North Korean calendar

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea calendar, DPRK calendar, or Juche calendar (Korean pronunciation: [tɕutɕʰe]), named after the Juche ideology, is the system of year-numbering used in the North Korea.

A Juche calendar for Juche 99 (2010)

History

The calendar borrows elements from two historical calendars used in Korea, the traditional system of Korean era names and the Gregorian calendar in which years are tied to the traditional birth of Jesus. In contrast to these two, the Juche calendar begins with the birth of the founder of the Democratic People's Republic, Kim Il-sung.[1]

The decree on the Juche calendar was adopted on 8 July 1997, on the third anniversary of the death of Kim Il-sung. The same decree also designated the birth anniversary of Kim Il-sung as the Day of the Sun. The birth year of Kim Il-sung, 1912 in the Gregorian calendar, became "Juche 1" in the North Korean calendar.[2] Thus, the current year 2020 is "Juche 109", the next year 2021 will be "Juche 110", and so on.[3]

The calendar began to be implemented on 9 September 1997, the Day of the Foundation of the Republic.[2] On that date, newspapers, news agencies, radio stations, public transport, and birth certificates began to use Juche years.[4]

Usage

The year 1912 is "Juche 1" in the North Korean calendar. There are no "before Juche 1" years, and years before 1912 are given numbers based on the Christian calendar only. Ranges of years that begin before 1912 and end after it are also given in Christian calendar numbers only.[5]

Any other years after 1912 will be given in either Juche years only, or in Juche years and the corresponding year in the Christian calendar in parentheses. In material pertaining to relations with foreign countries, "the Juche Era and the Christian era may be used on the principles of independence, equality and reciprocity."[5]

Examples
Juche year Gregorian year Dangun year Event
1 1912 4245 Kim Il-sung's birth
31 1942 4275 Kim Jong-il's birth
37 1948 4281 North Korea founded
39–42 1950–1953 4283–4286 Korean War
71 1982 4315 Construction of the Juche Tower completed to commemorate Kim Il-sung's 70 years of life, Kim Jong-un's birth (North Korea records)
72 1983 4316 Kim Jong-un's birth (South Korea records)
83 1994 4327 Kim Il-Sung's death
86 1997 4330 Juche calendar introduced
100 2011 4344 Kim Jong-il's death
101 2012 4345 100 years after Kim Il-sung's birth
109 2020 4353 Current year
110 2021 4354 Next year

See also

References
  1. Andrew Logie (17 September 2012). The Answers: North Korea: How do you solve a problem like North Korea?. Marshall Cavendish International Asia Pte Ltd. p. 57. ISBN 978-981-4398-90-9.
  2. Hy-Sang Lee (2001). North Korea: A Strange Socialist Fortress. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 220. ISBN 978-0-275-96917-2.
  3. Martin K. Dimitrov (31 July 2013). Why Communism Did Not Collapse: Understanding Authoritarian Regime Resilience in Asia and Europe. Cambridge University Press. p. 104. ISBN 978-1-107-03553-9.
  4. "Juche era available in Korea". KCNA. 10 September 1997. Archived from the original on 3 June 2015. Retrieved 2016-08-15.
  5. "Rules on use of Juche Era adopted". KCNA. 25 August 1997. Archived from the original on 5 May 2015. Retrieved 31 August 2016.
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