Mick Hartley

Last month North Korea abruptly abandoned its Juche calendar system:

North Korea appears to have discontinued the use of its Juche calendar system, a move that experts suggest reflects Kim Jong Un’s goal of reinforcing his legacy as leader.

The Juche calendar, which had been in use since 1997, designated 1912, the birth year of North Korea’s founder Kim Il Sung, as Juche 1. The system had been used alongside the Gregorian calendar in official North Korean documents and media for 27 years.

The Juche ideology, often translated as “self-reliance,” has been a cornerstone of North Korean state philosophy since its introduction by Kim Il Sung. 

References to the Juche year abruptly disappeared from a statement carried by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), from the sister of North’s leader Kim Yo Jong about threatening to “destroy’ Seoul on the evening of Oct. 12. The statement was released with only Gregorian style dates and  “Pyongyang” at the end.  

It may be part of the same ideological shift that now has South Korea as a hostile state, instead of Kim Il Sung's view that the two Koreas must eventually reunite. Again, a break from the Great Leader's legacy.

But it's not to be talked about. From the Daily NK:

North Korean authorities have arrested a woman for questioning the suspension of the “Juche” calendar system that honored founder Kim Il Sung. The incident in North Hwanghae province highlights growing but suppressed public concern over the policy shift.

The woman, identified only by her surname Choe, was widowed early and had formed close bonds with other widows in her neighborhood, according to a source in the province recently. She ran a shop in Rinsan county, and the informal group met monthly for dinner and conversation.

As trust grew within the group, the women began sharing private thoughts they wouldn’t express publicly. During a recent gathering, Choe remarked on the suspended Juche dating system, saying, “It’s odd that Kim Il Sung’s revolutionary deeds and achievements seem to be disappearing.”

Other women noted the system’s disappearance came without official explanation. One said, “The Juche dating system must have disappeared after some order from the central government, but people are suspicious because they don’t know why it’s gone.”

A woman helping in the kitchen reported the conversation to the Ministry of State Security.

Ah yes, there's always one, lurking in the background.

The ministry arrested Choe for initiating the discussion and questioned other group members around Oct. 20. Officials are treating the matter as political, accusing Choe of forming a “reactionary organization.”

Choe is undergoing a preliminary examination by state security officials. The source said she may avoid severe punishment because her son serves in Unit 974, the bodyguard unit protecting North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

The incident has intensified public questioning of the calendar system’s suspension. “As people learn about this, they say they too wonder why the Juche dating system disappeared,” the source said. “People think it’s even stranger that no explanation was given, and someone was arrested just for mentioning it.”

Strange is the least of it. There's already no culture in North Korea outside of Kim worship. At this rate it'll soon be illegal to even talk of anything but the glories of the great leader.