"Strong and Prosperous Nation" () is a
political slogan
The following is a list of notable political slogans.
Political slogan (listed alphabetically) A
* Abki baar Modi Sarkar – Bharatiya Janata Party's campaign slogan for 2014 Indian Parliamentary Elections
* ACT UP, Fight Back, Fight AIDS – ...
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 ...
which originally described the main policy objective of the country's second
supreme leader,
Kim Jong-il
Kim Jong-il (; ; ; born Yuri Irsenovich Kim;, 16 February 1941 – 17 December 2011) was a North Korean politician who was the second supreme leader of North Korea from 1994 to 2011. He led North Korea from the 1994 death of his father Kim ...
. Kim Jong-il argued that the military-first policy of ''
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 ...
'' was necessary to turn North Korea into a "strong and prosperous nation". He further argued that such a monumentous goal could only be achieved by strengthening the country's commitment to the core principles of ''
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 ...
'' (''i.e.'' self-reliance) in the areas of ideology, politics, economics, and defence.
After
Kim Jong-il's death on 17 December 2011, his son and successor
Kim Jong-un
Kim Jong-un (; , ; born 8 January 1982) is a North Korean politician who has been Supreme Leader of North Korea since 2011 and the leader of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) since 2012. He is a son of Kim Jong-il, who was North Korea's sec ...
repurposed the slogan to introduce new concepts into North Korean ideological discourse. Kim Jong-un later declared 2012, the centennial of the
birth of Kim Il-sung, as the "Year of the Strong and Prosperous Nation".
Origins
Officially, the term "Strong and Prosperous Nation" first appeared as the title of a lengthy
editorial
An editorial, or leading article (UK) or leader (UK) is an article written by the senior editorial people or publisher of a newspaper, magazine, or any other written document, often unsigned. Australian and major United States newspapers, suc ...
published on 22 August 1998 in ''
Rodong Sinmun
''Rodong Sinmun'' (; ) is a North Korean newspaper that serves as the official newspaper of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea. It was first published on November 1, 1945, as ''Chŏngro'' (), serving as a communication channel ...
'', the newspaper of the
Workers' Party of Korea
The Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) is the founding and sole ruling party of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, commonly known as North Korea. Founded in 1949 from the merger of the Workers' Party of North Korea and the Workers' Party of ...
. The article was heavily promoted to the North Korean public following the publication of another editorial on 9 September 1998, which celebrated the 50th anniversary of North Korea's founding.
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
's
Ministry of Unification
The Ministry of Unification is an executive department of the South Korean government aimed at promoting Korean reunification. It was first established in 1969 as the ''National Unification Board'', under the rule of Park Chung-hee. It gained its ...
, however, notes that the term had been used prior to the August editorial's publication; its earliest recorded usage was on 8 April 1998, in a news segment by the North Korean state broadcaster
KCBC. The following quote accompanied footage of Kim Jong-il providing "
on-the-spot guidance
"On-the-spot guidance" (also "guidance tours" or "field guidance") is a term used in the North Korean mass media to describe appearances by the supreme leader of North Korea, often at sites related to the military or to industry, at which the lea ...
" in
Chagang Province
Chagang Province (Chagangdo; ) is a province in North Korea; it is bordered by China's Jilin and Liaoning provinces to the north, Ryanggang and South Hamgyong to the east, South Pyongan to the south, and North Pyongan to the west. Chagang was ...
in February 1998: "When the spirit of
Kangson and the revolutionary spirit of
Kanggye
Kanggye () is the provincial capital of Chagang, North Korea and has a population of 251,971. Because of its strategic importance, derived from its topography, it has been of military interest from the time of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910).
Hist ...
arise, the fatherland will become a ''strong and prosperous nation'' and exert its power throughout the world."
See also
*
Propaganda in North Korea
Propaganda is widely used and produced by the government of North Korea (DPRK). Most propaganda is based on the ''Juche'' ideology and on the promotion of the Workers' Party of Korea.
The first syllable of ''Juche'', "ju", means the man; the ...
References
Citations
Sources
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*
National mottos
Politics of North Korea
{{NorthKorea-stub