Juche Idea and Kim Jong Il

The Juche idea that was authored by President Kim Il Sung of Korea and is acknowledged worldwide as a guiding ideology for the cause of independence of mankind is unthinkable apart from Kim Jong Il as well.

Declaration of history

Kim Jong Il who was endowed with extraordinary ideological and theoretical wisdom analyzed and reviewed comprehensively the 100-year history of the preceding working-class ideologies for over three years in the latter half of the 1960s. In the course of this he came to the conclusion that the preceding ideologies could not give correct answers to the theoretical and practical problems arising in the present times and that Kim Il Sung’s revolutionary ideology, the Juche idea, could serve as the one and only guiding ideology in the present era of independence.

One day Kim Jong Il said to officials as follows: The only guiding ideology capable of leading mankind to socialism in the present times is the Juche idea created by President Kim Il Sung. It is axiomatic that the preceding ideologies of the working class or other kinds of ideology cannot solve the problems arising in the revolutionary practices of our contemporary era. The time has advanced and the reality changed. So, the world should be remodelled based on the revolutionary ideology of President Kim Il Sung and mankind is sure to achieve the victory of independent cause under the banner of his idea. This is the will of history which cannot be checked by anything.

In the concluding speech delivered at the National Training Course for Party Information Workers on February 19, 1974, Kim Jong Il formulated the revolutionary ideology of President Kim Il Sung as an integral system of idea, theory and method of Juche.

Kim Jong Il solemnly declared that Kim Il Sung’s revolutionary idea, the Juche idea, was the sole guiding ideology for the era of independence, and named this idea after the President, Kimilsungism, for it was a new, original idea which was inconceivable apart from him.

Immortal fundamentals

Kim Jong Il made public the treatise On the Juche Idea on March 31, 1982.

His treatise is very profound and massive in contents.

It is composed of five systems.the origin of the Juche idea, the philosophical, socio-historical and guiding principles and the historical significance of the Juche idea. It comprehensively delineates all the problems arising in accomplishing the cause of mankind for independence; it gives a full-scale account of human history and a summing-up of ideological heritage of mankind, defines the main trend of the times, and expounds the fundamental principles of Juche idea, the essential features of man, the man-oriented outlook, viewpoint and attitude to the world, the essence of society, the motive force of history, the essential features of socio-historical movement, the position and role of the leader in the revolutionary movement and the principles of maintaining an independent stand and applying creative methods, while giving priority to ideology in carrying out the revolution and construction.

No sooner had the treatise been made public than it created a world-wide sensation. It was carried in more than 10 million copies of publications in over 90 countries in less than a year and printed in book form in 144 countries.

Prominent figures of the world were unsparing with their praise, saying that it was a “new Communist Manifesto” and the “philosophy textbook providing an intelligent solution for human emancipation for the first time.”

Encyclopaedia of revolution and construction

Kim Jong Il developed in depth the Juche idea without letup through his energetic ideological and theoretical activities.

His ideological and theoretical activities covered extremely wide range. His works embrace all the fields and sectors of social life, including economic management, the work of the working people’s organizations, political economy, law, history, linguistics, education, public health, sports, construction, literature and art, as well as those on developing the Juche philosophy, building the Party, people’s government and the national defence.

He made public over 890 works from June 1964 to June 1994.

His works strike the people with admiration in terms of philosophical depth and profundity.

All his works are run through the principles of the Juche idea and requirements for their realization, and give perfect answers to all the theoretical and practical problems required by the times and the developing revolution.

It is by no means fortuitous that his works have been called the library and encyclopaedia of revolution and construction.

Kimilsungism-Kimjongilism

Kim Jong Il provided an invincible sword to carry out the cause of mankind’s independence by developing in depth the Songun idea which is rooted in the Juche idea.

At the end of the last century, the US-led imperialist allied forces, taking advantage of the collapse of socialism in the former Soviet Union and some other countries, unleashed an extreme offensive to stifle socialist Korea. At this critical juncture, he systematized in an all-round way the idea of attaching foremost importance to arms and military affairs that President Kim Il Sung had initiated based on the principle of the Juche idea, in line with the requirements of the times and the developing revolution and formulated the Songun idea, thus raising higher the banner of Songun. Kim Jong Il made public a number of works, including The Songun Politics of Our Party Is the Powerful Political Mode of Socialism and The Songun-based Revolutionary Line Is a Great Revolutionary Line of Our Era and an Ever-victorious Banner of Our Revolution. In his works he expounded in detail the philosophical foundations of the Songun idea, the principles and rules of the Songun revolution, and the theory of Songun politics, which are rooted in the Juche idea and embody its requirements comprehensively.

He put forward Songun politics as the basic political mode of socialism and overcame prevailing difficulties by dint of it, and thus brought about a brilliant victory in the grim struggle to defend socialism.

The Workers’ Party of Korea and the Korean people have also ushered in a new era of building a thriving socialist state under the banner of the Juche idea and the Songun idea.

It is quite natural that Korean people call the revolutionary ideas of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il after their august names, Kimilsungism-Kimjongilism, the unfurled banner they provided in accomplishing the cause of independence.