Juche calendar

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.

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 Juche calendar.

The calendar began to be implemented on 9 September 1997, the Day of the Foundation of the Republic. On that date, newspapers, news agencies, radio stations, public transport, and birth certificates began to use Juche years. The Gregorian calendar was used alongside the Juche calendar until 2022.

Relinquishment

North Korea began phasing out the Juche calendar in October 2024, as Rodong Sinmun stopped using the Juche calendar in favor of the Gregorian calendar. Official calendars for the year 2025, released on 1 January, replaced what would have been Juche 114 with 2025 instead. It is believed that the Juche calendar's abandonment is intended to de-emphasize the cult of personality around the founder of North Korea, Kim Il Sung, in order to strengthen that of Kim Jong Un.