Busting the many myths of North Korea, from Juche to Kim Jong Il’s Russian name

Busting the many myths of North Korea, from Juche to Kim Jong Il’s Russian name

North Korea is drowning in myths. Some are crafted by its own propaganda machine, others happily recycled by scholars, journalists and internet know-it-alls who really should know better. Perhaps the biggest myth is that Juche is some mystical word meaning “self-reliance,” a pervasive misconception that stems from both Kim Il Sung’s ignorance of German philosophy […]