Democratic People's Republic of Korea:

Juche Ideology
The Democratic People's Republic of Korea is guided in its activities by the Juc
he idea authored by President Kim Il Sung. The Juche idea means, in a nutshell,
that the masters of the revolution and construction are the masses of the people
and that they are also the motive force of the revolution and construction.
The Juche idea is based on the philosophical principle that man is the master of
everything and decides everything. It is the man-centred world outlook and also
a political philosophy to materialize the independence of the popular masses, n
amely, a philosophy which elucidates the theoretical basis of politics that lead
s the development of society along the right path.
The Government of the DPRK steadfastly maintains Juche in all realms of the revo
lution and construction.
Establishing Juche means adopting the attitude of a master towards the revolutio
n and construction of one's country. It means maintaining an independent and cre
ative standpoint in finding solutions to the problems which arise in the revolut
ion and construction. It implies solving those problems mainly by one's own effo
rts and in conformity with the actual conditions of one's own POLITICS country.
The realization of independence in politics, selfsufficiency in the economy and
self-reliance in national defence is a principle the Government maintains consis
tently.
The Korean people value the independence of the country and nation and, under th
e pressure of imperialists and dominationsts, have thoroughly implemented the pr
inciple of independence, self-reliance and self-defence, defending the country's
sovereignty and dignity firmly.
It is an invariable policy of the Government of the Republic, guided by the Juch
e idea, to treasure the Juche character and national character and maintain and
realize them. The Government of the Republic always adheres to the principle of
Juche, the principle of national independence, and thus is carrying out the soci
alist cause of Juche.
Songun Politics
Songun politics is rooted in the military-priority ideology that embodies the Ju
che idea. President Kim Il Sung is a founder of Songun ideology and an outstandi
ng leader of the Songun revolution. He inherited a revolutionary heritage of two
pistols from his father and made a determination to restore the lost country wi
th an armed struggle.
The formation of the "Down-with-Imperialism Union" by the President in October J
uche 15 (1926) was a proclamation of do-or-die battle to crush the Japanese impe
rialists. The two pistols left over by his father, Kim Hyong Jik and the program
of the "Down-with-Imperialism Union" pointing out a staunch anti-imperialist an
d independent stand are the starting point of Songun ideology, ideology of givin
g precedence to arms and the military.
President Kim Il Sung put forward the line of armed struggle as the principal li
ne of anti-Japanese national liberation struggle in a historic Kalun meeting hel
d in June Juche 19 (1930) and thereby proclaimed the birth of Songun ideology th
roughout the world. He formed the Anti-Japanese People's Guerrilla Army, a first
revolutionary armed force on April 25, Juche 21 (1932) and started the anti-Jap
anese armed struggle, which was a historic event announcing the beginning of the
Songun revolutionary leadership'.
For almost 70 years starting from the mid-1920s when he embarked on the road of
revolution with a high ambition for national liberation, he held fast to the lin
e of giving priority to arms and the military and carried out the military-prior
ity principle through. President Kim Il Sung, in the early 1960s, saw the inheri
tance of the Songun revolutionary leadership as the fundamental in the inherited
revolutionary cause and assigned General Kim Jong Il with the task to be in cha

rge of the army work together with the party work.

This is how the Songun' revolutionary leadership of General Kim Jong Il started
with his on-spot guidance to the Guard Seoul Ryu Gyong Su 105 tank division of t
he Korean People's Army in August Juche 49 (1960). It is since then he gave his
on-spot guidance to over hundreds of army units for nearly 10 years by the end o
f 1960.
In the 1970s and 1980s, he determined as a general task of army building to make
the Korean People's Army as the army of Leader and as the army of the Party, an
d he worked hard to lead the efforts to strengthen the army both politically and
ideologically, and militarily and technically. In the 1990s, there came to be a
great change in political composition of the world and the balance of forces. T
he US and the imperialist reactionary forces intensified imprecedent military ag
gressive manoeuvres to stifle the country, thus laying obstacles in the way of K
orean revolution.
General Kim Jong Il, based on a scientific analysis of the changed situation, de
clared at home and abroad that the politics of DPR Korea is Songun politics and
established full the mode of Songun politics. At the first session of the 10th S
upreme People's Assembly of the DPRK in September Juche 87 (1998), a new system
of state mechanism was made with the National Defence Commission as in the focus
. It is like this, that the Songun politics of the party is the main political m
ode of socialism which has begun in the era of President Kim Il Sung and systemi
zed in the hardest time of history.
General Kim Jong Il determined that the line of the Songun revolution be held fa
st to as long as the enemies survive and their aggressive attempts continue. He
has unfolded the Songun politics and defended socialism with the might of the So
ngun politics and advanced the independent cause of the mankind.
Political System
Character, Tasks and Ultimate Goal of the State
The DPRK is an independent socialist state representing the interests of all the
Korean people. The Republic is the Juche-oriented socialist state which embodie
s the idea and leadership of Comrade Kim II Sung, the founder of the Republic an
d the father of socialist Korea. His idea and the achievements made under his le
adership are the basic guarantee for the Republic's prosperity.
The socialist system of the Republic is a people-centred social system in which
the masses of the working people are the masters of everything and everything in
society serves them. In accordance with the nature of its socialist system, the
Government of the Republic defends and protects the interests of workers, peasa
nts and intellectuals and all other working people who have become masters of st
ate and society, free from exploitation and oppression.
It is the fundamental revolutionary task for the Government of the Republic to a
chieve the complete victory of socialism in the northern half of Korea by streng
thening the people's power and vigorously performing the three revolutions the i
deological, technological and cultural and to reunify the country on the princip
le of independence, peaceful reunification and great national unity.
Under the leadership of the Workers' Party of Korea the Republic and the Korean
people uphold the great leader Comrade Kim II Sung as the eternal President of t
he Republic and are speeding up the historic march to carry the revolutionary ca
use started by him through to completion by inheriting and carrying forward his
ideas and achievements.
System of State Organs
Power Organs
Power organs consist mainly of the central power organ and local power organ. Th
e central power organ is the Supreme People's Assembly and the SPA standing comm
ittee during its recession. Local power organ is the people's assembly at all le
vels.

The Supreme People's Assembly is the supreme power organ of the Republic. It hol
ds a highest position and authority of the Republic and exercises legislative po
wer. It has also the rights to organize the important state organs.
The Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly is the supreme power organ during
its recession. Local people's assembly is the local power organ and includes pr
ovincial (or the city under the direct jurisdiction) people's assemblies, city (
or district) people's assemblies and county people's assemblies.
National Defence Commission
What is most important in the state administration system is the authority of th
e national defence commission. The National Defence Commission is the supreme mi
litary guidance commission in the national sovereign organ and the general natio
nal defence administrative organ.
It is the standing supreme power organ of the national defence sector, and at th
e same time, this becomes the backbone organ in the state administrative organ a
s an administration organ. The post of the chairman of the National Defence Comm
ission is the highest post of the state where he commands all the work of the po
litics, military and economy and defends the state system of the socialist count
ry and defends the destiny of the people and organizes and leads the work to str
engthen and develop the national defensive power and general state power.
Administration Organs
This consists of central administration and local administration organs. Central
administration organ is the cabinet and the local administration organs are the
local people's committee at all levels. The cabinet is the government of the Re
public. As the administrative execution body and the general state management bo
dy of a supreme organ, the cabinet carries out the laws, decrees, decisions and
orders and has been seizing in a unified way all the works in the state manageme
nt and gives a nationwide guidance.
Local power organs are composed of provincial (or the city under the direct juri
sdiction) people's committees, city (or district) people's committees and county
people's committees. And they also are the administrative executive bodies.
Prosecutorial and Justice System
The prosecutorial body is a state organ supervises the observance and execution
of the socialist law. This system has central prosecutorial office, provincial (
or the city under the direct jurisdiction), city (or district), county prosecuto
rial offices and special prosecutorial offices.
The central prosecutorial office controls over all the work in a unified way. Th
e justice body is a state organ exercising the socialist judicial power.
The justice organs have the central court, provincial (or the city under the dir
ect jurisdiction) courts, people's courts and special courts. Every court has ju
dges and people's assessors. The central court is the supreme justice body of th
e country.
Socio-Economic System
Self-reliant National Economy
After liberation, the DPRK government conducted the building of the self-reliant
national economy from the beginning of constructing a new society and it steppe
d the work up on a full-scale after the Korean War. President Kim II Sung set fo
rth the main line of economic construction; that is to prioritize heavy industry
and seek simultaneous development of light industry and agriculture and wisely
led to embody it at every stage of the economic construction.
The country had to start from scratch in the postwar time since everything was d
estroyed. It is since then on the Korean people rebuilt the factories in a short
span of time and produced steel by their own efforts, and manufactured the huge
machine tools, large scale excavators, heavy trucks, electric locomotives, larg

e ships, 10 000-tonlevel of huge press and other huge machines and precision mach
ines.
Thanks to the successful implementation of the task of overall technical revolut
ion relying on its own powerful heavy industry bases, various sectors of the nat
ional economy were put on a firm footing of modern technology and the economy wa
s equipped with a well-streamlined modern national self-reliant economy. And man
y sided, modernized system of independent national economy which relies mainly o
n its own materials and fuels has been completed.
General Kim Jong Il inherited the main line of building a socialist economy whic
h President Kim Il Sung put forward and maintained consistently and develop in a
ccordance with the changed reality to present the new line of giving priority to
the development of national defence industry while simultaneously developing li
ght industry and agriculture for economic construction in Songun era. The Korean
people regarded this line as the powerful weapon for building a great prosperou
s and powerful socialist country and did their best to realize this so that they
made unprecedented great leap and great innovation in economic construction.
Socialist Ownership
The DPRK is the socialist country that socialist ownership of the means of produ
ction has been regarded as an economic foundation. The socialist ownership of th
e means of production, the economic foundation of the republic consists of state
ownership and the ownership of cooperative organizations.
State ownership means ownership by the entire people and there is no limitation
in the object of state ownership. All natural resources, main factories and ente
rprises, harbours, banks, transportation means and communication organizations a
re only owned by the state.
The ownership of cooperative organizations is the collective ownership of the wo
rking people in the cooperative economy. The cooperative organizations can own l
and, drought animals, farming tools, fishing boats, buildings, main factories an
d enterprises.
State ownership was realized through the nationalization of major industries and
expanded rapidly with the development of state-run industry. Ownership by coope
rative organizations was realized through socialist reforms on production relati
ons strengthened and developed fast according to the development of agriculture.
Management of Socialist Economy
The government of the DPRK leads and manages the economy by the principle of rig
ht combination between political leadership and economic and technical guidance,
the unified leadership of the state and creativity of every unit democracy and
unified control, the political and moral incentives and material incentives.
The unified and detailed planning, created by President Kim Il Sung and intensif
ied and developed by General Kim Jong Il, is the best scientific and revolutiona
ry system of planning and method. The unified planning prevents in advance the d
epartmentalism and localism of the producers and subjectivism and bureaucratism
of the state organs by combining the state's centralized guidance with the mass
line so that it helps to draw up dynamic and scientific plan.
The detailed planning helps to grant the whole and detailed balance of national
economy by calculating every element of production concretely and enabling all t
he branches to come into the finest details in managerial activities in a nation
wide scale. Thus, it helps to eliminate the factors of imbalance and spontaneity
in economic development and develop national economy rapidly.
Labour System
The socialist labour system in the DPRK is the one that is centered on the popul
ar masses, and it provides the working people with independent and creative labo
r lives free from exploitation and oppression. In the socialist system of the co
untry where people are masters of the state and society, every working-age citiz
en has the right to labor on equal terms irrespective of nationality, sex, age,
social affiliation and religious belief.
The rights to labor include free choice of occupations, offering stable jobs and

labor conditions and rewards for labor according to quality and quantity of lab
or. In the country where unemployment was gone long ago, the right of a citizen
to labor has been proclaimed and substantially provided .by law. The labor law w
hich was proclaimed in June, Juche 35 (1946) introduced a 8-hour labor regime an
d was reinforced by the Socialist Labor Law newly adopted in April, Juche 68 (19
79). The daily labor span is also 7 hours or 6 hours according to the conditions
of heavy and special labors.
The socialist reward-for-labor regime is materialized through salaries, bonus an
d bounty according to the quality and quantity of labor and through distribution
by working-day in the cooperative economy. Under-age child labor is totally pro
hibited in the country.
The State and Social Benefits
Apart from gains by labor, the people enjoy enormous additional benefits from th
e state thanks to socialist policies enforced by the Party and the government.
Food Supply Benefit
The state supplies food to workers, office employees and even newly-born babies.
The state purchases rice at the price of 189 won per kg and corn at 96 won per
kg from cooperative farms and sells rice at 46 won and corn-processed noodles at
33 won.
Benefits from Providing Houses
The state is involved in building and allotting dwelling houses free of charge,
and the people are ignorant of dwelling tax. It is the only country that builds
and allots dwelling houses for working people and bears most of the utility cost
s. The state builds rural dwelling houses for nothing and never receives rentals
from the cooperative farmers.
Benefits from Free Medical Care
The country enforced free medical care for workers, office workers and their dep
endents since January Juche 36 (1947). Universal free medical care was enforced
since January, Juche 42 (1953) and the complete, universal free medical care sin
ce February, Juche 49 (1960).
Thus, the state bears totally the expenses of medical checkups and treatment, be
d and board in hospitals, medicines, and even travel costs to and from sanatoria
.
Benefits from Free Education
The country enforced universal free education at all educational institutes sinc
e Juche 48 (1959). Today the country offers the complete 11-year compulsory free
education which enables from kindergarteners to university students to study fr
ee of charge. Even college and university students are learning supported by sch
olarships from the state.
Benefits from Tax Exemption
Thanks to the popular policies pursued by the Party and the government of the Re
public, the country eliminated the devilish tax regime enforced by the Japanese
imperialists, landlords and capitalists and gradually reduced some taxes which l
ed to abolishing the agricultural tax in kind in Juche 55 (1966) and a small amo
unt of income taxes paid by workers and office workers in April Juche 63 (1974),
thus completely eliminating the tax regime, a legacy of the old society.
Benefits from Social Insurance and Social Security System
Female workers take 5 months of maternity leave, and in case of having more than
3 children, receive salaries equivalent to 8 hours' work even though they work
for 6 hours. When workers become physically impaired due to diseases, wounds and
other factors, they are provided with relevant subsidies, treatment and living
conditions from the state. Old pensioners (men over 60, women over 55) receive p
ensions and old people and orphans devoid of care receive living conditions from

the state.
Fundamental Rights of Citizens
The DPRK practically guarantees the people genuine political freedom and rights
according to the fundamental requirement of the Juche idea for enhancing man's i
ndependence and creativity in every way.
In the DPRK the rights and duties of citizens are based on the collectivist prin
ciple, "One for all and all for one." The Socialist Constitution of the DPRK spe
cifies that the state effectively guarantees all the conditions for the democrat
ic rights and liberties as well as the material and cultural well-being of the c
itizens.
All the citizens who have reached 17 years of age have the right to elect and to
be elected, irrespective of sex, race, occupation, length of residence, propert
y status, education, party affiliation, political views and religion. They also
have freedom of speech, the press, assembly, demonstration and association, free
dom of religious beliefs and they are entitled to submit complaints and petition
s.
The workers, peasants and other working people, as masters of power, participate
in state administration and freely engage in socio-political activities in poli
tical parties and public organizations.
The working people have the right to work and rest, the right to education and f
ree medical care and freedom of scientific, literary and artistic pursuits. Wome
n are accorded equal social status and rights with men. The state affords specia
l privilege to mothers and children. Marriage and the family are protected by th
e state.
The working people are guaranteed inviolability of the person and the home and p
rivacy of correspondence. The rights and freedom of citizens steadily increase w
ith the consolidation and development of the socialist system.
Education
The education system of the DPRK is the most popular one which the state takes f
ull responsibility for educating the entire people free of charge. The system la
rgely consists of full-time education system and while-working study system.
The former system has categories of 11-year universal compulsory free education
comprising 1-year pre-school compulsory education and 10-year compulsory school
education and higher education consisting of colleges and universities. College
or university students are granted scholarships.
The latter system is that workers are involved in education at factory special s
chools and colleges as well as in the network of correspondence and night-time e
ducation while working. It is free as well. Schools are evenly distributed in dw
elling districts.
Science
Scientific and research work makes a big contribution to the socialist construct
ion and promotion of well-being of the people. There are a lot of disciplinary a
cademies and research institutes such as the Academy of National Science, the Ac
ademy of Social Sciences, the Academy of Agricultural Sciences, the Academy of E
ducational Sciences and the Academy of Medical Sciences. Scientific and research
institutes put primary efforts in solving problems raised by revolution and con
struction and prospective scientific and technological questions.
In particular, research work is gaining momentum on areas of great significance
in increasing the Juche character of the industry such as more efficient use of
fuels and developing industries relying on local raw materials aimed at making t
he national economy more Juche-oriented, modern and scientific.

Scientific and research institutes have achieved a lot of successes by opening u

p new scientific and technological fields suited to actual conditions with its o
wn efforts and technology dependent on local raw materials.
The successful launch of "Kwangmyongsong No.1" an artificial earth satellite mou
nted on "Paektusan No.1" of multi-staged transport rocket manufactured by the sc
ientists and technicians of the DPRK in August Juche 87 (1998) is a clear eviden
ce that its science and technology have reached the high standard.
Literature and Art
Literature and art in the DPRK perform a mission as a textbook for life that edu
cates the popular masses in a revolutionary way and inspire them for creative la
bor and as a weapon for struggle.
A large number of cultural facilities such as Mansudae Art Theater, People's Pal
ace of Culture, Moranbong Theater and East Pyongyang Grand Theater have been bui
lt so as to provide creation and artistic activities for writers and artistes an
d fully satisfy the high cultural demands of the people.
In terms of literature and art creations, creations by broad sections of the peo
ple are encouraged on equal terms with professional writers and artistes. In all
areas of film, literature, opera, drama, fine art, music, dance and acrobatics,
a great number of works of high ideological and artistic value reflecting revol
utionary traditions and present lives have been created.
The Grand Mass Gymnastics and Art Performance "Arirang" is a showcase of highly
developed literature and art of the DPR Korea.
Family Life
In accordance with the ethical teaching handed down from our ancestors, in Korea
special emphasis is placed on filial piety. This includes supporting one's pare
nts with devotion, nursing one's sick parents with care, and holding sacrificial
rituals in memory of deceased parents. These wholesome manners and customs are
epitomized in the self-sacrificing behaviour of the heroine of the Korean classi
cal novel The Tale of Simchong and in the tradition of women severing one of the
ir fingers to transfuse their blood to their ailing husbands or parents.
Great care is shown when choosing a wife for one's son, as a dutiful daughter-in
-law is supposed to pay great attention to the well-being of her parents-in-law,
thus ensuring harmony within the family.
The custom of the son, particularly the eldest son, supporting his parents is st
ill prevalent in Korea.
In olden times if one had no son, one adopted a child with the purpose of ensuri
ng that memorial services for one's ancestors were held without interruption and
the family line was carried on, as well as of having someone to whom to hand ov
er one's property and by whom to be supported in one's old age.
The custom of adopting a son or daughter in Korea has undergone a radical change
. It has become a social trend that young people of the rising generation bring
up orphans as their own children and support childless old folks as their parent
s. It is now no rare occurrence that girls voluntarily marry disabled soldiers a
nd take care of them, dedicating the springtime of their lives to them. These ne
w relations of upbringing and support are attributable to Comrade Kim Jong Il, w
ho has established new human relations of single-hearted unity by taking good ca
re of the old generation of revolutionaries and by doing his best to bring up th
e bereaved children of fallen comrades as successors to the revolution.
When a baby is born, a name is given to it. It is the custom with the Koreans th
at the surname, which is placed first, follows the bloodline of the father. So d
aughters, to say nothing of sons, always keep the surnames of their fathers even
after marriage. The surname is usually of one syllable while the given name usu
ally consists of two syllables. The syllables of the name have definite meanings
. One of the two syllables of the given name is common to, and indicates, the sa

me generation of close relatives to which the owner of the name belongs. The com
mon syllable of the name is applied up to first cousins, making it possible to t
ell quickly which generation kinfolk belong to.
The most important birthday celebration is the one that children arrange for the
60th birthdays of their parents. In the past, a man, who lived to be 60, was co
nsidered to have lived long. Therefore his children would hold a big banquet on
his 60th birthday, wishing him an even longer life in good health. On that day t
hey would present newly made garments to him and set a ceremonial feast table fo
r him.
The table was also called a table for feasting the eyes on, so it was set with a
greater variety of dishes and was more spectacular than a wedding table. The in
tensity of filial piety of the children was said to have been estimated by the n
umber of dishes and the height of the food piled up on the table. After setting
the table, the children, relatives and friends would each present a cup of wine
to the guest of honour and make a deep bow to him or her.
The celebration of one's 60th birthday is one of the good manners and customs of
the Korean people, who respect their parents and take good care of them.
Comrade Kim Jong Il sees to it that 60th birthday spreads are arranged in the na
me of the country for the people who have devotedly worked for the country and t
he people, as a reward for their meritorious service. He also ensures that 70th
and 80th birthday spreads are sent to people who have worked until they reached
70 or 80 years of age.
It is a duty based on the Korean sense of obligation and ethics to hold memorial
services for the dead and pray for their souls. The memorial service held on th
e first anniversary of a person's death is called sosang. The memorial service h
eld on the second anniversary of a person's death is called taesang or samnyonje
(memorial service in the third year, because it is held in the third year after
the death). Besides sosang and taesang, the memorial service which is held on t
he day of the ancestor's death every year is called kije. Kije is held at the da
wn of that day.
On folk festival days, people hold memorial services to pray for the repose of t
he souls of their ancestors. Memorial services on folk festival days are distinc
t from other memorial services in that sacrificial altars are laden with special
food eaten only on that day. To cite a few examples, people offer rice-cake sou
p on New Year's Day and rice cakes steamed on a layer of pine needles on the Har
vest Moon Day. The memorial service is usually held in the house of the eldest s
on or the eldest grandson in charge of the memorial service. So on New Year's Da
y and on the Harvest Moon Day all the relatives gather in the house of the eldes
t son.
Nowadays in Korea, people hold funeral and memorial services in a simple and mod
est manner, remembering the deceased with reverence.
People see on their TV screens Comrade Kim Jong Il bowing respectfully to Comrad
e Kim Il Sung, the eternal President of the Republic, lying in state in the Kums
usan Memorial Palace at dawn on the Day of the Sun (President Kim Il Sung's birt
hday, April 15.), July 8 (the day of the President's death.), and on New Year's
Day. Republic Founding Day, Harvest Moon Day and other national holidays every y
ear. They also watch the endless waves of people paying homage at the President'
s bronze statue on Mansu Hill, the Revolutionary Martyrs Cemetery, the Patriotic
Martyrs Cemetery in Pyongyang and the patriotic martyrs' tombs in the provinces
. This is the modem form of the good manners and customs inherited from our ance
stors, which have been carried over and developed to a higher level of significa
nce in our era.
The etiquette of salutation differs from country to country. In Korea it is a lo
ng-established custom for people to bow to each other, in stead of shaking hands
, when they meet.
Juniors make a deep bow to their parents and other elders among the members of t
he family and relatives. When one makes a deep bow, one falls on one's knees, an
d the hands touch the ground. So deep bows are usually made indoors.
Outdoors, people usually bow in a standing position. The extent of the bending o
f the upper part of the body shows the relation of the junior to the senior. The

deeper the bow, the more respectful it is. When Korean people meet others who a
re their equals in age, they only make slight bows to each other and exchange wo
rds of greeting. It is regarded as good manners and an age-old custom in Korea t
o offer hospitality to guests. From olden times Korea has been known as an "east
ern country of great courtesy". Everyone visiting Korea will feel kindness and w
arm hospitality.