If you stepped off a plane in Pyongyang today, you might expect to see 2026 plastered on the billboards or printed in the local newspapers. It makes sense, right? That’s the year everywhere else. But for a long time, North Korea didn't play by those rules. If you looked at a calendar there just a couple of years ago, you wouldn't have seen 2024. You would have seen Juche 113.
Honestly, the whole thing is a bit of a head-scratcher until you realize that in the DPRK, time itself was basically a tribute to one man.
What year is it in North Korea right now?
If we’re talking about the official government stance as of January 2026, the answer has actually changed recently. For decades, the answer was "it's the Juche year." But in a massive, under-the-radar shift that started in late 2024, North Korea has largely ditched its unique dating system.
For the first time in nearly thirty years, the official 2026 calendars being printed in Pyongyang don't even mention the Juche year. They just say 2026.
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Wait, what? Yeah. It’s a huge deal. For years, the what year is it in North Korea question had a standard answer: You take the current year and subtract 1911.
If they were still using the old system today:
- 2026 (Gregorian) – 1911 = Juche 115
But if you’re looking at the Rodong Sinmun (their main state newspaper) today, you’ll likely just see the standard international date. It’s a quiet retirement for a calendar that defined the country's "self-reliance" for a generation.
Why did they have their own calendar anyway?
It all comes down to Kim Il Sung. He’s the "Eternal President" and the guy who founded the country. In 1997, three years after he died, the government decided that the standard Western calendar—which is based on the birth of Jesus—didn't really fit their vibe.
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They wanted something that centered on their origin story. So, they declared 1912 (the year Kim Il Sung was born) as Juche 1.
How the math worked
It wasn't a totally new calendar with different months or weeks. They still used January to December. They just changed the number on the front of the book.
- 1912 was Juche 1.
- 1948 (when the DPRK was founded) became Juche 37.
- 2012 (the centenary) was the big Juche 100.
You’ve probably seen photos of the massive celebrations in 2012. That was their "Year 100," and it was a massive propaganda milestone. Everything from birth certificates to train tickets used this system. Usually, they’d write it like this: Juche 113 (2024). They kept the Western year in parentheses just so they didn't get confused when dealing with the rest of the world.
The sudden death of the Juche Era
So, why stop now? If the calendar was such a big part of their identity, why did Kim Jong Un decide to scrap it in late 2024?
Experts who watch the North closely, like the folks at NK Insider and Koryo Tours, noticed the change first. On October 13, 2024, the state media just... stopped using it. No big announcement. No fireworks. Just a silent shift back to the Gregorian calendar.
There are a few theories on why this happened:
- Stepping out of the shadow: Some think Kim Jong Un wants to be seen as a leader in his own right, rather than just the grandson of the founder. By removing "Juche 115" from the header, he’s subtly de-emphasizing his grandfather’s shadow.
- Normalcy: It might be an attempt to look like a "normal" country on the international stage.
- The "Two States" Theory: Kim Jong Un has recently been pushing the idea that North and South Korea are two entirely separate, hostile countries—not one people waiting to be reunited. Scrapping the old "Day of the Sun" (Kim Il Sung's birthday) references and the calendar might be part of this new, harder line.
Is Juche still a thing?
Absolutely. The calendar might be fading out of official use, but the Juche ideology is still the bedrock of the country. Juche basically means "self-reliance." The idea is that Korea should be independent in its politics, economy, and military.
It’s why they focus so much on making their own weapons and why they've historically been so closed off. Even if they call the year 2026 instead of Juche 115, the mindset hasn't changed.
Other calendars like it
Interestingly, North Korea wasn't the only place doing this. If you go to Taiwan, they use the Minguo calendar. Coincidentally, it also starts in 1912 (the founding of the Republic of China). So, in a weird twist of history, Taiwan and North Korea were technically in the same year for decades, even though they couldn't be more different politically.
What this means for travelers
If you’re one of the few people headed there for a tour (now that borders are slowly trickling open again), don't expect to be corrected if you say "2026."
Your guides will definitely know what the Juche year is—it's part of their DNA—but the official push is moving away from it. You’ll still see "Juche" everywhere else, though. It’s on the monuments, it’s in the songs, and it’s the name of the massive stone tower in the middle of Pyongyang.
Key Takeaways for 2026:
- The Year: It is officially 2026 in North Korea now.
- The Math: If you see an older document, just subtract 1911 from the Gregorian year to find the Juche equivalent.
- The Shift: The discontinuation of the Juche calendar is one of the biggest symbolic changes in the country since Kim Jong Un took power.
- The Name: "Juche" refers to Kim Il Sung's philosophy of self-reliance, not just the dating system.
If you're looking at old North Korean stamps or coins as a collector, you'll still see those Juche dates. They represent a specific 27-year window (1997–2024) where the country tried to rename time itself.
Next Steps for You
To see how this looks in practice, you can check out the digital archives of the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). Look at the date headers on articles from early 2024 versus today. You'll see the Juche 113 prefix slowly vanish from the English and Korean versions of the site. It’s a fascinating, real-time look at how a regime rebrands its history.
If you're interested in the "why" behind this, look into Kim Jong Un's "Two States" speech from early 2024. It provides the political context for why the country is moving away from the traditions established by his grandfather.
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