification for Kim Jong-il's ''

'', or army-first, politics. The justification can be found in an aspect of one of the guiding principles of ''Juche'', which Kim has "elevated": self-reliance in defense. Kim went on to publish "The Workers' Party of Korea Is a ''Juche''-type Revolutionary Party which Inherited the Glorious Tradition of the DIU" in October 1982 and focusing in it more on Kim Il-sung's guerrilla activities.

References

Works cited

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External links

Full text of ''On the Juche Idea''
at '' Publications of the DPRK'' {{Works by Kim Jong-il 1982 non-fiction books Marxist books Korean philosophy Works by Kim Jong-il Korean non-fiction books North Korean books Ideology of the Workers' Party of Korea