The Juche is the official ideology of North Korea. Developed by the “Great Leader” Kim Il Sung, it is a set of communism, patriotism, national independence guaranteed by a strong military apparatus. It establishes the indissoluble unity between the army, the Party, the State and the People.
Interesting, to better understand, to know what differentiates the Juche ideology with the Marxism-Leninism. A Russian professor of Marxism responds that Marxism-Leninism focuses on the economy, Juche puts man at the center: the Juche identifies the Korean masses as the builders of the development of the nation, because “man is the master of everything and decides everything.”
No wonder that the Juche Tower is the most sacred monument in Pyongyang with the mausoleum of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il. Completed in 1982, the tower stands on the bank of the Taedong River and is located directly opposite the main square in Pyongyang (Kim Il-sung square) located on the opposite bank. The monument, designed by Kim Jong Il, was erected to commemorate the 70th birthday of Kim Il-sung. It’s high a total of 170 meters and consists of a 150 meters spire by 25.550 granite blocks (365 × 70 = one for each day of the life of Kim Il Sung until his 70th birthday).
In front of the tower there is a statue of 30 meters depicting three people: one with a hammer, one with a sickle and one with a calligraphy brush to represent the categories of workers, peasants and intellectuals. The three tools form the emblem of the Korean Workers’ Party. The emphasis on education is derived from the Lenin’s concept that illiterate workers and peasants are unreliable and unable to political struggle.
At 10 PM the lights of all the palaces and monuments in Pyongyang are switched off, with one exception: the tower torch is always on, visible to all from anywhere in the city. Red, very red.
Source: Parma Daily