Juche

Juche
	Torch symbolizing Juche at the top of the Juche Tower in Pyongyang
Korean name
Chosŏn'gŭl	주체사상
Hancha	主體思想
Revised Romanization	Juche sasang
McCune–Reischauer	Chuch'e sasang
	Literally "subject idea"

Juche (English: /ˈdʒuːtʃeɪ/ ^ⓘ, JOO-chay; Korean: 주체; MR: Chuch'e; Korean: [tɕutɕʰe] ^ⓘ), officially the Juche idea, is the state ideology of North Korea and the official ideology of the Workers' Party of Korea. North Korean sources attribute its conceptualization to Kim Il Sung, the country's founder and first leader. Juche was originally regarded as a variant of Marxism–Leninism until Kim Jong Il, Kim Il Sung's son and successor, declared it a distinct ideology in the 1970s. Kim Jong Il further developed Juche in the 1980s and 1990s by making ideological breaks from Marxism–Leninism and increasing the importance of his father's ideas.

Juche incorporates the historical materialist ideas of Marxism–Leninism but also strongly emphasizes the individual, the nation state, and national sovereignty. Juche posits that a country will prosper once it has become self-reliant by achieving political, economic, and military independence. As Kim Jong Il emerged as Kim Il Sung's likely successor in the 1970s, loyalty to the leader was increasingly emphasized as an essential part of Juche, as expressed in the Ten Principles for the Establishment of a Monolithic Ideological System.

Juche has been variously described by critics as a quasi-religion, a nationalist or fascistic ideology, and a deviation from Marxism–Leninism.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]

^ Cite error: The named reference Armstrong 2012, p. 4 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference Kelly 2015 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference Fisher 2016 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Suh 1988, p. 309.

[Armstrong_2012,_p._4-1] Cite error: The named reference Armstrong 2012, p. 4 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[Kelly_2015-2] Cite error: The named reference Kelly 2015 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[Fisher_2016-3] Cite error: The named reference Fisher 2016 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[FOOTNOTESuh1988309-4] Suh 1988, p. 309.

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Korean name
Juche
Torch symbolizing Juche at the top of the Juche Tower in Pyongyang
Chosŏn'gŭl	주체 사상
Hancha	主體思想
Revised Romanization	Juche sasang
McCune–Reischauer	Chuch'e sasang
Literally "subject idea"