Study of the Juche Idea

A “New Year Gathering” to celebrate the 8th Congress of the Workers’ Party of Korea was held in Okinawa on January 9, 2021.

Being organized by the Okinawa Liaison Council for the Study of Kimilsung-Kimjongilism, it was attended by Juche idea researchers all over Japan from Hokkaido to Okinawa.

At the gathering, Dr. Ogami Ken-ichi, secretary general of the IIJI gave a lecture entitled “On the 8th Congress of the Workers’ Party of Korea” and made the following remarks:

The Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK) was set up by youth communists headed by President Kim Il Sung on October 10, 1945. Such a party as the WPK that has played a role as a motherly party in a brilliant manner for some 75 years since its foundation cannot be found anywhere.

The Constitution of the DPRK stipulates that the Party should play a leading role over the state.

The guiding ideology of the WPK is the Juche idea, which is inseparably linked with the political qualities of the party’s leader.

The supreme leaders of the WPK were elected President Kim Il Sung, General Secretary Kim Jong Il, and then Chairman Kim Jong Un up to its 8th Congress. With his life motto that people are my God, President Kim Il Sung founded the Juche idea and conducted the revolution and construction while relying on their strength as the masters of the revolution and construction.

General Secretary Kim Jong Il devoted his all to the realization of the thought and leadership of President Kim Il Sung, while formalizing his thought to be Kimilsungism with the Juche idea as the quintessence, as an integral system of theory and method based on the Juche idea.

Then, Chairman Kim Jong Un formalized the thoughts of President Kim Il Sung and General Secretary Kim Jong Il to be Kimilsung-Kimjongilism, while clarifying the people-first principle as the essence of this ideology and has conducted politics that realizes the independence of the people thoroughly.

8th Congress of the WPK seems to be held for several days from January 5, 2021 in five years from its 7th Congress.

In his opening speech at the 8th Congress of the WPK, Chairman Kim Jong Un revealed that the success in the Congress was guaranteed through the preparations for making it a congress to that for work, struggle and progress.

Chairman Kim Jong Un made a report to the Congress with the following four systems: 1. Achievements Made in the Period under Review; 2. For an Epoch-making Advance in Socialist Construction; 3. For Independent Reunification of the Country and Development of External Relations; 4. For Development of Party Work.

The report to the 8th Congress of the WPK made by Chairman Kim Jong Un assumes the following important characteristics.

Firstly, he considered the outcome of its work during the period under review in view of internal factors. Regarding the five-year strategy for national economic development decided at the 7th Congress of the WPK, Chairman Kim Jong Un mentioned that many sectors had failed to achieve their goals and that there were external and internal factors that hindered progress, and then gave an analysis to the internal factors. In other words, such an attitude as to find the cause of the problem in the subjective side, and then try to find the method of solution by relying on the people would be the Juche-oriented one that could be a guarantee for attaining the final victory.

Secondly, he reviewed that the success has been attained as a result that while adhering to Kimilsung-Kimjongilism as its guiding ideology and conducted its work, the WPK made it possible to unite the party and the people in an organic manner and allow the people to display their great strength.

Chairman Kim Jong Un summed up that “Everything for the people and everything by relying on them!” was the core of the guiding idea to which the Party Central Committee held fast without any slightest concession during the period under review. He also said that the power of the politics based on the people-first principle of finding the motive force of the development of the revolution in the hearts of the people and arousing them to action was expressed in a concentrated way in enlisting to the maximum the spiritual strength and creatively of the people to deal with the difficulties and the change of the situation.

Chairman Kim Jong Un referred to his conviction in that it is a philosophy proved once again in the period under review that it is possible to tackle any unfavorable subjective and objective factors and easily carry out the huge tasks for the socialist construction despite any grave situation, manifold trials and latent shortcoming if the politics based on the people-first principle is thoroughly pursued.

He proudly summed up in such a way that although economic construction failed to hit the expected goals, a precious foundation for making sustained economic development by their own efforts was provided, and what they have achieved by their own efforts in the face of protracted wicked sanctions and blockade and awful disasters are the fruits of their strenuous exertion and development capacity, which are scores of times greater than any economic construction successes in normal time.

IIJI Secretary General Ogami Ken-ichi concluded his lecture by saying that the 8th Congress of the WPK engraved in the hearts of the world people the strength of the one-minded unity of Chairman Kim Jong Un, the Party and the people and the decisions made at the Congress would be vigorously carried out under the banner of the people-first principle, adding his determination to make a deeper study of the 8th Congress of the WPK onward in the future.

Shown at the New Year Gathering was a video filming a Seminar on the Juche Idea and Independence & Peace and Art Performances by the Keumgangsan Opera Troupe held in Tokyo on October 10, 2020 to celebrate the 75th founding anniversary of the WPK.

Party to Celebrate 8th Congress of WPK

After the “New Year Gathering”, a party to celebrate the 8th Congress of the Workers’ Party of Korea was held.

An opening address was made by Prof. Emeritus Taira Ken-ichi, who is deputy representative of the Okinawa Liaison Council for the Study of Kimilsung-Kimjongilism.

Prof. Taira Ken-ichi began by expressing his joy to be able to congratulate the birth anniversary of Chairman Kim Jong Un and then said as follows:

“Last year, the world was engulfed in the corona disaster, and there is still no sign of its cessation. There is a big difference in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic between the DPRK and Japan. The Suga administration that has taken the backseat to deal with this matter, is insisting that it should be solved by the effort of self-help or of mutual cooperation, that is to say that this matter should be solved within individuals’ capacity under their responsibility. But I believe that in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, public aid or the government responsibility is essential. In the DPRK, under the leadership of Chairman Kim Jong Un, the people are united and no one has been infected. Chairman Kim Jong Un who trusts in the people has called on them to put forward with quarantine and economic construction in a splendid manner. Chairman Kim Jong Un and the people are united by the Juche idea and fully determined to overcome the corona disaster. The Juche idea will be highlighted more and more when each country is required to set up a new policy that can foresee the post-corona situation.

Prof. Emeritus Nakamura Houshin at Okinawa University made an address when he was requested to give a toast to the birth anniversary of Chairman Kim Jong Un and the success in the 8th Congress of the WPK.

He said: “I have been deeply impressed by the video-delivered messages sent by Juche idea researchers from various countries of the world that were shown at the ‘Seminar on Juche Idea and Independence & Peace’ in Tokyo to celebrate the 75th founding anniversary of the WPK. They gave me courage with the information about how the Juche idea has been studied and disseminated enthusiastically in individual countries of the world. Let us promote the study and dissemination of the Juche idea actively to realize independence and peace while in support of the independent reunification of Korea.”

Performed in the party were traditional dances from Yaeyama in Okinawa by Ms. Tajima Michiko, heading a dancing institute entitled “Michi (Tr.: Road),” and Japanese and Korean Songs sung by Ms. Tooyama Yoko, singer, who is also coordinator of the Toukai Liaison Council for the Study of Kimilsung-Kimjongilism.

Saying that she would sing songs with her feelings that it would be possible to carve out our future, being determined to do so with our own effort and faith in it, Ms. Tooyama Yoko entertained the venue with songs of her original numbers, of Okinawa and of Korea.

Thus, the New Year Gathering that was held to celebrate the historic 8th Congress of the WPK at the beginning of the year 2021, went well as being a gathering that enabled nationwide Juche idea researchers to strengthen their faith in Kimilsung-Kimjongilism and made them determined to work harder to promote the study and dissemination of the ideology, while being more united.