English corner (英语角) 2006
Sanya (三亚市), China (中国）
Text N'2
The Juche Idea (approximately "joo-chey") is the official state ideology of North Korea and the political system based on it. Kim Jong-il has explained that the doctrine is a component part of Kimilsungism, after its founder Kim Il-sung. The core principle of the Juche ideology since the 1970s has been that "man is the master of everything and decides everything". The official biography Kim Il Sung by Baik Bong had previously described this as saying that the masters of the North Korean revolution are the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) and the Korean people, who must remake themselves, under its leadership. Juche literally means "main body" or "subject"; it has also been translated in North Korean sources as "independent stand" and the "spirit of self-reliance".
Kim Il-sung advanced Juche as a slogan in a December 28, 1955, speech titled "On Eliminating Dogmatism and Formalism and Establishing Juche in Ideological Work" in rejection of the policy of de-Stalinization (bureaucratic self-reform) in the Soviet Union. The Juche Idea itself gradually emerged as a systematic ideological doctrine under the political pressures of the Sino-Soviet split in the 1960s. The word "Juche" also began to appear in untranslated form in English-language North Korean works from around 1965. Kim Il-sung outlined the three fundamental principles of Juche in his April 14, 1965, speech “On Socialist Construction and the South Korean Revolution in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea”. The principles are "independence in politics" (chaju), "self-sustenance in the economy" (charip) and "self-defence in national defence" (chawi). Current North Korean leader Kim Jong-il officially authored the definitive statement on Juche in a 1982 document titled On the Juche Idea. He has final authority over the interpretation of the state ideology and incorporated the Songun (army-first) policy into it in 1996. In its theoretical composition, the Juche Idea is an amalgam of Neo-Confucianism, Soviet Stalinism and Maoism.
According to Kim Jong-il's On the Juche Idea, the application of Juche in state policy entails the following: (1) The people must have independence (chajusong) in thought and politics, economic self-sufficiency, and self-reliance in defense; (2) Policy must reflect the will and aspirations of the masses and employ them fully in revolution and construction; (3) Methods of revolution and construction must be suitable to the situation of the country; (4) The most important work of revolution and construction is molding people ideologically as communists and mobilizing them to constructive action. The Juche outlook also requires absolute loyalty to the party and leader. In North Korea, these are the Workers' Party of Korea and Kim Jong-il.
During the Cold War, North Korea promoted Juche and the principle of "self-reliance" as a guide for other countries, particularly third world countries, to build socialism. Indonesian president Sukarno visited North Korea in 1964 and attempted to implement the North Korean economic program in his country, but it resulted in failure. Romanian president Nicolae Ceausescu was impressed by ideological mobilization and mass adulation in North Korea during his Asia visit in 1971. There is a possibility that Ceausescuism and its policy of systematization has some roots in Juche.
Another possible application of Juche outside North Korea is in the case of the Pol Pot regime in Democratic Kampuchea (Cambodia). North Korea and Kampuchea were close allies and Kim Il-sung had promised in 1975 to send aid experts and technicians to help with agricultural and hydroelectric projects in the country. Pol Pot may have based his policy of ethnic and ideological purity in Kampuchea on the Juche doctrine. North Korea has no national minority policy. This stands in contrast to the existence of minority policies in the Soviet Union, Eastern Bloc, and China.
The North Korean government hosted its first international seminar on the Juche Idea in September 1977. Juche study groups exist in several countries around the world. The Korean Central News Agency and the Voice of Korea sometimes refer to statements by these groups. The International Institute of the Juche Idea in Japan and the Korean Friendship Association in Spain are two of the most prominent of these groups.
The North Korean government and associated organisations use a variation of the Gregorian calendar with a Juche year based on April 15, 1912 A.D., the date of birth of Kim Il-sung, as year 1. There is no Juche year 0. The calendar was introduced in 1997. Months are unchanged from those in the standard Gregorian calendar. In many instances, the Juche year is given after the A.D. year, for example, 27 June 2005 Juche 94. But in North Korean publications, the Juche year is usually placed before the corresponding A.D. year, as in Juche 94 (2005). Calendar schemes based on political era are also found in the Japanese era name (Nengo) system and in the Minguo year numbering system used in the "Republic of China" (Taiwan), though these are not based on the birth of an individual as in the Gregorian and Juche. calendars.
NEW AND/OR SPECIFIC WORDS:
ideology 意识形态
doctrine 教条, 学说
principle 法则, 原则, 原理
biography 传记
reliance 信任, 信心, 依靠, 依靠的人或物
component 成分
slogan 口号, 标语
eliminate 除去
formalism 拘泥形式, (艺术或宗教上的)形式主义, 虚礼
statement 声明, 陈述, 综述
prominent 卓越的, 显著的, 突出的
variation 变更, 变化, 变异, 变种, [音]变奏, 变调
Gregorian calendar 公历，阳历，格列高利历
scheme 安排, 配置, 计划, 阴谋, 方案, 图解, 摘要
regime 政体, 政权, 政权制度
hydroelectric 水力电气的
self-sufficiency ( "SELF" + 充足, 自满, 足量)
aspiration 热望, 渴望
outline 大纲, 轮廓, 略图, 外形, 要点, 概要
sustenance 食物, 生计, (受)支持
amalgam [采矿]汞合金, 汞齐
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Topic: English corner (英语角) 2006 (Read 447 times)