Grace Lee 105 Korea The Political Philosophy of Juche · The Political Philosophy of Juche Grace...

8
105 Grace Lee Stanford Journal of East Asian Affairs Korea The Political Philosophy of Juche Grace Lee Introduction The political philosophy known as juche became the official autarkic state ideology of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) in 1972. 1 Although foreign scholars often describe juche as “self-reliance,” the true meaning of the term is much more nuanced. Kim Il Sung explained: Establishing juche means, in a nutshell, being the master of revolution and reconstruction in one’s own country. This means holding fast to an independent position, rejecting dependence on others, using one’s own brains, believing in one’s own strength, displaying the revolutionary spirit of self-reliance, and thus solving one’s own problems for oneself on one’s own responsibility under all circumstances. The DPRK claims that juche is Kim Il Sung’s creative application of Marxist-Leninist principles to the modern political realities in North Korea. 2 Kim Il Sung and his son Kim Jong Il have successfully wielded the juche idea as a political shibboleth to evoke a fiercely nationalistic drive for North Korean independence and to justify policies of self-reliance and self-denial in the face of famine and economic stagnation in North Korea. Kim Il Sung envisioned three specific applications of juche philosophy: political and ideological independence, especially from the Soviet Union and China; economic self-reliance and self-sufficiency; and a viable national defense system. 3 This paper begins with a discussion of the three key components of the juche ideology – political, economic and military independence – as promulgated by the DPRK. The second section is a discussion of the ideological origins of the juche philosophy, followed by a third section on the philosophical bases of the juche idea. The paper concludes with an examination of juche as a political body of thought and an evaluation of the success with which juche policies have responded to the political and economic realities of North Korea. Key Components of the Juche Ideology The governing principles of juche were clearly expressed by Kim Il Sung in a speech entitled “Let Us Defend the Revolutionary Spirit of Independence, Self-Reliance, and Self-defense More Thoroughly in All Fields of State Activities,” which he delivered to the Supreme People’s Assembly on December 16, 1967. 4 In it, he declared that …the Government of the Republic will implement with all consistency the line of independence, self-sustenance, and self-defense to consolidate the political independence of the country (chaju), build up more solidly the foundations of an independent national economy capable of insuring the complete unification, independence, and prosperity of our nation (charip) and 1 Don Oberdorfer, The Two Koreas (Reading, Mass.: Addison-Wesley, 1997), 401. 2 Yuk-Sa Li, ed. Juche! The Speeches and Writings of Kim Il Sung (New York: Grossman Publishers, 1972), 157. 3 Tai Sung An, North Korea in Transition: From Dictatorship to Dynasty (Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, c1983), 58-9. 4 Li, Juche, 149-206.

Transcript of Grace Lee 105 Korea The Political Philosophy of Juche · The Political Philosophy of Juche Grace...

Page 1: Grace Lee 105 Korea The Political Philosophy of Juche · The Political Philosophy of Juche Grace Lee ... three key components of the juche ideology ... abhorred during his guerrilla

105Grace Lee

Stanford Journal of East Asian Affairs

Korea

The Political Philosophy of Juche

Grace Lee

IntroductionThe political philosophy known as juche

became the official autarkic state ideology of theDemocratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK)in 1972.1 Although foreign scholars often describejuche as “self-reliance,” the true meaning of theterm is much more nuanced. Kim Il Sungexplained:

Establishing juche means, in a nutshell,being the master of revolution andreconstruction in one’s own country. Thismeans holding fast to an independentposition, rejecting dependence on others,using one’s own brains, believing inone’s own strength, displaying therevolutionary spirit of self-reliance, andthus solving one’s own problems foroneself on one’s own responsibility underall circumstances.

The DPRK claims that juche is Kim Il Sung’screative application of Marxist-Leninist principlesto the modern political realities in North Korea.2

Kim Il Sung and his son Kim Jong Il havesuccessfully wielded the juche idea as a politicalshibboleth to evoke a fiercely nationalistic drivefor North Korean independence and to justifypolicies of self-reliance and self-denial in the faceof famine and economic stagnation in NorthKorea. Kim Il Sung envisioned three specificapplications of juche philosophy: political andideological independence, especially from theSoviet Union and China; economic self-reliance

and self-sufficiency; and a viable national defensesystem.3

This paper begins with a discussion of thethree key components of the juche ideology –political, economic and military independence –as promulgated by the DPRK. The second sectionis a discussion of the ideological origins of thejuche philosophy, followed by a third section onthe philosophical bases of the juche idea. Thepaper concludes with an examination of juche asa political body of thought and an evaluation ofthe success with which juche policies haveresponded to the political and economic realitiesof North Korea.

Key Components of the Juche IdeologyThe governing principles of juche were

clearly expressed by Kim Il Sung in a speechentitled “Let Us Defend the Revolutionary Spiritof Independence, Self-Reliance, and Self-defenseMore Thoroughly in All Fields of State Activities,”which he delivered to the Supreme People’sAssembly on December 16, 1967.4 In it, hedeclared that

…the Government of the Republic willimplement with all consistency the lineof independence, self-sustenance, andself-defense to consolidate the politicalindependence of the country (chaju),build up more solidly the foundationsof an independent national economycapable of insuring the completeunification, independence, andprosperity of our nation (charip) and

1 Don Oberdorfer, The Two Koreas (Reading, Mass.: Addison-Wesley, 1997), 401.2 Yuk-Sa Li, ed. Juche! The Speeches and Writings of Kim Il Sung (New York: Grossman Publishers, 1972), 157.3 Tai Sung An, North Korea in Transition: From Dictatorship to Dynasty (Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, c1983), 58-9.4 Li, Juche, 149-206.

Page 2: Grace Lee 105 Korea The Political Philosophy of Juche · The Political Philosophy of Juche Grace Lee ... three key components of the juche ideology ... abhorred during his guerrilla

106 The Political Philosophy of Juche

Volume 3 | Number 1 | Spring 2003

Kor

ea

5 Li, Juche, 156.6 Li, Juche, 157-8.7 Jong Il Kim, Accomplishing Juche Revolutionary Cause (Pyongyang, D.P.R.K.: Foreign Languages Publishing House, 1990), 47.8 Li, Juche, 159.9 Li, Juche, 160.

increasing the country’s defensecapabilities, so as to safeguard thesecurity of the fatherland reliably byour own force (chawi), by splendidlyembodying our Party’s idea of juchein all fields.5

Chaju: Domestic and Foreign IndependenceThe principle of political independence is one

of the central tenets of juche ideology. Withrespect to international relations, the principlesof juche stress complete equality and mutualrespect among nations. Furthermore, jucheideology asserts that every state has the right ofself-determination in order to secure the happinessand prosperity of its people as it best sees fit. Thesepolitical tenets – equal sovereignty and non-intervention – would satisfy the fierce desire forrespect and security of a small and weak nation-state such as North Korea.

In practice, this political stance has causedNorth Korea to truly become a hermit kingdombecause of the huge stigma juche places uponcooperation with outside powers. According tojuche as interpreted by the DPRK, yielding toforeign pressure or tolerating foreign interventionwould make it impossible to maintain chaju, orthe defense of national independence andsovereignty. This in turn would threaten thenation’s ability to defend the interests of thepeople, since political independence is seen asbeing absolutely critical for economic self-sustenance and military self-defense. Kim JongIl predicted that dependence on foreign powerswould lead to the failure of the socialist revolutionin Korea.6; 7

Among countries that he considered socialistpeers, such as China, the USSR, Cuba and severalAfrican countries, Kim Il Sung urged cooperationand stressed the need for mutual support andlimited dependence. However, whileacknowledging that it was important to learn fromthe examples of other socialist countries, Kim Il

Sung was highly sensitive to the problems offlunkeyism towards Moscow and Beijing and theinevitable Marxist-Leninist dogmatism that heabhorred during his guerrilla days. In constructingthe socialist revolution in North Korea, he warnedthat the North Koreans must “…resolutelyrepudiate the tendency to swallow things of othersundigested or imitate them mechanically.”8

Furthermore, he claimed that his regime’s“success” was credited to the independent mannerin which all problems were solved, conformingMarxist-Leninist principles to the specificconditions of North Korea without altering theirfundamental substance.

Domestically, Kim asserted that it wasimperative to build internal political forces toensure chaju. The pivotal factor in the success ofachieving chaju would be the extent to which thepeople rallied around the party and the leader KimIl Sung, and later Kim Jong Il himself. Thisinsistence on internal unity of support, stemmingperhaps from the elder Kim’s disgust with internalfactionalism before the Korean War, convenientlyhelped to justify his consolidation of personalpower.

Charip: Economic IndependenceAn independent and self-sufficient national

economy is necessary both in order to securepolitical integrity and to achieve nationalprosperity. Charip – economic independence – isseen as the material basis for chaju, or politicalindependence. Kim Il Sung feared that economicdependence on foreign aid would render the statea political satellite of other countries. He believedthat it would be impossible to successfully builda socialist republic without the material andtechnical foundations that would come from anindependent national economy. This economywould consist of a powerful base of heavy industrywith the machine-building industry at its core,which would equip light industry, agriculture,transport, and all other branches of the economy.9

Page 3: Grace Lee 105 Korea The Political Philosophy of Juche · The Political Philosophy of Juche Grace Lee ... three key components of the juche ideology ... abhorred during his guerrilla

107Grace Lee

Stanford Journal of East Asian Affairs

Korea

According to Kim Jong Il,

building an independent nationaleconomy means building an economywhich is free from dependence onothers and which stands on its own feet,an economy which serves one’s ownpeople and develops on the strength ofthe resources of one’s own country andby the efforts of one’s people.10

Independent food production was seen as beingof particular significance because successfulfarming would provide the people with stabilizedliving conditions and means to independentlysupport themselves. Just as important to thesurvival and independence of the nationaleconomy was the establishment of reliable andindependent sources of raw materials and fuel.Extensive modernization of the economy andtraining for technically-minded cadres wereconsidered indispensable for the construction ofan independent national economy as well.

Kim Il Sung was careful to maintain thatbuilding an independent national economy onjuche principles of self-reliance was notsynonymous with building an isolated economy.Looking at the size of American aid to SouthKorea, which equaled its fledgling economy’sgross domestic product during the immediatepost-war years, Kim Il Sung recognized that NorthKorea would not be able to survive withoutsignificant aid from its communist sponsors.Thus, he encouraged close economic and technicalcooperation between socialist countries andnewly-emerging nations as an aid in economicdevelopment and ideological unity.11

Chawi: Military IndependenceThe last area of independence is self-reliance

in defense, a characteristic fundamental in juchephilosophy to an independent sovereign state. TheNorth Korean attitude towards militaryconfrontation was summed up in this manner by

Kim Il Sung: “We do not want war, nor are weafraid of it, nor do we beg peace from theimperialists.”12 The decidedly belligerent policyof countering any perceived “imperialist movesof aggression and war” with violence was seen asthe best way to defend national independence andto win the revolutionary cause.13 Theimplementation of this self-reliant defense systemwould involve the mobilization of the wholecountry and the complete inculcation of ideologyin the armed forces. Those who were not directlytaking up arms were to contribute to theconstruction and maintenance of the domesticdefense industry and remain ideologicallyprepared, so that the home front would be unitedin a sense of socio-political superiority.14

Although Kim Il Sung conceded that foreignsupport played a secondary role in the holisticwar against foreign “imperialists” and“aggressors,” he heavily emphasized that thedecisive factor would be the preparation ofinternal domestic purposes.15 Thus he pledged thegovernment to prepare the Korean people and thearmy thoroughly and ideologically to cope withwar and to make full material preparations todefend the country by relying on an independentnational economy.16

Origins of the Juche PhilosophyThere are three major schools of thought

regarding the origins of the juche ideology. Thefirst of these is the instrumental perspective,which emphasizes domestic and internationalrelations factors. The second perspective focuseson the influence of traditional Korean politics.The last viewpoint considers juche to be originalpolitical thought stemming directly from the lifeexperiences of Kim Il Sung.

Instrumental PerspectiveThe instrumentalist viewpoint focuses on

both domestic and foreign political factors as theroot of the juche ideology. Some scholars believe

10 Kim, Accomplishing, 48.11 Kim, Accomplishing, 48-52.12 Kim, Accomplishing, 53.13 Kim, Accomplishing, 53.14 Kim, Accomplishing, 52-5.15 Li, Juche, 162.16 Li, Juche, 163.

Page 4: Grace Lee 105 Korea The Political Philosophy of Juche · The Political Philosophy of Juche Grace Lee ... three key components of the juche ideology ... abhorred during his guerrilla

108 The Political Philosophy of Juche

Volume 3 | Number 1 | Spring 2003

Kor

ea

that Kim’s unstable power during andimmediately following the Korean War causedhim to deploy ideological purges in order toconsolidate his political position, using thejuche principle of national solidarity as adomestic instrument of personal cult-building.17

To this end, Kim Il Sung forbade any otherideology from being discussed or taught inNorth Korea. Since the content and applicationof the juche ideology were very ambiguous untilthe late 1960s, Kim Il Sung was the only onewho could successfully wield and implementthe philosophy. Thus, implementing andexecuting policies based on juche effectivelyconsolidated Kim Il Sung’s absolute politicalpower and indirectly provided ideologicaljustification for his dictatorship in NorthKorea.18

Perhaps more saliently, juche as theguiding principle of foreign policy was utilizedas a means of balancing power between theSoviet Union and China, and as a means to curbthe Soviet and Chinese influence in the country.Kim’s wariness of Sino-Soviet involvement inNorth Korean domestic affairs was exacerbatedby his personal dislike of the Soviets and thecountry’s national inferiority complex towardsmajor powers. Kim became uneasy about theSoviet Union’s gradual movement towardspeaceful coexistence with the United States inthe 1960s. However, because of the economicand military aid Pyongyang was receiving fromMoscow, as well as Kim’s professed value forunity in the Marxism-Leninism struggle againstimperialism, North Korea continued to supportSoviet positions on most issues. Gradually,North Korea began to use the juche tenet offoreign non-intervention and national self-determination as an ideological excuse forcordoning off its governance from Moscow andBeijing. Eventually, North Korea repudiatedboth the Soviet Union and the People’s Republicof China as a socialist imperialist state,accusing its leaders of abandoning pure

17 Dae-Ho Byun, North Korea’s Foreign Policy (Seoul, R.O.K: Research Center for Peace and Unification of Korea, 1991), 55-6, 60.18 Byun, North, 71-2.19 Byun, North, 62-76.20 Kim, Accomplishing, 18.

Marxism-Leninism principles to pursuecapitalist gains.19

Traditional Political CultureThe second perspective is more long-term

and focuses on the influence of traditionalpolitical culture in Korea. The scholars in thissecond camp argue that juche is a reflection ofa centuries-old tradition of independence fromforeign powers. Strategically located at apeninsular tip of the East Asian continent,Korea has long been a pawn of contentionbetween its two powerful neighbors, China andJapan. From the earliest recorded history, theKorean people have fought fiercely to maintaintheir independence in the face of multipleinvasions by Mongols, Manchurians, HanChinese and Japanese pirates and samurais. Thesum total of these invasions may qualify Koreaas the most oft-invaded territory in the world.Under the Yi Dynasty, which ruled Korea from1392 until the Japanese annexation in 1910,Korea became a highly defensive state with aforeign policy of isolation towards the outsideworld. When Kim Il Sung came to power inNorth Korea in 1945, he arguably reverted tothe highly isolationist policies of pre-modernKorea.

Furthermore, this viewpoint encompassesthe exposition of juche as a brand of KoreanLeninist nationalism, a “creative adoption ofMarxism-Leninism” peculiarly suited to theKorean situation, described by Kim Jong Il as

a difficult and complex revolutionwhich had to deal with the tasks of theanti-imperialist, national-liberationrevolution, with formidable Japaneseimperialism as the target, and those ofthe anti-feudal, democratic revolutionsimultaneously.20

Baek Nam Un, a Korean sociologist who lateraided Kim Il Sung, said that the situation inKorea requires an independent and creative

Page 5: Grace Lee 105 Korea The Political Philosophy of Juche · The Political Philosophy of Juche Grace Lee ... three key components of the juche ideology ... abhorred during his guerrilla

109Grace Lee

Stanford Journal of East Asian Affairs

Korea

adoption of Marxism and Leninism, and apeculiar synthesis of nationalism and socialism.Kim Il Sung himself said:

To establish juche is a question ofspecial importance for us in the lightof our country’s geographical situationand environments, of the peculiaritiesof its historical development, and thecomplex and arduous nature of ourrevolution. 21

Individualism: Kim Il Sung’s Original ThoughtThe third viewpoint is the North Koreans’

view of juche as a prime example of their lateSupreme Leader’s brillianceand originality. This last groupinsists that juche was theintellectual result of Kim IlSung’s highly exaggerated andromanticized personalexperience as a guerrillafighting against the Japanese inthe 1930s. This immediateattribution of juche to Kim IlSung’s personal history isemphasized by his son andheir Kim Jong Il in his bookOn the Juche Idea. He arguesthat his father “put forward a juche-orientedline for the Korean revolution” and that “…thiswas a historical event which heralded thecreation of the juche idea and the birth of thejuche-oriented revolutionary line.”22 Kim IlSung himself had at times maintained that thejuche ideology grew out of two majorfrustrations he felt with the Korean revolutionduring the anti-Japanese struggle: first, therevolutionary vanguard had lost contact withthe proletarian masses and were waging atheoretical battle without mass support; andsecond, that “flunkeyism” – seeking Moscow’sfavor – and factionalism were corrupting therevolution from the inside.23

Philosophical Underpinnings of JucheIdeology

The juche idea is a Weltanschauung, orworld view, that affirms the penultimate valueof man’s interests. According to juche ideology,man has ultimate control over the world and ofhis own destiny because he alone has chajusong,or creativity and consciousness. Adherents tothe juche philosophy claim that this viewpointof man as dominating and reshaping the worldis a unique contribution of juche ideology tothe body of philosophical knowledge. Despitethis claim to originality, there is nothingparticularly revolutionary or novel in the tenets

of the juche philosophy. KimIl Sung’s policy stances onsubjects such as the classstruggle, the idea of the massline, the role of the singlegreat leader in history and theimportance of belief in one’sown capabilit ies were alldrawn primarily fromChinese and EasternEuropean thought. Kim IlSung’s genius lay in hisability to fuse these elementstogether to capitalize on the

North Korean drive for independence.

Debt to Maoist ThoughtKim’s early knowledge of communism

came from the Chinese communist guerrillaarmy with which he trained from 1935 to 1941.During this time, he was tutored and influencedby Wei Zhengmin, a superior Chinese politicalofficer in his guerrilla group. While Kim neveracknowledged the extent of his subordination toand affiliation with the Chinese Communist Party,many scholars contend that Kim was a memberof the CCP.24 By the end of the Korean War,Chinese influence in North Korea had overtakenthat of the Soviet Union. Kim closely followed

21 Li, Juche, 157.22 Kim, Accomplishing, 19.23 Kim, Accomplishing, 18.24 Byun, North, 62-3.

KIM IL SUNG'S POLICY STANCESON SUBJECTS SUCH AS THECLASS STRUGGLE, THE IDEA OFTHE MASS LINE, THE BELIEF INONE'S OWN CAPABILITIES WEREALL DRAWN PRIMARILY FROMCHINESE AND EASTERN EURO-PEAN THOUGHT. KIM IL SUNG'SGENIUS LAY IN HIS ABILITY TOFUSE THESE ELEMENTS TO-GETHER TO CAPITALIZE ON THENORTH KOREAN DRIVE FORINDEPENDENCE.

Page 6: Grace Lee 105 Korea The Political Philosophy of Juche · The Political Philosophy of Juche Grace Lee ... three key components of the juche ideology ... abhorred during his guerrilla

110 The Political Philosophy of Juche

Volume 3 | Number 1 | Spring 2003

Kor

ea

Mao Zedong’s political thought and action, whichheavily influenced the development of the DPRK’spolitical institutions in the late 1940s and 1950s.

One example of this emulation was the NorthKorean strategy of Chollima Undong, which wasinspired by Mao Zedong’s Great Leap Forwardmovement of 1958-1960.25 The multi-yeareconomic plans, stress upon rural self-sufficiencyand nationalistic and revolutionary fervor thatinspired the Great Leap Forward are allcharacteristics of the juche ideology of economicself-sufficiency. Kim’s assertion that

…if one lacks the revolutionary spiritof self-reliance, one will lose faith inone’s own strength, fail to try to tapthe inner resources of one’s country,grow indolent and loose, and fall intopassivism [sic] and conservatism

is highly reminiscent of the Yan’an era of the CCP,during which a belief in the power of the will toovercome seemingly impossible barriers waspermanently embedded into Maoist thought.26; 27

The underlying principle of the jucheideology is the faithful application of Marxism-Leninism in a case-specific manner that wouldbest suit the history, political conditions andcurrent realities of the country. This theory ofdifferent means to the penultimate goal ofcommunism was first stressed by Mao Zedong,especially during the rectification campaign of1942-44 on the need to “sinify” Marxism-Leninism and halt the mechanical and dogmaticacceptance of the Soviet model as the “universaltruth.”28; 29 Thus, the main tenet of Kim Il Sung’sthought can be directly attributed and traced toMao.

Despite the overwhelming evidence, Kim IlSung was never willing to publicly acknowledgehis ideological debt to Mao, especially after theinstitutionalization of the juche ideology as North

Korea’s sole political philosophy by the DPRK inthe early 1960s. Following this formal linkage ofthe juche ideology with North Koreannationalism, the inferiority implications ofacknowledging such a great debt to a foreignleader was probably insurmountable both for theconsistency of the independent juche ideology andfor Kim’s personal pride.30

Korean and Confucian RootsThe juche ideology that is trumpeted by North

Korea as Kim Il Sung’s ingenious and originalcontribution to the body of political philosophyis really drawn from a centuries-old tradition ofKorean political thought. Kim himself hasacknowledged that he drew the term and idea ofjuche from Korean scholars in the early twentiethcentury, who in turn drew inspiration fromConfucian ideas dating back to the original statephilosophy of independence espoused by Koreanrulers. The tradition of strong nationalism amongthe Korean people coexisted with another traditioncalled sadaechuii, in which the Confucian palaceofficials and educated elite groups jockeyed forforeign support through sycophancy.31 Kim’sjuche ideology may represent his reaction to theslave mentality of sadaechuii as well as anindebtedness to the original nationalistic strainof Korean political culture. Aside from itstremendous appeal to the deep traditional Koreanantipathy towards foreign influence, juche servesto intensify the nationalism of the North Koreanpeople, who are told that world civilizationoriginated from the Korean peninsula.32

Application to SocietyIndoctrination in juche ideology was seen as

the primary concern in the revolutionary strugglefor chajusong and the subsequent construction ofa socialist republic.33 Establishing a juche mindsetmeant the promotion of the attitude that the

25 An, North, 62-3.26 Li, Juche, 160.27 Kenneth Lieberthal, Governing China: From Revolution Through Reform (New York; London: W.W. Norton & Co., Inc., 1995), 48-52.28 An, North, 62.29 Byun, North, 68-9.30 An, North, 63.31 An, North, 35-6.32 Oberdorfer, Two, 19.33 Kim, Accomplishing, 37.

Page 7: Grace Lee 105 Korea The Political Philosophy of Juche · The Political Philosophy of Juche Grace Lee ... three key components of the juche ideology ... abhorred during his guerrilla

111Grace Lee

Stanford Journal of East Asian Affairs

Korea

Korean people could solve all of their problemsby their own talents and initiative. Cultivatinga sense of national dignity and revolutionarypride was especially important, as evidencedby the great lengths to which cultural aspectsof North Korean life such as music andentertainment were monopolized and dictatedby the Party under Kim Jong Il, Kim Il Sung’sson and successor.34

The Kim Il Sung regime instructed theNorth Korean people in the juche ideologyusing an analogy drawn from human anatomy.The Great Leader is the brain that makesdecisions and issues orders, the Party is thenervous system that channelsinformation, and the peopleare the bone and muscle thatphysically execute theorders.35 This belief system,inculcated in North Koreanssince early childhood, madethem docile and loyal to KimIl Sung even in the face offamines and energy crises thathave devastated the country.

The juche ideology waswidely supported among theNorth Korean populacebecause of the doctrine that the success of thesocialist revolution depends upon the extent towhich the masses rally around and support theleadership. When Kim Il Sung unilaterallydeclared juche to be the governing principle ofall aspects of North Korean life, as well as theideological basis of all state policies, thephilosophy gained the full authority of Kim IlSung’s godlike status. Having established theinfallibility of the juche philosophy andconsolidated their own political power, Kim IlSung and Kim Jong Il were able to use jucheprinciples of self-sustenance and political andmilitary independence as justification forpolicies such as the routing of a huge percentageof national income towards military

expenditures, despite the famine sweepingthrough the populace. Due to the power andinfluence of one man, the Great Leader, thejuche philosophy became inextricablyembedded in the economic, political, militaryand cultural aspects of life in the DPRK.

ConclusionDespite the repeated and strong emphasis

on juche’s loyalty to the principles of Marxism-Leninism, juche as philosophical thought doesnot strictly adhere to Marxist-Leninistprinciples as North Korea purports. First, thefundamental tenets of juche – that man is the

master of all things anddecides everything, and that anideological consciousnessdetermines human behavior inhistorical development –contradict Karl Marx’sproposition of economicdeterminism. Marx believedthat individual figures had nocontrol over the general trendof predetermined humandevelopment, and he did notgive man an exalted position inthe hierarchy of historical

factors of importance. Kim Il Sung, in contrast,saw himself as an absolutely essential figure inthe struggle of the working masses against theoppressive middle class.36; 37

Juche also diverges from Lenin’s focus onthe educating and organizing functions of theelite revolutionary vanguard. Authoritarianismis inherent in the juche ideology because theguidance of an “exceptionally brilliant andoutstanding leader” is considered essential tothe mobilization of the masses of the workingclass.38 Unlike Lenin, Kim Il Sung’s regimeadvocated a single leader-headed revolutionaryhierarchy rather than a core of outstanding andcommitted leaders to lead the revolutionarystruggle.39

34 Kim, Accomplishing, 20-3, 42-4.35 Oberdorfer, Two, 20.36 Kim, Accomplishing, 28.37 Byun, North, 87-8.38 An, North, 57-63.39 An, North, 61-2.

MARX BELIEVED THAT INDIVIDUALFIGURES HAD NO CONTROL OVERTHE GENERAL TREND OF PRE-DETERMINED HUMAN DEVEL-OPMENT, AND HE DID NOT GIVEMAN AN EXALTED POSITION IN THEHIERARCHY OF HISTORICALFACTORS OF IMPORTANCE. KIM ILSUNG, IN CONTRAST, SAW HIM-SELF AS AN ABSOLUTELY ESSEN-TIAL FIGURE IN THE STRUGGLE OFTHE WORKING MASSES AGAINSTTHE OPPRESSIVE MIDDLE CLASS.

Page 8: Grace Lee 105 Korea The Political Philosophy of Juche · The Political Philosophy of Juche Grace Lee ... three key components of the juche ideology ... abhorred during his guerrilla

112 The Political Philosophy of Juche

Volume 3 | Number 1 | Spring 2003

Kor

ea North Korea’s preoccupation withindependence and its isolationism have engagedthe country in a dangerous game ofbrinkmanship with the United States. Over theyears, this has led to near-catastrophic militarytension with the United States and with SouthKorea, especially along the KoreanDemilitarized Zone, which is already the mostheavily armed land zone in the world. TheDPRK has taken a particularly hard-line stanceon the issue of peninsular reunification. KimIl Sung declared that any cooperation withforeign attempts to mediate or interfere wouldbe unthinkable because it would effectively placethe destiny of Korea in the hands of foreigners,directly contrary to the juche principle of nationalself-determination.40

In economic and military affairs, North Koreais far from the independence and self-sufficiencyto which it aspires. The country is in the throesof famine and is plagued by a chronic energycrisis. Far from relying on its own energy sourcesand agricultural production, the DPRK has beenreduced to a recipient of food aid from SouthKorea, the United States and other countries inthe international community it had previouslydisdained as “imperialist aggressors.” Despite thehuge portion of its shrinking GDP that goes tomilitary spending, Pyongyang is still dependenton Moscow and Beijing for weaponry andtechnology.

40 Li, Juche, 159.

Domestically, the juche idea has been usedto legitimize Kim Il Sung’s Koreanization of“Marxism-Leninism” and the consolidation of theStalinist system under Kim Il Sung’s personalpower in North Korea. Furthermore, the jucheidea has helped to shore up North Korean nationalpride in the face of politico-economic competitionwith South Korea. Kim Il Sung used the jucheideology and its emphasis on the supremeimportance of man and its message of self-sufficiency to stir up nationalism andrevolutionary energy in the North Korean people.

Internationally, Kim Il Sung used the jucheideology as a justification for the elimination of theinfluence of the USSR and the PRC. Politicalindependence from its bigger neighbors has alwaysbeen a quest of key importance in Korean history.Kim Il Sung understood that as long as North Koreaavoided siding either with the Soviet Union or Chinaunilaterally, North Korea could remain relativelyautonomous in its domestic and foreign policy; thiscareful balancing act of neutrality was expressed inthe form of the juche ideology.

North Korea marks the last frontier ofisolationism in the world today. Because itspolicies and behavior may be explained by thestate ideology of juche, an understanding of theorigins, components and philosophicalunderpinnings of the juche ideology is essentialto an understanding of the North Korean stateand its people.