김정은 정권의 ‘우리식 사회주의’ 의미 변화와 시사점

Abstract

This study examines the meaning that North Korea’s slogan, “our-style socialism,” which emerged during the post-Cold War era, has changed as a proper noun to “Our-Style Socialism” during the Kim Jong-un era. In particular, the relevance to the “nation” suggested as a principle in North Korea’s “low-level federal system” reunification plan was analyzed. Accordingly, it is found that the contextual meaning that North Korea has appealed to “nation” through the common noun “we” changed depending on internal and external circumstances. During the post-Cold War era, North Korea created a slogan called “our-style socialism,” highlighting its differences from existing socialism. The content is based on the spirit of “Korean’s Nation-first,” which emphasizes the superiority of the “Korean nationality” following the Juche ideology. Since then, the term “we” has extended to the ideological role of the North Korean regime. North Korea emphasized the coined word “our nation” as a link between inter-Korean relations and appealed for “national cooperation,” which was also a way of maintaining the North Korean regime. After the 8th Party Congress in 2021, the construction of “Our-Style Socialism” will become a proper noun as the status of the political ideology representing the Kim Jong-un era. “Our-Style Socialism” shows the direction of the country as a political ideology that leads to “People-First” and “Our State-First.” At this time, the reunification plan is attached to the internal political ideology and its meaning develops. In other words, while the “our-style” of “our-style socialism” in the Kim Jong-il era also functioned as a common noun with a comprehensive meaning that encompasses both North and South Koreans, the “Our-Style” of the “Our-Style Socialism” in the Kim Jong-un era shows North Korea’s goal as a proper noun to strengthen its regime and ideology.