Juche

Flag of the Workers' Party of Korea, the ruling party of the DPRK.

Juche, also called the Juche idea, is the official ideology of the DPRK. Juche is predominantly translated into English as "self-reliance" or "independence," but a more accurate and comprehensive translation is "subjecthood."

The "subject" that Juche refers to is the masses of the people, who form the driving element of socio-historical development. While the Juche idea acknowledges that social movement is ultimately governed by the universal laws of the material world, it asserts that the development of the social movement can be caused and developed by the volitional action and role of the subject—the working masses of the people—who can creatively and consciously transform nature and society to their benefit when they become aware of their own role in socio-historical development. The Juche idea also consists of the assertion that it is only by seizing state power and the means of production and establishing a socialist system that the working masses can free themselves from exploitation and "create history consciously as true masters of society and their own destiny."

Juche philosophy focuses on popular sovereignty and self-reliance to advance revolution in the conditions of the Korean people. This theoretical premise forms the core strategic goal of the Juche idea in upholding the sovereignty and independence of the DPRK from imperialist aggression. In general, the Juche idea upholds political and economical self-reliance and achieving a rich material and cultural life for the people through revolutionary leadership strengthened by a relationship with the masses.

In the foreword to the book Socialist Education in Korea, Derek Ford and Curry Malott write that the "mobilization of Juche allows for endless tactical flexibility in foreign, economic, and social policy even today" and argue its successfulness by noting that Koreans played a key role in defeating Japanese imperialism, forced the U.S. to sign an armistice in 1953, and survived the Cold War, the opening up of China, the dissolution of the Soviet Union, and the overthrow and collapse of the European Socialist Bloc countries, and have "managed to rebuild their country from rubble" while navigating these "endlessly complex geopolitical challenges".

Etymology

The word Juche (Korean: 주체; Hanja: 主體) is a Sino-Korean word that can be defined in English as "subject", "main agent", or "principal agent". It is used to refer to the philosophical concept of the entity perceiving or acting upon an object or environment, a being who has a unique consciousness, or an entity that has a relationship with another entity that exists outside itself.

Juche is also frequently referred to as the "Juche idea" (Korean: 주체사상, or juche sasang). Juche sasang literally means "subject idea" or "subject thought." The word sasang (Korean: 사상; Hanja: 思想) is a Sino-Korean word that means "thought", "idea" and also relates to the concepts of "ideology" and "philosophy". The characters that form the word sasang are also found in the Chinese term that is commonly referred to in English as Mao Zedong Thought.

In some contexts, the Juche idea may be contrasted with the concept of Sadae (Korean: 사대), meaning "subservience". Sadae is a Confucian concept based on filial piety that describes a reciprocal hierarchical relationship between a senior and a junior, such as a tributary relationship. The term is also used as a descriptive label for bilateral foreign relations between Imperial China and Joseon dynasty Korea. A more modern usage of the term can also refer to a sycophantic or self-effacing diplomacy towards a stronger nation. This second meaning is sometimes translated as "flunkeyism" in English.

Description

The Juche idea is a world outlook and an attitude centered on man, which aims to enable and enhance man's ability to understand the world accurately and to consciously transform the world to man's benefit. The Juche idea holds that the popular masses are the driving force of history, and that humanity's goal is striving for independence from social subjugation and natural restrictions. As is explained in the work Juche Idea: Answers to Hundred Questions, the Juche idea is an ideology "that the masses of the people are the master of the revolution and construction" and that the revolution can emerge victorious when they are educated, organized and mobilized. It is an ideology which holds that "man is the master of his destiny and he has the power to carve out his destiny."

The Juche idea raises the question of man's relationship to the world, and man's role in transforming the world. The assertion of the Juche idea with respect to this question is often summarized as "man is the master of everything and decides everything". It should be noted that this assertion does not make the claim that the material world itself is centered on man. As Kim Jong Il has clarified, it has been established by the materialist dialectic that the world consists of matter which moves, changes, and develops in accordance with its own laws. Thus, the philosophy of Juche "does not assert that the material world itself is centred on man," but rather that man "is the transformer of the world and that the world is reshaped by man, not that all changes in the world are brought about by man."

According to Juche, man transforms the world, within the objective laws of material reality, by applying his consciousness and creativity in order to achieve increasing independence from natural and social restrictions. It is this pursuit of independence which causes man (considered primarily as the working masses) to become the driving force of history, which manifests as class struggle in class society. Furthermore, the Juche idea emphasizes that an attitude which centers the interests of man should be adopted in man's activities, and asserts that man's consciousness of his role in transforming the world should be enhanced.

Concepts

Man-centered philosophy

As Kim Jong Il describes, the centering of man and man's interests is what characterizes the Juche idea's usefulness for enhancing man's active transformation of the world: "By casting a new light on the outlook of the world, on the viewpoint and attitude towards the world, with man as the main consideration, the Juche philosophy provided the working class and other working masses with a powerful weapon to transform the world and shape their own destiny."

Man as a social being

Within Juche, "man" is considered primarily as the social collective of the working masses, rather than purely as individual, biological man. In the context of Juche, the popular masses are not determined by their class background, only by their ideological basis. The category of "man" in Juche excludes the reactionary exploiter class.

The Juche idea concerns itself with defining humans as social beings who possess creativity, consciousness, and independence. According to the Juche idea, these three qualities are what enable human beings to approach the world "not fatalistically but revolutionarily, not passively but actively, and to reshape the world not blindly but purposefully and consciously." Juche further asserts that it is correct for human beings to consciously transform nature and society in ways that benefit them, while also acknowledging the material limits and objective laws of reality. Kim Jong-Il said in regard to this that the Juche viewpoint and attitude are revolutionary because they enable people to transform the world "with a high degree of awareness that they are masters of the world and their own destiny."

Importantly, these qualities of man are considered not to be purely natural, but rather are characteristics of social man, brought out in man by his existence within a social context. Although Juche acknowledges the biological nature of human beings, "man" as discussed within Juche refers to man within the context of social relations.

Independence

In Juche philosophy, independence is considered to be one of the qualities of man. In Juche, independence is considered to be the most important attribute that defines what kind of being man is. It is described as "a quality of man to remove the restrictions of nature, oppose all manner of subjugation in society and make everything serve him."

In Man's Destiny and Juche Idea, an explanation is given which describes that man's demand for independence is more precious than physical life, and that man's display of creativity and consciousness are for the sake of independence: "If man loses independence and lives at others’ beck and call, he is alive physically but he is dead as a social being. Man’s display of creativity and consciousness is not for the sake of themselves but for the sake of independence. History has recorded lots of people who dedicated their lives to the fight against tyranny and oppression, a demonstration that independence is more precious than physical life."

Juche philosophy considers independence to be the "life and soul" of man because man's socio-political integrity can be maintained only with independence. As Exposition of the Principles of Juche Idea states, "if man is subjugated by others without independence, he is as same as the dead, though he is in life. Independence, therefore, is the life and soul of man." Juche Idea: Answers to Hundred Questions explains: "The physical life is what keeps man alive as a biological organism, whereas the social and political integrity is what keeps him alive as a social being."

The Korean Association of Social Scientists explains that because man has independence "as his life and soul," independence therefore "becomes life and soul of a country and nation, the people’s collective." Following this, if the people’s independence is to be realized, it is important to first realize independence of a country and nation, "the basic unit of carving out destiny."

Man as master

One of the starting points of the Juche idea is that the master of the revolution is the popular masses, and that the revolution can emerge victorious when they are educated, organized and mobilized.

The concept of man as master of everything means that man dominates the world in accordance with his will and demand. In the Juche philosophy, the concept master "indicates whether the world dominates man or man dominates the world in accordance with his will and demand. In other words, the concept master contains the philosophical meaning of whether man is in the position of dominating the world or being dominated by the world."

This assertion is made in contrast to the view that man is a "powerless" being dominated by instinct, isolated from the world and with no social character, a view described by Kim Jong Il as a reactionary and bourgeois philosophy which "negates a scientific understanding of the world and revolutionary changes, inspires sorrow, pessimism and ultra-egoism."

The term "domination" in Juche philosophy does not refer to oppressive domination such as class domination or colonial domination, but to "controlling and utilizing all objects of the world in keeping with man’s independent interests and demand". It refers to man's transformation of the world for it to serve him, as opposed to the concept that man serves the surrounding world.

As the work Exposition of the Principles of Juche Idea notes, it is incorrect to take a metaphysical view of how man dominates the world. The work explains that "it is wrong to understand in a metaphysical way that man dominates the world. At present, man does not dominate all things and phenomena in the world. The scope of man’s domination over the world is small in comparison with the vast scope of nature." The work goes on to note that society has objective laws that act independently of man's will, and it is only when man correctly understands and uses these laws that man can "dominate society according to his demand."

In Juche, references to "carving out destiny" refers to "the process of fulfilling the people’s basic aspiration and demand."

Relation to other philosophical ideas

Idealism and metaphysics

Juche holds it as fact that the world consists of material which moves and develops in accordance with its own laws, rather than consisting of consciousness or ideas. Exposition of the Principles of Juche Idea indicates that thanks to the scientific world outlook of Marxism, the exploited working masses "got free from religious illusion and idealistic fiction".

Juche philosophy emphasizes the importance of considering man as a social being living in social relations rather than purely as a biological being. As explained in Exposition of the Principles of Juche Idea, "the view that regarded man as the being dominated by instinct had been used for defending capitalist society where the law of jungle prevailed, causing corruption among the working masses." This purely biological characterization of man, which fails to distinguish man as existing within social relations or to identify social man's key traits as defined in Juche, is criticized because it can be used to "defend exploiter society governed by the law of the jungle", as well as potentially leading to racist theories and racial discrimination.

Dialectical materialism

Juche philosophy regards the dialectical materialist view as the scientific view of the material world. As Kim Jong Il has stated regarding this view:

It has already been established by materialistic dialectic that the world consists of material, not consciousness or ideas, and that it moves, changes and develops in accordance with its own laws, not by any supernatural force. It is an undeniable fact that the world is, in essence, a material entity, a material integrity, and that it moves, changes and develops in accordance with its inherent laws.

Exposition of the Principles of Juche Idea explains the influence of Marxism in freeing people from idealism and in instructing people to "understand and approach the world as it is" and to behave "according to the law of the change and development of the objective material world":

As a scientific world outlook that reflects the world as it is in an objective way, Marxist world outlook had big influence on the development of history and the shaping of people’s destiny. Thanks to Marxism, the exploited working masses got free from religious illusion and idealistic fiction and came to understand that their misfortunes come not from their fate or revelation of God but from the exploitation of the capitalist class and the capitalist system that defends it. And they were awakened that the way for happiness free from the exploitation and oppression is to fight against capital. It is the world outlook that instructs to understand and approach the world as it is, in other words, to behave according to the law of the change and development of the objective material world on the basis of its correct cognition.

Within Juche, it is considered that although this view provides a correct scientific understanding of the world, it does not inherently cause man to actively transform nature and society in accordance with his will or in accordance with man's interests. It is the Juche philosophy which asserts it is able to fulfill this task by emphasizing man's role in taking responsibility for shaping the world and asserting that the world should be shaped according to man's interests. Therefore, it is asserted that "in order to lead a true life, [man] must not only cognize the objective law and behave according to it but also transform nature and society in an active way on its basis. Dialectical materialism cannot enable people to fulfill the responsibility and role for their life. Moreover, it does not directly show the road of shaping man’s destiny. It is the man-centred world outlook that shows the road of shaping man’s destiny directly and scientifically."

The work Man's Destiny and Juche Idea summarizes the view held in Juche philosophy, which is that the Juche idea raises a separate question from what is dealt with by Marx: "As the origin of the world was explained materialistically by Marxism, the Juche idea newly raises the relationship between the world and man, the position and role of man in the world, as the fundamental question of philosophy and gives a scientific answer to it."

Marxism-Leninism

The Korean Association of Social Scientists (KASS) states that although the Juche idea is an idea connected with Marxism-Leninism, Juche is a new, original revolutionary idea which "gave answers to the demands of a historical age different from one of Marx and Lenin, and was evolved and systematized with its own peculiar principles." Kim Il-sung developed the ideology which was originally viewed as a variant of Marxism–Leninism until it became recognized as a theoretical advancement. Kim Jong-il officially broke the Marxist-Leninist continuity of Juche, claiming it to be something unique entirely. It incorporates the historical materialist ideas of Marxism–Leninism and strongly emphasizes the relationship between the individual, the nation state and its sovereignty.

Kim Jong-il states this about the unique Juche characteristic of Socialism in Korea and how it is not merely Marxism-Leninism,

"In the early years of revolutionary activity, the leader (Kim Il-Sung) was well versed in Marxism-Leninism. But he did not confine himself to applying Marxism-Leninism to the Korean Revolution but pioneered a new phase of revolutionary theory from a steadfast Juche-oriented standpoint and resolved the problems arising in the revolutionary practice from a unique angle."

Kim Jong-il stated that the historical achievements of Marxism-Leninism must be acknowledged but also states that it has limitations when it comes to the specifics of post-revolution socialist construction in the present day context, and states that, "the present historical condition is fundamentally different from what it was when the founders of Marxism-Leninism were active" and while Lenin certainly advanced Marxism, "is now clear to everybody that one cannot build socialism properly by drawing on a theory that was put forward based on prediction and supposition a century ago." Kim Jong-il adds,

"Although Marxism-Leninism has limitations and failed to clarify the specific ways for building socialism, those parties that are building socialism can prevent the degeneration of their class character if they correctly maintain the revolutionary principle of Marxism-Leninism [...] As for the mistakes revealed in socialist construction in some countries, their parties which allowed dogmatism and revisionism, not Marxism-Leninism and its founders, are to blame for them."

While the achievements of Marxism-Leninism are recognized in the Juche outlook, it is considered that Marxism-Leninism does not provide all the answers necessary for socialist construction in the modern conditions or the specific conditions of Korea, and that it is limited by its historical age.

The Juche idea must not be viewed as a simple inheritance and development of Marxism-Leninism; it must be viewed as a new and original idea. That we should see originality in context with derivations in understanding means that the Juche idea is not an ideology, which contrasts with Marxism-Leninism and that the historical achievements of Marxism-Leninism must be acknowledged. We acknowledge the historical achievements of the dialectical materialism of Marxism, as it smashed the reactionary idealistic and metaphysical outlook on the world, but do not view it as the perfect philosophy of the working class. We appraise the historical achievements of Marxism-Leninism as it proved the inevitability of the fall of capitalism and the triumph of socialism and clarified the and theory on building a classless ideal society free of exploitation and oppression, but we do not see it as a perfect communist revolutionary theory. As a matter of course we have so far not spoken much about the limitations of Marxism-Leninism. But today when its limitations are more and more evident, it is necessary to bring them home to our officials. Only then can they fully understand the originality and superiority of the Juche idea, the revolutionary idea of the leader, and make firmer their conviction of our style socialism based on the Juche idea. – Kim Jong-Il

Individualism vs. collectivism

In Juche, the individual's demand for independence is considered to be the demand of man as an equal member of the social collective rather than as a pure, isolated individual who exists outside of social relations.

The individual's demand for independence as described in Juche is considered to be fundamentally different from concepts such as "individualistic greed" or concepts found in existentialism, which is regarded as a bourgeois philosophy. Arguments centering on the isolated individual's autonomy and freedom of will is considered to be "sophism to rationalize individual egoism and liberalism and to defend capitalist system," as is described in the work Expositions of the Principles of Juche Idea. Such claims are described as "bourgeois self-indulgence with which one decides and behaves as he wishes according to his pure will, negating all effects of social environments."

In addition, Juche philosophy argues that the demands of an individual can be better realized only through collectivism, which is considered to be more capable of properly combining the demands of the individual and the collective, to realize the demands of both.

History

One of the major points emphasized in Juche is the concept of independence from great powers and the avoidance of sycophancy and extreme dependence on foreign powers. According to Kim Jong-Il, this ideological line is derived from the historical experience of Korea, which, in his words, has a "long history" of "worship of big countries", a result of Korea being "sandwiched between big countries". Kim Jong-Il describes this historical worship of big countries as an "ideological malady" that has "long caused harm to the liberation struggle, the communist movement and the construction of a new society." In order for Korea to put itself on a successful path to revolution, Kim Il-sung put forward a policy of rejecting "sycophancy and dogmatism" and establishing a Juche orientation for the revolutionary movement. This concept can be seen in DPRK's relationship to the strains of thought in the Soviet Union and in China. Although DPRK at times received help from each nation, the Juche idea was emphasized to avoid extreme dependence on either country's applications of Marxism-Leninism. This was to avoid dogmatic and mechanical application of their ideas and to prioritize the importance of focusing on the material conditions within Korea, centering Korean realities in their own revolution rather than simply following the ideas of others while neglecting to consider the specific situation of Korea.

In the foreword to the book Socialist Education in Korea, Derek Ford and Curry Malott contextualize the development of the Juche idea, describing its origins in the anti-Japanese struggle in Korea, and its further development in the context of the Sino-Soviet split. They write:

In response to those who wanted to build the anti-colonial struggle and the future independent Korea by relying on outside forces or self-styled leaders parroting theories from elsewhere, Kim Il-Sung formulated the slogan “The people are my God,” which encapsulates “the spirit of approaching everything with the masses of the people at the centre and boundlessly treasuring them.” As Kim Jong-Il recounts, Kim Il-Sung “clarified the truth that a revolution should be carried out not by anyone’s approval or instruction but by one’s own conviction and on one’s own responsibility that all problems arising in the revolution should be solved in an independent and creative way.” [...] By making Juche official policy, the WPK and state apparatuses fastened the country’s direction around “the principle of solving for oneself all the problems of the revolution and construction in conformity with the actual conditions of one’s country, mainly by one’s own efforts.” Juche was formulated against “dogmatism and flunkeyism towards great powers” as a dynamic doctrine organized around “independence in politics, self-sustenance in the economy, and self-defense in national defense.”

Providing context for the role of Juche in Korea in respect to the advances of Marxism-Leninism in the Soviet Union, Kim Jong-Il said in a 1990 speech:

In the past, many countries, while building socialism guided by Marxism-Leninism, applied the propositions of Marxism-Leninism advanced long before as they were, and imitated the Soviet experience in a mechanical manner. [...] As a matter of fact, we cannot deny the historic exploits and experience of the Soviet Union which built socialism for the first time in the world. However, the experience of the Soviet Union in socialist construction is, in every point, the reflection of the then historical conditions and the concrete situation of the Soviet Union. [...] In our country, once a backward, colonial semi-feudal society, we could not literally accept the Marxist theory which had been advanced on the premises of the socio-historical conditions of the developed European capitalist countries, or the Leninist theory presented in the situation of Russia where capitalism was developed to the secondary grade. We had had to find a solution to every problem arising in the revolution by racking our own brains and with our own efforts to suit our country’s socio-historical conditions. Immediately after liberation we started building a new society under the situation in which our country was divided into north and south and we were in direct confrontation with the US imperialists; this situation urgently required us to solve every problem from the standpoint of Juche. Such a requirement of the developing revolution was fulfilled satisfactorily by the great leader who, on the basis of the Juche idea, put forward original lines and policies suited to our people’s aspirations and the specific situation of our country.

References