Strong and Prosperous Nation
{{Short description|Political slogan in North Korea}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2024}}
{{Use shortened footnotes|date=September 2022}}
{{Infobox Korean name
| hangul = 강성대국
| hanja = 强盛大國
| rr = gangseongdaeguk
| mr = kangsŏngtaeguk
| koreanipa =
| context = north
| image =
| caption =
}}
{{Politics of North Korea}}
"Strong and Prosperous Nation" ({{Korean|hangul=강성대국|lit="powerful and great country"|context=north}}) is a political slogan in North Korea which originally described the main policy objective of the country's second supreme leader, Kim Jong Il.{{sfn|Lee|2012|p=4}} Kim Jong Il argued that the military-first policy of Songun was necessary to turn North Korea into a "strong and prosperous nation".{{sfn|Lee|2012|p=4}} He further argued that such a monumentous goal could only be achieved by strengthening the country's commitment to the core principles of Juche (i.e. self-reliance) in the areas of ideology, politics, economics, and defence.{{sfn|Kang|2004|pp=100–107}}
After Kim Jong-il's death on 17 December 2011, his son and successor Kim Jong Un repurposed the slogan to introduce new concepts into North Korean ideological discourse.{{sfn|Lee|2012|pp=4–5}} Kim Jong Un later declared 2012, the centennial of the birth of Kim Il Sung, as the "Year of the Strong and Prosperous Nation".{{sfn|Kim|2011}}
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Origins
Officially, the term "Strong and Prosperous Nation" first appeared as the title of a lengthy editorial published on 22 August 1998 in Rodong Sinmun, the newspaper of the Workers' Party of Korea.{{sfn|Lee|2012|p=8}} The article was heavily promoted to the North Korean public following the publication of another editorial on 9 September 1998, which celebrated the 50th anniversary of North Korea's founding.{{sfn|Lee|2012|p=8}}
South Korea's Ministry of Unification, however, notes that the term had been used prior to the August editorial's publication; its earliest recorded usage was on 8 April 1998, in a news segment by the North Korean state broadcaster KCBC.{{sfn|Ministry of Unification|2004|pp=34–35}} The following quote accompanied footage of Kim Jong Il providing "on-the-spot guidance" in Chagang Province in February 1998: "When the spirit of Kangson and the revolutionary spirit of Kanggye arise, the fatherland will become a strong and prosperous nation and exert its power throughout the world."{{sfn|Ministry of Unification|2004|pp=34–35}}
See also
References
= Citations =
{{Reflist}}
= Sources =
{{refbegin}}
- {{cite book |last=Kang |first=Sung-jong |date=19 February 2004 |script-title=ko:북한의 강성대국 건설전략 |trans-title=North Korea's Strategy to Build a Strong and Prosperous Nation |location=Seoul |publisher=Hanul Academy |isbn=9788946032132 |language=ko}}
- {{cite news |last1=Kim |first1=Jack |title="Great successor" poised to take over North Korea |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-korea-north-kim-idUSTRE7BQ0SZ20111227 |access-date=18 September 2022 |work=Reuters |date=27 December 2011 |language=en}}
- {{cite journal |last1=Lee |first1=Gi Dong |title=Evaluating Kim Jong Il's Seventeen-Year Regime: Focus on 'Strong and Prosperous Nation' |journal=Journal of Peace and Unification |date=2012 |volume=2 |issue=1 |pages=3–27 |url=https://kiss.kstudy.com/thesis/thesis-view.asp?key=3346642 |access-date=18 September 2022 |issn=2233-9671}}
- {{citation|script-title=ko:2004 북한개요|trans-title=2004 North Korea Overview|date=16 February 2004|publisher=Ministry of Unification|url=https://www.unikorea.go.kr/books/archive/archive/?boardId=bbs_0000000000000043&mode=view&cntId=19635|language=ko|ref={{harvid|Ministry of Unification|2004}}}}
{{refend}}