The meaning of North Korea's "Songun Day"



Features The meaning of North Korea’s “Songun Day” The DPRK's "military first" policy never had major policy implications Fyodor Tertitskiy August 23, 2018 SHARE COPY LINK FACEBOOK X LINKEDIN MASTODON CPC_5127 by nknews_hq on 2016-10-01 17:02:50 Tomorrow, North Korea celebrates Songun day and, in this column, I would like to speak about the history of this concept and how it, essentially, lost all of its meaning over time. The word Songun (선군, 先軍) did not exist in the Korean language until 1997. It literally means “military first”: “first”, not in the sense of first, second and third, but in the sense of it being given the utmost priority. Tomorrow, North Korea celebrates Songun day and, in this column, I would like to speak about the history of this concept and how it, essentially, lost all of its meaning over time. The word Songun (선군, 先軍) did not exist in the Korean language until 1997. It literally means “military first”: “first”, not in the sense of first, second and third, but in the sense of it being given the utmost priority. Become a member for less than $5.75 per week. Unlimited access to all of NK News: reporting, investigations, analysis The NK News Daily Update, an email newsletter to keep you in the loop Searchable archive of all content, photo galleries, special columns Contact NK News reporters with tips or requests for reporting Get unlimited access to all NK News content, including original reporting, investigations, and analyses by our team of DPRK experts. Subscribe now All major cards accepted. No commitments – you can cancel any time. © Korea Risk Group. All rights reserved. No part of this content may be reproduced, distributed, or used for commercial purposes without prior written permission from Korea Risk Group. Get the Daily Update Start your day with the North Korea stories that matter most – as selected by And how should we address you in correspondence? One more step! Please check your inbox, for an email we just sent you, and click on the confirmation message in it to get subscribed to our Daily News Update. Trending

Features

The meaning of North Korea’s “Songun Day”

The DPRK's "military first" policy never had major policy implications

Fyodor Tertitskiy August 23, 2018

The meaning of North Korea’s “Songun Day”

CPC_5127 by nknews_hq on 2016-10-01 17:02:50

Tomorrow, North Korea celebrates Songun day and, in this column, I would like to speak about the history of this concept and how it, essentially, lost all of its meaning over time.

The word Songun (선군, 先軍) did not exist in the Korean language until 1997. It literally means “military first”: “first”, not in the sense of first, second and third, but in the sense of it being given the utmost priority.