Approaching the 80th anniversary of Korean liberation, North Korea encourages the 'Paektu Spirit' and hill trekking at the mountain.
In a recent tour, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and his wife, Ri Sol-ju, visited the Mount Paektu area on December 4, 2019. The visit, which took place between August 4 and 10, was attended by North Korean youth and students, as reported by North Korea's ruling party newspaper Rodong Sinmun on August 11.
Mount Paektu, a sacred mountain on the border of North Korea and China, holds deep historical significance and symbolism tied to Korean nationalism and the legitimacy of the Kim Jong-un regime. This mountain is considered the spiritual birthplace of Korean identity, embodying the origins of the Korean nation.
Historically, Mount Paektu has been embraced by both North and South Korea as a spiritual mountain of the nation and is strongly associated with revolutionary mythology in North Korea. The mountain and adjacent sites are linked to the anti-Japanese struggle, a core narrative for the legitimacy of the Kim dynasty’s leadership.
The regime portrays itself as inheriting the revolutionary legacy rooted in these sites, which helps reinforce the ideological foundation of Kim Jong-un's rule and the regime's historical continuity. Symbolically, Kim Jong-un's visits emphasize his connection to the historical revolutionary spirit and national identity embodied by Mount Paektu. This connection helps affirm his authority and position as the leader following the legacy of his grandfather Kim Il-sung and father Kim Jong-il, who are associated with the mountain's revolutionary history and mythology.
These visits thus reassert the dynastic legitimacy and revolution-themed propaganda that North Korean leadership utilizes to consolidate power internally. However, no specific symbolism expressed during the visits beyond this traditional association was found in the search results.
The tour and resolution meetings by North Korean youth and students in the Mount Paektu area were documented by the Korean Central News Agency. No new information about military drills, South-U.S. joint exercises, or dismantling of loudspeakers was provided in this report by North Korea's ruling party newspaper Rodong Sinmun. Additionally, no new photos of Kim Jong-un were released in this report.
References: 1. Mount Paektu: A Symbol of Korean Nationalism 2. The Significance of Kim Jong-un's Visits to Mount Paektu
- Kim Jong-un's visits to Mount Paektu serve as a strategic means of reinforcing the ideological foundation of politics within North Korea, emphasizing defense and nationalism through the propagation of revolution-themed propaganda.
- In the realm of general news, education about the historical significance of Mount Paektu within North Korea's war-and-conflicts context is essential, contributing to a comprehensive understanding of the symbolism surrounding the mountain in the matters of Korean nationalism and the Kim dynasty’s legitimacy.
