First Primary Source Text for Core Principles of Juche Course

Study Juche

— 6 min read
First Primary Source Text for Core Principles of Juche Course

Hello comrades,

I am posting below the first primary source that will be used for the Core Principles of Juche course. We will read excerpts of this text, and a few others which I will post over the next few weeks, throughout the course; however, I highly recommend comrades do take the time to read the primary texts in their entirety. As always a recorded reading the the text will be made, but being that these are quite long texts compared to our regular readings they will be released as their own playlists on the YouTube channel over a series of a few days.

These videos will be a chance for the comrades who are assisting in editing the videos to now try some new things such as using footage from DPRK media sources, pictures, and other multimedia to make the videos more engaging. The program we have decided to use as our main editor is new to all of us so please enjoy some of the amateur editing fun while we learn the new tools.

I would like to say a few short words about this text entitled "On the Korean People's Struggle to Apply the Juche Idea" by comrade Kim Il Sung to give some context both historically and theoretically to help comrades orient themselves while working through the material. If you want to read to the text directly without any primer you can find it here.

This foundational text originates from a series of talks given by Kim Il Sung between June 30 and July 5, 1983, to a visiting delegation from the American Popular Revolutionary Alliance of Peru. Historically, it serves as both a retrospective and a theoretical guide, outlining how the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) developed and applied the Juche idea from the anti-Japanese armed struggle, through postwar reconstruction, and into the economic initiatives of the 1980s.

I urge comrades to read this text within its historical context, but to also question how that time mirrors the current global situation. Look towards the actions of Western Imperialist states and compare their action today with the past. Then, consider how the lessons taught to us by comrade Kim Il Sung could be applied in today's struggle against capitalism. As socialists, we must practise this active reading. We should not be merely reading a text to finish it, but to look for what knowledge we can draw from it, how we can apply that knowledge to our revolutionary context, and what is common to our conditions and different from our conditions relative to the period the text was written. This is how we can build Socialism for ourselves, and with the light of the Juche Idea to lead our way we can not fail!

Theoretical Reading Primer

For comrades studying the core principles of Juche, this text is invaluable as it clearly breaks down the practical applications of the Juche Idea and its evolution from the common Eurocentric Marxist models. As you read, pay close attention to the following key themes:

  • The Role of the Masses: The fundamental philosophical premise of Juche is that the masses of the people are the masters of their own destiny and the primary makers of history. The text emphasises that revolution cannot be imported or dictated by external forces; it must be waged by relying on the strength of the people.
  • Anti-Dogmatism and Self-Reliance: A significant portion of the text is dedicated to rejecting the "worship of big countries" and dogmatism. Kim Il Sung argues that Marxism cannot be mechanically copied, as every country possesses distinct material conditions. This translates into a push for strict self-reliance such as building an independent national economy, developing domestic agriculture (the Juche farming method), and training native cadres rather than relying on foreign powers.
  • The Three Revolutions: To capture what the text calls the "material and ideological fortresses" of communism, the DPRK outlines the necessity of the ideological, technological, and cultural revolutions. This includes remoulding people's ideological consciousness through organisational life and intellectualising the whole of society.
  • National Reunification: The document details the DPRK's stance against the division of Korea engineered by US imperialism or the "two Koreas" policy. It outlines the proposal for the Democratic Federal Republic of Koryo as a unified, neutral, and non-aligned state where the existing social systems of both the North and the South would remain intact.
  • Global Independence and South-South Cooperation: Finally, the text situates the Juche idea on an international scale. It advocates for global independence, urging newly independent Third World nations to achieve economic autonomy through mutual "South-South cooperation" through the sharing of agricultural, industrial, and defensive techniques rather than remaining economically subjugated to developed capitalist countries.

Historical Context

Comrades who have listened to the readings from the Collected works of Kim Il Sung (you can watch that playlist here) should have some historical context of the situation facing the early liberated Korea; however, some comrades may not have the historical context of the 1980s to understand what situation was facing the DPRK in that time since the winning of independence. This short historical primer seeks to give the comrades brief historical context, but it is not an exhaustive historical review of the conditions facing the DPRK at the time. Comrades are invited to do independent research into those conditions if they are so interested.

The Korean Peninsula and US Imperialism

From the DPRK's perspective, the primary historical conflict in 1983 was the ongoing division of the Korean peninsula by US forces.

  • Military Occupation: The US had been occupying South Korea for 38 years, maintaining a force of over 40,000 troops and deploying more than 1,000 nuclear weapons.
  • The "Two Koreas" Scheme: The US was actively attempting to permanently partition Korea into two separate nations, similar to the division of Germany. The DPRK fiercely opposed this, arguing that Korea, unlike Germany, was a victim of colonialism rather than an aggressor in World War II.
  • South Korean Resistance: South Korea was ruled by a "military fascist dictatorial regime" described as pro-American stooges. However, the DPRK observed a rapidly growing anti-US and anti-fascist movement among South Korean youth and students. The text specifically points to the May 1980 Kwangju Uprising, arguing that the US military directly orchestrated the brutal suppression of patriotic citizens.

Capitalist Economic Crisis and the Threat of War

The DPRK viewed the capitalist world, specifically the US, Japan, and Western Europe, as being trapped in a severe, chronic economic crisis.

  • Economic Decline: Capitalist nations were suffering from high unemployment, inflation, and severe shortages of fuel and raw materials in the 1980s.
  • US Aggression: Historically, imperialist nations used global wars to escape economic crises. The DPRK believed the US, under the Reagan administration, was intentionally following a "policy of confrontation" to manufacture a way out of its economic slump, thereby drastically increasing the danger of a new world war in regions like Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Southern Africa.

The Rise of the Third World and Latin America

A major counter-force to US imperialism at the time was the growing independence of newly liberated nations in Asia, Africa, and Latin America.

  • Post-Falklands Latin America: Following the Falkland Islands conflict, the DPRK noted a significant surge in anti-US sentiment and a desire for true independence across Latin American nations. The US was actively trying to maintain control by restricting Latin American agricultural development and forcing them to rely on American food imports.
  • Failure of the North-South Dialogue: The recent North-South Summit Conference in Cancun, Mexico, had failed because developed capitalist countries refused to agree to a new, fair international economic order.
  • South-South Cooperation: In response to this failure, the DPRK strongly advocated for "South-South cooperation" where they were urging Third World countries to share agricultural, industrial, and defense technologies with one another to achieve self-sufficiency and break free from imperialist economic shackles.

Shifting Dynamics in Europe

The DPRK also noted significant political shifts happening in Europe that challenged US hegemony.

  • Anti-Nuclear Movements: A massive "anti-war, anti-nuclear peace movement" was sweeping across Europe, actively protesting the production and deployment of neutron weapons.
  • Political Shifts: Socialist and Social Democratic parties were coming to power in various European countries, such as France, and were beginning to distance themselves from blindly following US foreign policy.

This reading will provide the essential theoretical groundwork for understanding how Juche transitioned from an anti-colonial survival strategy into a comprehensive state ideology.

I hope comrades have found this short primer useful, and are now eager to hear how the words of comrade Kim Il Sung address these issues directly in the primary source. I welcome all comrades who feel inclined to do so to sit down and write a short reflection after reading of how the ideas came across to them, how they see their situation in their country relative to the historical context facing the DPRK in the 1980's and today, and their understanding of how they could fit the comrades teachings into their own revolutionary struggle. Comrades who feel inclined to do such reflection are more than welcome to share their writings at contact@juche.study, and we will work to share them on the website after review.

Here is the link to the source material:

On the Korean People's Struggle to Apply the Juche Idea by comrade Kim Il Sung.