CORE Metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk Provided by Calhoun, Institutional Archive of the Naval Postgraduate School Calhoun: The NPS Institutional Archive Theses and Dissertations Thesis Collection 2008-06 North Korea's Juche ideology and the German re-unification experience Juetten, Stephan A. Monterey, California. Naval Postgraduate School http://hdl.handle.net/10945/4122 NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA THESIS NORTH KOREA'S JUCHE IDEOLOGY AND THE GERMAN RE-UNIFICATION EXPERIENCE by Stephan A. Juetten June 2008 Thesis Co-Advisors: David S. Yost Edward A. Olsen Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE Form Approved OMB No. 0704-0188 Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 1 hour per response, including the time for reviewing instruction, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to Washington headquarters Services, Directorate for Information Operations and Reports, 1215 Jefferson Davis Highway, Suite 1204, Arlington, VA 22202-4302, and to the Office of Management and Budget, Paperwork Reduction Project (0704-0188) Washington DC 20503. 1. AGENCY USE ONLY (Leave blank) 2. REPORT DATE 3. REPORT TYPE AND DATES COVERED June 2008 Master’s Thesis 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE 5. FUNDING NUMBERS North Korea's Juche Ideology and the German Re-Uunification Experience 6. AUTHOR(S) Stephan A. Juetten 7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 8. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION Naval Postgraduate School REPORT NUMBER Monterey, CA 93943-5000 9. SPONSORING /MONITORING AGENCY NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 10. SPONSORING/MONITORING N/A AGENCY REPORT NUMBER 11. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES The views expressed in this thesis are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of the Department of Defense or the U.S. Government. 12a. DISTRIBUTION / AVAILABILITY STATEMENT 12b. DISTRIBUTION CODE Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited A 13. ABSTRACT (maximum 200 words) This thesis analyzes potential socio-cultural discord upon eventual Korean national reunification, owing to the predominance of the cultic state ideology of Juche in North Korea. Juche has become the fundamental framework of orientation for North Koreans. The hypothesis investigated is that, upon eventual Korean reunification, significant problems of national social cohesion, at least as serious as those faced by the reunified Germany since 1990, should be expected. To this day — nearly two decades, and an estimated €1.5 trillion after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 — reunified Germany is recurrently affected by socio-cultural conflicts, based on ingrained values, past ideological conditioning, and resulting emotional ties and behavior patterns of the former East and West German societies. Juche could foster similar or graver phenomena in a reunified Korean society, manifest in mutual and estranging grievances, ultimately impeding successful reunification. However, the Kim dynasty’s established virtuosity in adapting and developing Juche might in some circumstances combine with Juche elements of potential appeal to both Korean societies, such as national self-reliance. Instead of constituting an ideological barrier, Juche’s pan-Korean components might hypothetically be transformed into a common ground to alleviate societal conflict and eventually facilitate Korean national reunification. 14. SUBJECT TERMS Juche, Chu-ch’e, Utopian Idea, Ideology, Cult, Fundamentalism, Kim 15. NUMBER OF Dynasty, Kim Cult, Kim Il-sung, Kim Jong-il, North Korea, South Korea, ROK, DPRK, East- PAGES Germany, West-Germany, FRG, GDR, Re-unification, Socio-Cultural Re-Unification, Unification 124 Crisis, Wall Inside The Minds, Ideological Barrier 16. PRICE CODE 17. SECURITY 18. SECURITY 19. SECURITY 20. LIMITATION OF CLASSIFICATION OF CLASSIFICATION OF THIS CLASSIFICATION OF ABSTRACT REPORT PAGE ABSTRACT Unclassified Unclassified Unclassified UU i THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK ii Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited NORTH KOREA’S JUCHE IDEOLOGY AND THE GERMAN RE-UNIFICATION EXPERIENCE Stephan A. Juetten Commander, German Navy Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS IN SECURITY STUDIES (FAR EAST, SOUTHEAST ASIA, AND PACIFIC) from the NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL June 2008 Author: Stephan A. Juetten Approved by: David S. Yost, Ph.D. Thesis Co-Advisor Edward A. Olsen, Ph.D. Thesis Co-Advisor Harold A. Trinkunas, Ph.D. Chairman, Department of National Security Affairs iii THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK iv ABSTRACT This thesis analyzes potential socio-cultural discord upon eventual Korean national reunification, owing to the predominance of the cultic state ideology of Juche in North Korea. Juche has become the fundamental framework of orientation for North Koreans. The hypothesis investigated is that, upon eventual Korean reunification, significant problems of national social cohesion, at least as serious as those faced by the reunified Germany since 1990, should be expected. To this day — nearly two decades, and an estimated €1.5 trillion after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 — reunified Germany is recurrently affected by socio-cultural conflicts, based on ingrained values, past ideological conditioning, and resulting emotional ties and behavior patterns of the former East and West German societies. Juche could foster similar or graver phenomena in a reunified Korean society, manifest in mutual and estranging grievances, ultimately impeding successful reunification. However, the Kim dynasty’s established virtuosity in adapting and developing Juche might in some circumstances combine with Juche elements of potential appeal to both Korean societies, such as national self-reliance. Instead of constituting an ideological barrier, Juche’s pan-Korean components might hypothetically be transformed into a common ground to alleviate societal conflict and eventually facilitate Korean national reunification. v THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK vi TABLE OF CONTENTS I. JUCHE: A FUNDAMENTAL FRAMEWORK OF ORIENTATION THAT MAY AFFECT KOREAN NATIONAL REUNIFICATION..................................1 A. PURPOSE.........................................................................................................1 B. IMPORTANCE................................................................................................1 1. The Wall Inside The Minds: The German Paradigm of National Unity ......................................................................................1 2. Literature Review ................................................................................2 a. Juche: History, Theory, Practice, and Future.........................2 b. Juche: Ideological Barrier or Unifying Ideology – Implications for Eventual Korean Reunification ....................5 c. How Individuals Find Meaning — The Framework of People’s Orientation .................................................................7 C. METHODOLOGY AND SOURCES.............................................................8 1. Methodology .........................................................................................8 a. A Qualitative Analysis of Socio-Cultural Differences as Independent Variables for Successful Korean National Reunification.............................................................................8 2. Sources ..................................................................................................9 a. The Dilemma of Researching on the Hermit Kingdom...........9 II. JUCHE: UTOPIAN REVOLUTIONARY IDEA, SOCIALIST STATE IDEOLOGY, OR STATE RELIGION?..................................................................11 A. JUCHE — A UTOPIAN REVOLUTIONARY IDEA................................15 B. JUCHE — NORTH KOREA’S INDIGENOUS ADAPTATION AND IDEOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT OF MARXIST-LENINIST THEORY ........................................................................................................19 C. JUCHE – STATE RELIGION AND DEVOUT DYNASTIC CULT........24 D. CONCLUSION: JUCHE – A FUNDAMENTALIST STATE BELIEF-SYSTEM .........................................................................................34 III. THE COMPARATIVE GERMAN CASE: FROM EUPHORIA TO DISILLUSIONMENT? .............................................................................................39 A. HOW AND TO WHAT EXTENT HAS GERMAN SOCIO- CULTURAL REUNIFICATION BEEN ACHIEVED?.............................41 B. OBSTACLES, DRIVERS, AND THEIR LIMITATIONS TOWARDS AN INNER UNITY AND A SOCIO-CULTURAL COHERENCE OF THE TWO PREVIOUSLY DIVIDED GERMAN SOCIETIES...............42 C. “UNIFICATION CRISIS” AND THE “WALL INSIDE THE MINDS” — ROOTS AND EFFECTS .........................................................44 D. CONCLUSION: HOW AND TO WHAT EXTENT HAS GERMAN SOCIO-CULTURAL UNIFICATION BEEN ACHIEVED AND WHAT ARE ITS FUTURE PROSPECTS?................................................54 vii IV. THE RELEVANCE OF GERMANY’S RE-UNIFICATION EXPERIENCE FOR THE TWO KOREAS.......................................................................................57 A. THE BASIS OF NORTH KOREA’S SOCIETAL ORGANIZATION ....58 B. NORTH KOREAN CLASS BACKGROUND AND LOYALTY TO THE KIM CULT............................................................................................59