A/HRC/25/CRP.1
the Juche ideology in conjunction with a policy to focus on military readiness under the
Four Military Lines doctrine.
126. Juche has been variously called a philosophy, an idea and an ideology. First
espoused in a speech in December 1955 entitled “On Eliminating Dogmatism and
Formalism and Establishing Juche in Ideological Work”, Kim Il-sung called for a Koreacentred revolution rather than one designed to benefit another country or the international
fraternal movement. According to Juche ideology, citizens should develop the potential of
the nation through its own resources and human creativity as guided by the Supreme
Leader. Wherever the leader conveys his wisdom through instructions, it was the duty of
the people to learn from him. As Confucianism placed high value on enlightenment
achieved by mastering of the classics and applying these lessons, the DPRK imposed
rigorous and constant study sessions of Kim Il-sung’s works, particularly those dealing
with Juche, on all citizens young and old.73
127. Juche principles underlie the economic system established by the leadership. Juche
requires self-sacrifice and hard work. Therefore, Juche became another element of control,
as self-reliance meant that the state would provide all the needs of the people through the
labour of the people, the natural resources of the land and the ingenuity of their efforts but
required that the people follow the guidance of the state. Thus, the solution to any shortfall
in the needs of the country were to be found in intensified campaigns to increase production
through more enthusiastic labour and longer hours.74 The country would not use trade to
73
74
The decisive role of the Soviet Union in the liberation of Korea is completely downplayed. Its role is
addressed on only a single panel. This is also expressed in the materials as well as in films and
depictions. Thus, a legend of Kim Il Sung has been created that does not correspond to the actual facts
if one considers what Comrade Kim Il Sung has actually done. Party propaganda is not oriented
toward studying the works of Marxism/Leninism, but rather is solely and completely oriented toward
the “wise teachings of our glorious leader, Comrade Kim Il Sung. Many rules of Party life, such as
the link to the masses, are portrayed as if they were discovered by Kim Il Sung rather than by Marx,
Engels, and Lenin. There are almost no articles or events in which Comrade Kim Il Sung is not
mentioned. It is also a fact that all of those who are not in agreement with such an approach are
characterized as sectarians, and recently as revisionists.” “Report, Embassy of the GDR in the DPRK
to the Foreign Policy and International Department of the Socialist Unity Party, GDR” 14 March
1961, History and Public Policy Program Digital Archive, SAPMO-BA, Dy 30, IV 2/20/137.
Translated by Grace Leonard. Available from
http://digitalarchive.wilsoncentre.org/document/112303.
Kim Jong-il explained: “Under the guidance of the great leader Comrade Kim Il Sung, our Party and
our people have firmly maintained the Juche character and properly sustained the national character in
the revolution and construction and thus advanced the Juche revolutionary cause victoriously. The
respected leader Comrade Kim Il Sung was a great thinker, theoretician and a great statesman who
advanced the idea of preserving the Juche character and national character for the first time in history,
translated it brilliantly into reality and gave successful leadership to the revolution and construction.
Keeping and embodying the Juche character and national character is the principled requirement of
the revolution and construction elucidated by the Juche idea created by the great leader Comrade Kim
Il Sung. The Juche idea, the man-centred outlook on the world, is a noble idea of loving the people as
well as an idea of true love for the country and nation; it is a great revolutionary idea of our times
which illuminates the road of advancing the cause of world independence forcefully. The Juche idea
clarified that the country and nation are the basic unit for shaping the destiny of the masses and that
the popular masses must firmly maintain the Juche character and national character of the revolution
and construction in order to shape their destiny independently. “On Preserving the Juche Character
and National Character of the Revolution and Construction”, 19 June 1997. Available from
http://www.korea-dpr.com/lib/111.pdf.
According to Andrei Lankov, 1957 saw “the first and, perhaps, most famous of the endless
mobilization campaigns that later became so typical of North Korean society. In 1957 Kim Il Sung
launched the much trumpeted ‘Ch’o˘llima (Flying horse) movement’ which was initially an imitation
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