This is Juche Tower, which stands tall on the banks of Taedong River in central Pyongyang. It is a physical centerpiece that represents the ideology, created by Kim Il-Sung, of the North Korean communist party. Juche replaces all religion and is the most fundamental philosophy, instilled in each individual from birth, which (in my observation) fundamentally disallows the people from questioning their leadership. Juche means self-reliance. It teaches the people that ultimately they hold all of the power, and ultimately all of the responsibility, to make their own lives and their own society around them exceptional. It is also taught that Juche is a uniquely Korean quality, which adds an additional weight of obligation for each citizen to fulfill their privileged birthright. There are many similar philosophies like Juche behind other communist movements, but Juche is indeed unique as it does more to unify the groupthink behind an almost genetic code that is difficult to question. This philosophy has been the key to having the people accept worsening conditions as they are told that it is essentially their own responsibility to get through it. I could write so much more, but the irony that such a philosophy, based in individualism, is the mechanism to having an entire population follow a uniform rule of law is further proof to me that in politics, the people are always told the opposite of the action so that the action can be carried out with an unwitting, and often unwavering support. In North Korea's case however, wavering could result in imprisonment of one's entire family, so Juche ultimately becomes a necessary idea to lean on as a method of survival.