North Korean calendar
The North Korean calendar or Juche calendar is the system of year numbering used in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
History[edit]
The Juche calendar was introduced in 1997 and is based on Kim Il-sung's date of birth: 15 April 1912. That year is used as Juche 1 and the system works forward from there. There is no Juche 0. The Juche calendar does maintain the Gregorian calendar's traditional months and the number of days in a month. Hence, to calculate the Juche year from a Gregorian year after 1912, simply subtract 1911. The Juche calendar officially replaced the Gregorian calendar as the civil calendar in North Korea on September 9, 1997.[1]
Examples[edit]
| Juche year | Gregorian year | Dangun year | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1912 | 4245 | Kim Il-sung's birth |
| 37 | 1948 | 4281 | North Korea founded |
| 71 | 1982 | 4315 | Juche Tower built to commemorate Kim Il-sung's 70th birthday |
| 86 | 1997 | 4330 | Juche calendar introduced |
| 100 | 2011 | 4344 | Hundredth Juche year and Kim Jong-il's death |
| 104 | 2015 | 4348 | Current year |
Usage in practice[edit]
In many instances of non-Korean usage the Juche year is given after the corresponding Gregorian year, i.e. 12 June 2007 (Juche 96). However, most official DPR-Korean sources list the Gregorian year second as in 12 June Juche 96 (2007).[2]
See also[edit]
- Day of the Sun, birthday of Kim Il-sung
References[edit]
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