Annual public holiday in North Korea
The
Party Foundation Day
(
Korean
:
조선로동당 創建日
) is an annual
public holiday
in
North Korea
marking the 10 October 1945 foundation of the "Central Organizing Committee of the Communist Party of North Korea", known as the "
North Korea Bureau of the Communist Party of Korea
" in the West and considered a predecessor to the ruling
Workers' Party of Korea
.
The Party Founding Day is one of the most important holidays of the country, along with the
Day of the Sun
(birthday of
Kim Il Sung
),
Day of the Shining Star
(birthday of
Kim Jong Il
) and
Day of the Foundation of the Republic
.
[1]
2015 marked the 70th anniversary.
Background
[
edit
]
North Korea commemorates 10 October 1945 as the date of the foundation of the "Central Organizing Committee of the Communist Party of North Korea",
[2]
known as the "
North Korea Bureau of the Communist Party of Korea
" by Western historians.
[3]
On 10 October 1945 a meeting called "Conference of Korean Communist Party Members and Enthusiasts in the Five Northwestern Provinces" began in
Pyongyang
,
[3]
in a public hall that now hosts the
Party Founding Museum
.
[4]
On 13 October, the meeting saw the establishment of the North Korea Bureau of the Communist Party of Korea. The conference was the first time that Kim Il Sung emerged as a political force.
[5]
Kim advocated the foundation of the North Korea Bureau so that party activities could be overseen in the north of the country in a situation where the north and south were
occupied
by the
Soviets
and the
Americans
respectively.
[3]
Kim acceded the chairmanship of the North Korea Bureau some two months after the conference.
[5]
The Bureau soon became independent of the
Seoul
-lead
Communist Party of Korea
,
[5]
paving the way for a political force in the North.
[3]
The North Korea Bureau is one in a series of predecessors to the present Workers' Party of Korea. The North Korea Bureau
evolved into
the
Workers' Party of North Korea
in August 1946.
[5]
The present Workers' Party of Korea was not founded until 30 June 1949 when the Workers' Party of North Korea
merged with
the
Workers' Party of South Korea
.
[6]
Celebrations
[
edit
]
Celebrations include song and dance performances, evening galas, speeches, lectures on revolutionary history and oratorical meetings.
[6]
[7]
Floral tributes are laid in front of statues of Kim Il Sung.
[5]
Special food rations are distributed.
[8]
This usually includes foodstuffs that are normally in short supply, such as oil and snacks.
[9]
Meat is available through the
public distribution system
.
[10]
Electricity is provided on the Party Foundation Day, despite shortages.
[11]
There are live TV broadcasts of ceremonies.
[7]
The holiday is celebrated throughout the country, though main celebrations take place in the capital, Pyongyang.
[6]
The city typically hosts processions and a military parade during the day. Attendance in festivities in the capital is counted in the millions.
[12]
The celebrations have included occasional ceremonial visits of
North Korean leaders
to the
Kumsusan Palace of the Sun
. The failure of
Kim Jong Un
to appear in 2014 intensified speculations of his lengthy absence. The tradition has not been very strong, as in comparison to Kim Jong Un, his father
Kim Jong Il
observed the same tradition only twice.
[13]
[14]
North Korea schedules completion of large-scale construction projects to coincide with important anniversaries like the Party Foundation Day.
[15]
The 50th anniversary of the party in 1995, for instance, was met with unveiling of the
Monument to Party Founding
.
[16]
The 70th anniversary in 2015 was planned to be celebrated with the completion of a stock breeding base and a power plant: the
Sepho
Tableland and the
Chongchon River
Power Plant.
[15]
The latter was finished by the next month.
[17]
Banks, offices, retail and government institutions close for the day.
[12]
Weddings are often organized on the day.
[18]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Yonhap News Agency, Seoul (27 December 2002).
North Korea Handbook
. M.E. Sharpe. pp. 451?452.
ISBN
978-0-7656-3523-5
.
- ^
Am Jo; Chol Gang An (2002).
Korea in the 20th century: 100 significant events
. Pyongyang:
Foreign Languages Publishing House
. p. 84.
OCLC
276996886
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
Armstrong, Charles K. (15 April 2013).
The North Korean Revolution, 1945?1950
. Cornell University Press. p. 58.
ISBN
978-0-8014-6879-7
.
- ^
Corfield, Justin (1 December 2014).
Historical Dictionary of Pyongyang
. Anthem Press. p. 159.
ISBN
978-1-78308-341-1
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
Gauthier, Brandon K. (9 October 2012).
"This Day in History: When Kim Il Sung Took Power"
.
NK News
. Retrieved
9 September
2015
.
- ^
a
b
c
Founding of the Workers' Party of North Korea
(Fourth ed.). Omnigraphics. 2010
. Retrieved
9 September
2015
– via TheFreeDictionary.com.
- ^
a
b
Lee Joo Il (2 September 2005).
"Autumn in North Korea is Period of Suffering"
.
Daily NK
. Retrieved
10 September
2015
.
- ^
Choi Song Min; Kwon Hyo Jin (11 October 2014).
"Subdued Atmosphere for Party Foundation Day"
.
Daily NK
. Retrieved
9 September
2015
.
- ^
Lee Seok Young (14 October 2011).
"Food Distributed to Pyongyang on 66th"
.
Daily NK
. Retrieved
11 September
2015
.
- ^
Glyn; Soyoung (2007).
North Korea on the brink: struggle for survival
. Pluto Press. p. 96.
ISBN
978-1-84964-332-0
– via ProQuest ebrary.
- ^
Kang Jae Hyok (21 December 2006).
"Electricity Resumption in Border Area, Temporary"
.
Daily NK
. Retrieved
10 September
2015
.
- ^
a
b
North Korea Society and Culture Complete Report
. Petaluma, CA, USA: World Trade Press. 2010. p. 5.
ISBN
978-1-60780-406-2
– via ProQuest ebrary.
- ^
Grisafi, John G. (10 October 2014).
"Kim Jong Un still a no-show, but coup unlikely"
. Retrieved
9 September
2015
.
- ^
"Kim Jong Un fails to appear on Workers' Party foundation day"
. 11 October 2014
. Retrieved
9 September
2015
.
- ^
a
b
"North Korea Encourages Completion of Large-Scale Projects to Coincide with 2015 Party Foundation Day"
.
ifes.kyungnam.ac.kr
. 12 June 2014. Archived from
the original
on 6 October 2015
. Retrieved
10 September
2015
.
- ^
Frank, Rudiger; Hoare, Jim; Kolner, Patrick; Pares, Susan, eds. (2009).
Korea Yearbook (2009): Politics, Economy and Society
. Leiden: BRILL. p. 44.
ISBN
978-90-04-18019-2
.
- ^
Byrne, Leo (18 November 2015).
"N. Korea completes 10 hydro plants"
.
NK News
. Retrieved
3 August
2016
.
- ^
Toimela, Markku; Aalto, Kaj (2017).
Salakahvilla Pohjois-Koreassa: Markku Toimelan jannittava tie Pohjois-Korean luottomieheksi
(in Finnish). Jyvaskyla: Docendo. p. 40.
ISBN
978-952-291-369-2
.
Further reading
[
edit
]
- Chos?n san?p nodong chosaso [Research Institute for Korean Industry and Labor], ed. (1946).
Orh?n nos?n
[
The Correct Line
]. Tokyo: Minjung sinmunsa. pp. 30?48.
OCLC
122860423
? minutes of the founding conference.
- Kim Il-sung (1975).
On building a Marxist-Leninist party in our country and its immediate tasks: report to the inaugural congress of the Central Organizing Committee of the Communist Party of North Korea, October 10, 1945
. Pyongyang:
Foreign Languages Publishing House
.
OCLC
14062478
? Kim Il Sung's speech at the founding conference.
- Tertitskiy, Fyodor (10 October 2017).
"Why North Korea celebrates Party Foundation Day"
.
NK News
.
External links
[
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]