What is Independence?

Independence is an attribute of man who is desirous of living and developing independently as master of the world and his own destiny.

General Secretary Kim Jong Il said:

Independence is an attribute of social man who is desirous of living and developing in an independent way as master of the world and his own destiny.

Independence is the essential and fundamental attribute of man, social being. With independence man overcomes natural fetters and social subjugation to make everything serve him.

Independence is an attribute of opposing all sorts of subordination and subjugation.

Animals adapt themselves to the nature as a part of it. They cannot maintain their existence when they do not adapt themselves to given circumstances of the world.

If monkeys or elephants in the tropical region are brought to the north polar, they cannot live even for a week. That is because they cannot stand the cold of the north polar and have no skill to fish like north polar bears. This tells that it is the inevitable mode of existence of animals to live being subordinated to surrounding world.

Unlike them, man does not live by the method of adapting himself to the circumstances and never allows all sorts of fetter and subjugation without being subjugated to the external world. This is one aspect of the contents of independence as the fundamental attribute of man.

Independence is an attribute of making the world serve him in conformity with his will and demand.

Man is the only being who dominates the world. From the time when he was separated from the animal world man has regarded the world as the stage of his existence and activities and expanded domination over the world as his ability and power are strengthened.

The process of man’s activities is the process of making more things and phenomena of the world obey and serve him. Domination over the world is expanded and propelled according to the strengthening of man’s power and ability.

Since man dominates the world without tolerating all sorts of fetter and subjugation, he becomes a being with independence, the independent being.

Man’s activities to live and develop as master of the nature, society and himself are made by and in conformity with his independent demand.

His independent demand is expressed as the demand of living and developing as master of nature, society and himself because he lives in the world and shapes his destiny.

That man has the independent demand means that he has consciousness of independence. Consciousness of independence is the self-awareness of being master of his destiny and the will of shaping his destiny by himself. With consciousness of independence man can make independent activities of rejecting all fetters and making everything serve him and struggle against the oppressors who encroach upon independence in a revolutionary manner.

In this respect, the decisive factor determining independence is said to be consciousness of independence.

Independence is the fundamental attribute that makes man human and becomes life and soul for man, social being.