North Korea’s North Pyongan province has launched an intensive propaganda training program to prepare lecturers for the ruling party’s 80th anniversary celebrations.
The provincial party committee held a week-long training session starting Sept. 4, designed to equip lecturers with materials promoting Kim Jong Un’s “self-sufficiency” ideology ahead of party Foundation Day on Oct. 10.
“Lecturers received group training with the clear political goal of ensuring the public is ideologically ready for the 80th anniversary of the party’s establishment,” a source in the province told Daily NK recently.
The training focused on teaching lecturers how to “inspire voluntary support from the masses” by promoting Kim Jong Un’s leadership and his self-reliance policies, according to the source.
Party officials provided lecturers with prepared materials for five weekly propaganda lectures to be delivered through Oct. 10. The lecture topics include:
(1) “Self-sufficiency is our eternal method of struggle, embodying the patriotic ideals and autonomous ideology of the Workers’ party of Korea.”
(2) “Let us learn from the indomitable fighting spirit exhibited by soldiers in our overseas operations who courageously blew themselves up while shouting, ‘Long live Marshal Kim Jong Un!'”
(3) “On the path of self-sufficiency, let us raise the Juche banner while remembering the greatness and dignity of our state and nation.”
(4) “Regarding an energetic campaign for a meaningful celebration in October and giving all the glory to our great invincible party”
(5) “Self-sufficiency is the only way to survive! On the 80th anniversary of the party’s foundation, let’s make this a global slogan as we take the lead over the world.”
Beyond mere messengers
The training aimed to show lecturers how to effectively communicate each lecture’s ideological message and maximize their propaganda impact, the source explained.
Provincial party officials emphasized that lecturers should be more than just messengers—they must serve as “propagandists who light the way for the Korean people” and act as leaders in promoting socialism.
The committee instructed lecturers to emphasize that self-sufficiency is North Korea’s only viable path forward and to ensure the anniversary becomes “a great celebration for the victors.”
While lecturers publicly endorsed the training, many privately expressed doubts about the effectiveness of the self-sufficiency approach and questioned how long North Korea can continue on this path, according to the source.
