What are North Koreans' top priorities during the first week of the new year?

The First Week of the New Year: What Do North Koreans Do? 

In the first week of the new year, we spend joyful time with our families, creating bucket lists and looking forward to a year full of hope. However, the situation in North Korea is quite different. For North Koreans, worry begins from the very first day of the year. The reason? The daunting task of studying Kim Jong Un's New Year’s speech awaits them.

In North Korea, anyone above elementary school age is required to study this speech. While they aren’t expected to memorize the entire speech, they must perfectly commit to memory the parts related to their field, down to the last word. As soon as the New Year's holiday ends, every institution starts holding study sessions and discussions on the speech. 

I went through this process every year while attending school and serving in the military in North Korea. Every year, we had to stuff the same content into our heads for days until we had it memorized. At the time, I didn’t even understand why we were doing it, but I thought it was something we were supposed to do simply because the Party said so. Looking back now, it feels like a complete waste of time and energy—an absurd task that didn’t benefit my career or personal life in any way.

Still, if you didn’t memorize the speech, you’d be called out by your superiors and publicly criticized for lacking loyalty to the Party. The fear of this public shaming drives people to immerse themselves in studying the speech, whether they want to or not.

 

In North Korea, studying the New Year’s speech isn’t just an obligation—it’s a survival tactic. People undertake this task not to improve their lives or careers but to prove their loyalty to the Party.

Let’s take a closer look at the content and material North Koreans are required to study.  

Below is Kim Jong Un's 2019 New Year’s address, taken directly from North Korean documents. This particular address followed the 2018 inter-Korean summits and the historic Trump-Kim summits, making it a notable moment in North Korean politics. However, it's fascinating to observe just how far Kim Jong Un’s stance and ideas have shifted since then.

The study material itself is a reflection of North Korea’s economic struggles: printed on low-quality, greenish paper with visibly faded ink. The poor production quality of these materials speaks volumes about the country’s inability to even produce basic, high-quality educational materials.

But enough about the packaging—let’s dive into the content itself and analyze how things have evolved since then. 

"Study Compendium"
Main Points of the New Year's Address Delivered by the Respected Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un

Contents

1. The Respected Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un summarized the proud victories achieved by our people last year.

2. The Respected Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un clarified the tasks and methods to bring about a revolutionary upsurge in all fronts of socialist construction this year.

3. The Respected Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un outlined the tasks for the development of inter-Korean relations, the accomplishment of the national reunification cause, and the foreign policy stance of our Party and our Republic.

Study Discussion Topics:

1. On the proud victories achieved by our people last year.

2. On further strengthening the power of the socialist independent economy.

3. On fully consolidating the political and ideological power of our socialist state.

4. On accelerating the construction of socialist civilization and firmly strengthening national defense capabilities.

5. On the methods for initiating a revolutionary upsurge in all fronts of socialist construction.

6. On the tasks for the development of inter-Korean relations, the accomplishment of the national reunification cause, and the foreign policy stance of our Party and the Government of the Republic.

Summary of Kim Jong Un's 2019 New Year’s Speech

Summary:

In his 2019 New Year’s speech, Kim Jong Un described 2018 as a year of "historic change," highlighting key achievements in the development of the country, revolution, and national reconciliation. He emphasized the successes in North Korea’s socialist construction, including economic self-reliance, advancements in science and education, and major construction projects. 

However, despite Kim’s boasts, economic indicators and market conditions show that the North Korean economy is in steep decline, with the situation being worse than ever. In reality, Kim’s only notable achievement in his ten years as leader is missile development.

Inter-Korean Relations:

Kim Jong Un referred to the progress in inter-Korean relations in 2018 as a “historic shift,” noting that the three inter-Korean summits and military agreements played a significant role in establishing peace on the Korean Peninsula. He reaffirmed his commitment to creating a "peaceful era without war" and expressed a willingness to unconditionally reopen the Kaesong Industrial Complex and resume tourism at Mount Kumgang. Kim also stressed the need for the two Koreas to unite and achieve national prosperity without interference from external forces. 

Yet, in 2024, Kim completely disregarded these past statements and his predecessor’s directives by outright declaring that reunification between the two Koreas was impossible, essentially abandoning the idea. Even North Koreans are baffled by his actions, as it seems he is orchestrating everything on his own.

U.S.-North Korea Relations:

Kim praised the first U.S.-North Korea summit held in Singapore in 2018 as “historic” and reiterated his commitment to improving relations with the U.S. and establishing a peace regime. He declared that North Korea would no longer produce nuclear weapons and emphasized that bilateral relations would develop rapidly if the U.S. took trustworthy measures in response. However, he warned that if the U.S. continued its sanctions and pressure, North Korea would have no choice but to "seek a new path."  

Kim’s claim that he would no longer produce nuclear weapons is not even believable to a three-year-old child in North Korea. In fact, it’s more likely that Kim will quit smoking than give up nuclear weapons.

Conclusion:

Kim Jong Un’s 2019 New Year’s speech clearly demonstrated North Korea’s intention to build peace on the Korean Peninsula through improved inter-Korean and U.S.-North Korea relations. At the same time, North Korea reaffirmed its stance on pursuing an independent path, bolstered by self-reliance and military strength, without succumbing to external pressure.  

Ultimately, Kim has no new vision and continues the isolated policies of the past 70 years, following in the footsteps of his predecessors, showcasing a disappointing lack of leadership.

#KimJongUn #NewYearsAddress #NorthKorea #InterKoreanSummit #TrumpKimSummit #NorthKoreanEconomy #NorthKoreanPolitics #NorthKoreaEducation #KoreanPeninsula