Juche idea

Juche ideology

Torch symbolizing the Juche ideology at the top of the Juche Tower in Pyongyang

lit. 'subject(ive) thought'

Juche (Korean: 주체, lit. 'subject'; Korean pronunciation: [tɕutɕʰe]), usually left untranslated, or translated as "self-reliance", is the official state ideology of North Korea, described by the government as Kim Il-sung's "original, brilliant and revolutionary contribution to national and international thought". It says that "man is the master of his destiny", that the North Korean masses are to act as the "masters of the revolution and construction", and that by becoming self-reliant and strong can a nation achieve true socialism.

Kim Il-sung (1912–1994) developed the ideology, originally viewed as a variant of Marxism–Leninism until it became distinctly "Korean" in character, whilst incorporating the historical materialist ideas of Marxism–Leninism and strongly emphasising the individual, the nation state and its sovereignty. Consequently, Juche was adopted into a set of principles that the North Korean government has used to justify its policy decisions from the 1950s onwards. Such principles include moving the nation towards claimed "jaju" (independence), through the construction of "jarip" (national economy) and an emphasis upon "jawi" (self-defence), in order to establish socialism.

The Juche ideology has been criticized by many scholars and observers as a mechanism for sustaining the dictatorial rule of the North Korean regime, and justifying the country's heavy-handed isolationism and oppression of the North Korean people. It has also been described as a form of Korean ethnic nationalism, but one which promotes the Kim family as the saviours of the "Korean Race" and acts as a foundation of the subsequent personality cult surrounding them.