North Korea Demystified By Han S. Park

formed through a long process of common experience shared by a people within the salient context of geopolitical conditions and historical legacies. Therefore, it cannot be effectively created or discarded by a political system. In contrast, political culture is closer to ideology in that “it refers to all aspects of meaning, subjective or inter-subjective, related to politics.”¹ An ideology is also a system of norms, values, beliefs held by the people. Typically, it is related to the relationship between the government and the governed, and it often works as the basis of legitimacy. An ideology is created, not given, for political needs of the system. Accordingly, an ideology is created, altered, and can even be discarded by a regime or a political leader. Culture, as a salient force, precedes ideology in time. However, ideology does not develop in a cultural vacuum. The ideology of liberal democracy, on the one hand, evolved in the cultural context of Christianity. On the other hand, the ideology of Maoism emerged from cultural underpinnings of Confucianism. An important theorem in this regard is that when an ideology deviates from the cultural attributes of salient norms, values, and beliefs, it is destined to fail. Thus, when examining the viability of an ideology such as juche, one must begin by evaluating its compatibility or consistency with the underlying culture.

The Culture of the DPRK: Confucian Civilization and National Character

Economic disparity, social and political contrasts, and the ideological manifestations of North Korea’s juche and South Korea’s autocratic democracy have shown their affinity to Confucian ethics and norms, despite ideological divides between the two countries. In both North and South Korea, ordinary people’s lifestyle in managing social relationships has not shown much deviation from the cultural legacy of Confucianism. The five cardinal rules of the cultural system that guide human and social interactions and relationships are evident in the common life of the people in both systems. Underneath the colorful display of