In North Korea, they are at risk of not reaching 120 years. I know, that’s a strange statement, but if what we’re talking about is the “Juche” calendar, the year numbering system adopted at the end of the 20th century, it makes perfect sense. Pyongyang publicly saluted Kim Il-sung, founder of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) and grandfather of current leader Kim Jong-un. The government has been using it for almost three decades, but in recent days it has dropped a few hints that it has decided to at least push it to the background.

There are already those who interpret this as an attempt by Kim Jong-un to reaffirm himself as ruler of South Korea with a power not beholden to his predecessors.

What year are we in? If the question is asked in North Korea, the answer is “it depends.” It depends on whether we use the Gregorian calendar or not, in which case it would be correct to talk about the year 2024, just like Spain and most of the planet; or if it is the “Juche” calendar that we use as reference, this will force us to take out a few centuries and talk about “Juche 113”. It is not uncommon to see documents in North Korea that reference both. For example, today is written as “18 October 113 Juche (2024)”. It may seem strange, but there is an explanation.

Juche Tower, Pyongyang.

Salute to the “Eternal President”. Neither the name nor the beginning of the North Korean calendar is a coincidence. “Juche” is the common name for Kim Il-sung’s ideology, which dates back to the middle of the last century. In fact, it is also common to refer to it as “Korean-style socialism” or directly as “Il-sung’s thought”. Its importance lies largely in the fact that it is one of the ideological pillars on which the country’s current regime is built (and legitimized) and is marked by the cult of the leader.

Inside britannica They directly define it as the core official ideology of the Workers’ Party of Korea and the state philosophy of North Korea. Its capital is Kim Il-sung, the founder of the state and the “eternal president” of the country. This theoretical corpus was inherited by his son Kim Jong-il and now by his grandson Kim Jong-un. And this makes sense. This helped them strengthen their personal Kim dynasty cult and legitimize their own rule.

So why are we at 113? The answer is still the same: Kim Il-sung. Three years after his death, in 1997, it was decided to approve by decree a new calendar that would reference him… Him and what he meant. However, instead of starting in 1997, which would have placed us in the 1920s, it was decided to start the count from Il-sung’s birth at the beginning of the 20th century. Conclusion: The “Juche” calendar begins in 1912 according to the Gregorian calendar. This was his 1st year.

An oversight? Things continued like this for thirty years. Until this month. Yonhap news agency, headquartered in Seoul and one of South Korea’s most important news agencies, noticed a few details a few days ago. The first was that the date “juche” was not included in the statement issued by the North Korean institutional apparatus on Saturday and signed by the influential Kim Yo-jong, Kim Jong-un’s sister. The document states the year 2024. Without further ado. There is not even a trace of the old national calendar that honored his grandfather. This might just be carelessness, but…

…but the newspaper came. The next day, Sunday, something interesting happened again. Rodong Sinmun, The main newspaper of North Korea and the official newspaper of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea. Like Kim Yo-jong’s statement with his words, the newspaper’s copy also appeared without the date of the “Juche” calendar. The Yonha agency assures that from that day on, the official newspaper of the regime began to use only the Gregorian calendar.

Again, it may be a coincidence, but the truth is that at least the web version rodong It just continues to show the year 2024, and the change in both the paper and the Government statement seems to indicate a deliberate decision. On the 10th, a speech by Kim Jong-un was published, referring to the “Juche” year 113. Same as another statement from the State Department the next day. The same thing happened with the copy. Rodong Sinmun since last Saturday. In short: the change seems general, planned… and intentional.

Screenshot of Rodong newspaper website, dated 2024.

The issue is about sects. The South Korean agency goes further, quoting an official from the Ministry of Unification of the Republic who dared to read on the condition of anonymity what this apparent effort to reduce the visibility of the “Juche” calendar means. What is important, he says, is that the current North Korean leader wants to strengthen his unique and personal leadership. This means not relying solely on the legacy of his father and grandfather.

“This appears to be part of Kim Jong-un’s efforts to establish his own cult of independent personality, which has been evident since the beginning of this year,” he added. From their perspective, it is most likely that North Korea will not radically stop using the calendar, but will implement gradual changes.

This won’t be Kim Jong-un’s first act of self-affirmation. A few months ago he appeared in a song called ‘Friendly Father’, a tribute to himself, which soon went viral on TikTok, and this summer North Korean officials began to be seen wearing a badge with the (correct) Kim image on their suits. Jong-un a.

Beyond calendars and badges. few months ago New York Times South Korean analysts were quoted as applauding Kim Jong-un’s attempt to elevate the cult of his personality to levels hitherto reserved for his grandfather and father, who held the reins of the country until 2011. The current leader has also distanced himself from an old target. : Peaceful reunification of Korea.

In January, he shared his desire to remove the National Reunification monument erected by his father in the capital, calling it a “monstrosity.” Some warn the peninsula faces the “most dangerous” situation since 1950. Already tense relations between Pyongyang and Seoul have become even more strained in recent months, leading to more or less veiled threats and curious exchanges of balloons and drones.

Pictures | Trump White House Archived (Flickr), Roman Harak (Flickr) and 李卓霖 (Flickr)

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