The North Korean Juche Calendar

By the end of this episode, you will be able to answer three main questions. How does the Kim dynasty keep such absolute control? What exactly is the Songbun system? And why is the D-M-Z the most heavily fortified border on the planet? Welcome to PodThis and Study Session.

We're starting with the founding of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. This provides the political framework for the modern state. The country was established in nineteen forty-eight by Kim Il-sung. He founded a totalitarian dynasty that has held power for over seventy years. This means the leadership stays within the same family. It passes from father to son across three generations. To emphasize the importance of the founder, North Korea uses a specific dating system called the Juche calendar. Most of the world uses the Gregorian calendar, but this system begins in nineteen twelve. That year marks the birth of Kim Il-sung. Under this system, the year twenty twenty-four is officially recorded as Juche one hundred thirteen. The regime maintains absolute control through a system of collective responsibility. This is known as yeon-jwa-je, or the Three Generations of Punishment rule. If someone is accused of a serious political crime, the state holds their entire family accountable. This includes the offender, their parents, and their children. Human rights observers say the goal of this policy is to eliminate any potential for future opposition within a family line. Those affected by this rule are often sent to Kwalliso. These are political prison camps located in remote, mountainous areas of the country. Families in these camps are isolated from the rest of society, often for the rest of their lives. This system ensures that the actions of one person have severe, lasting consequences for their entire bloodline. By punishing multiple generations, the state creates a powerful deterrent against any form of political dissent.

Juche ideology is the guiding philosophy of the state. It provides the intellectual framework for the leadership that was established when the nation was first founded. Juche is the official ideology of North Korea. It translates roughly to self-reliance. This principle is used to justify why the country is isolated from the rest of the world. It also provides the basis for centralized control over the economy. That means the government makes every decision about production and distribution. How does a government maintain such absolute control over its people? The state enforces this through the Songbun system. Songbun is a social credit system that was introduced in the late nineteen-fifties. It categorizes every citizen into three broad classes. These classes are the loyal, the wavering, and the hostile. Within those three groups, there are fifty-one specific sub-categories. Your classification depends on your family's political history. It also depends on how loyal the regime thinks you are. The loyal class consists of people with a specific history. Their ancestors fought alongside the national leadership. The wavering class includes people who are seen as neutral. The hostile class includes descendants of perceived enemies. These were people who opposed the regime in the past. Can you imagine your career being decided by the political choices your grandfather made? This system dictates almost every aspect of your life. It determines your access to food rations and housing. It also controls your education. For example, a student from the loyal class might attend a top university. Someone in the hostile class might be assigned to manual labor instead. Records of your Songbun are kept by the state. These files are nearly impossible to change. Question. What year does the Juche calendar use as its starting point, and why? Answer. It begins in 1912 to mark the birth of the nation's founder, Kim Il-sung.

North Korea's image is defined by its military growth and its international relations. The state is driven by a need for self-reliance through physical defense. The Demilitarized Zone, which most people call the D-M-Z, is a strip of land two hundred and fifty kilometers long and four kilometers wide. It separates North and South Korea. This buffer zone was established after the Korean War to prevent more fighting. Even with a name like that, the D-M-Z is actually the most heavily fortified border on the planet. There are an estimated two million landmines buried throughout this thin stretch of land. These explosives make the area almost impossible to cross on foot. About one million soldiers are stationed on both sides of the line at all times. This high concentration of troops keeps the two nations in a constant state of military tension. Inside the D-M-Z, the government built a specific site called Kijong-dong during the nineteen-fifties. Historical accounts say the government designed it as a propaganda village. It was built to look like a place of luxury and comfort. The goal was to entice defectors from the South to cross over. To someone watching from a distance, the town looks like a modern and successful community. But if you look through a telescope, you can see that Kijong-dong is really a ghost city. The buildings are painted in bright colors, but they don't have any floors or window glass. Automated lights turn on and off at scheduled times just to mimic human activity. These structures don't house any residents. They are empty shells meant to project an image of wealth to the outside world. This architecture shows how the country manages its relations through both physical force and visual perception. Question. What are the three broad classes that citizens are divided into under the Songbun system? Answer. The three classes are 'loyal', 'wavering', and 'hostile'.

The recap quiz starts now. Try to answer each question in your head before the answer is revealed. This exercise tests your knowledge of the internal systems and ideology of the state. Take a moment to think through each point as it comes up. Question. What calendar system does North Korea use instead of the Gregorian calendar? Answer. The state uses the Juche calendar. This system counts years starting from 1912 instead of using traditional dates. Question. What is the yeon-jwa-je policy regarding political crimes? Answer. This is the Three Generations of Punishment rule. An offender's parents and children are imprisoned along with them. Question. What does the state ideology of Juche translate to? Answer. The term translates to self-reliance. Question. How does the Songbun system determine a citizen's access to food, housing, and education? Answer. It categorizes citizens based on their family's political history. It also evaluates their perceived level of loyalty to the regime. Question. What is the true nature of Kijong-dong, the brightly painted village in the Demilitarized Zone? Answer. It is a propaganda village, often called a ghost city. The buildings have no actual residents and lack interior floors.

How many of five? Replay the chapter for each one you missed.