Note that there may be mistakes, as I am still learning Korean. If you see any errors, please let me know. Comments in italics are added by me.
Article:
Democratic People's Republic
North Korea explains that "the class essence and our revolution's fundamental goal and the task we are confronted with are clearly reflected" by its name.
(Choson Encyclopedia Compilation Committee,『Gwangmyeong Encyclopedia 3: Politics, Law』, Encyclopedia Publishing House, 2009, p. 152.; Park Young-sil, 「A Study on the Establishment of the State Name of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea」, 『North Korean Studies』 Vol. 14, No. 1, Dongguk University Institute of North Korean Studies, 2018. Recited on page 121.)
In relation to this, on August 20, 1945, in front of military and political cadres, Premier Kim Il-sung, in a speech titled "On Party, State and Armed Construction in the Liberated Motherland", said: "In order to build a democratic people's republic, first of all, under the leadership of the working class, a democratic national united front must be formed that encompasses the democratic capacities of a wide range of peasant masses, intellectuals, conscientious national capitalists, and so on, and on this basis, a people's government must be established. As a united front for the construction of a people's democratic republic, our united front must include this land's true masters, the workers and farmers, and include those such as the working intellectuals, the urban small income class, conscientious national capitalists, the patriotic people from all walks of life that that are demanding the construction of a democratic, independent nation; while pro-Japanese collaborators, traitors of the people, and every kind of reactionary force must not be allowed to creep in."
It can be surmised what kind of class essence is found within the country's name.
On the post-liberation Korean peninsula, various political parties and groups had appeared, but among them the common factor was the pursuit of constructing an independent, sovereign, democratic nation.
Therefore, out of the names of the organizations that came from the coalitions of these political parties and groups, the Democratic People's Front (South), Democratic People's United Front (North), etc. all put democracy at the forefront.
The group founded by the union of the two coalitions is the Fatherland Unification Democratic Front (known as Fatherland Front). (Machine translation provides this name: Democratic Front for Fatherland Reunification, abbreviated as Fatherland Front. Note that the word 조국 can be rendered in English as fatherland, motherland, homeland, etc., and 통일 can mean united, unification, reunification etc.)
In this way, it can be seen that at the time of establishing north Korea's government, the word "democratic" was put into their name due to the common task of democracy which had been set forth.
However, now that north Korea has adopted a socialist system, one may ask why the word "socialist" is not also put into the country's name.
At the 4th party meeting in September of 1961, north Korea officially proclaimed that a socialist restructuring had been completed.
In addition, in 1972 a socialist constitution was adopted, and socialism was officially proclaimed at a national level.
However, north Korea did not add "socialist" to its name.
But of course, a socialist country does not have to have socialism in its name.
There are countries like People's Republic of China, Republic of Cuba, Lao People's Democratic Republic which do not put "socialism" into the name.
Among the names of existing socialist nations, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is the only one that does so.
Thus, "socialist" not appearing in the name of north Korea is not an unusual phenomenon.
North Korea explains that the non-inclusion of "socialist" and the use of "democratic" in its name is due to the situation of (Korea's) division.
Since the establishment of its government, north Korea has continued to show its position to cover the entire Korean Peninsula, contrary to the single election policy of the Syngman Rhee administration.
Therefore, the national name does not reflect only the north Korean region where the socialist system has been established, but maintains democracy in the country's name in consideration of the division situation.
In addition, the reason for adding "People's" into the name is to show that "the people are the masters of the state and society, in a highly dignified country where everything serves the people."
A republic has the meaning that a country has adopted a republic system.
A republic system is one where there is no king and the power rests with the people.
On the other hand, a system ruled by a king is known as a monarchy, with countries such as Japan, the United Kingdom, and Saudi Arabia falling under this type.
MexicanCCPBot - 3.2yr
under the leadership of the working class, a democratic national united front must be formed that encompasses the democratic capacities of a wide range of peasant masses, intellectuals, conscientious national capitalists, and so on, and on this basis, a people’s government must be established
afellowkid in korea
(Article translation) (pt. 2) What is DPRK's reason for using "democratic" in its name?
Part 1: Why does DPRK use the name "Chosun" for Korea?
Here is the second half of a south Korean article about DPRK's name.
Note that there may be mistakes, as I am still learning Korean. If you see any errors, please let me know. Comments in italics are added by me.
Article:
North Korea explains that "the class essence and our revolution's fundamental goal and the task we are confronted with are clearly reflected" by its name.
(Choson Encyclopedia Compilation Committee,『Gwangmyeong Encyclopedia 3: Politics, Law』, Encyclopedia Publishing House, 2009, p. 152.; Park Young-sil, 「A Study on the Establishment of the State Name of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea」, 『North Korean Studies』 Vol. 14, No. 1, Dongguk University Institute of North Korean Studies, 2018. Recited on page 121.)
In relation to this, on August 20, 1945, in front of military and political cadres, Premier Kim Il-sung, in a speech titled "On Party, State and Armed Construction in the Liberated Motherland", said: "In order to build a democratic people's republic, first of all, under the leadership of the working class, a democratic national united front must be formed that encompasses the democratic capacities of a wide range of peasant masses, intellectuals, conscientious national capitalists, and so on, and on this basis, a people's government must be established. As a united front for the construction of a people's democratic republic, our united front must include this land's true masters, the workers and farmers, and include those such as the working intellectuals, the urban small income class, conscientious national capitalists, the patriotic people from all walks of life that that are demanding the construction of a democratic, independent nation; while pro-Japanese collaborators, traitors of the people, and every kind of reactionary force must not be allowed to creep in."
It can be surmised what kind of class essence is found within the country's name.
On the post-liberation Korean peninsula, various political parties and groups had appeared, but among them the common factor was the pursuit of constructing an independent, sovereign, democratic nation.
Therefore, out of the names of the organizations that came from the coalitions of these political parties and groups, the Democratic People's Front (South), Democratic People's United Front (North), etc. all put democracy at the forefront.
The group founded by the union of the two coalitions is the Fatherland Unification Democratic Front (known as Fatherland Front). (Machine translation provides this name: Democratic Front for Fatherland Reunification, abbreviated as Fatherland Front. Note that the word 조국 can be rendered in English as fatherland, motherland, homeland, etc., and 통일 can mean united, unification, reunification etc.)
In this way, it can be seen that at the time of establishing north Korea's government, the word "democratic" was put into their name due to the common task of democracy which had been set forth.
However, now that north Korea has adopted a socialist system, one may ask why the word "socialist" is not also put into the country's name.
At the 4th party meeting in September of 1961, north Korea officially proclaimed that a socialist restructuring had been completed.
In addition, in 1972 a socialist constitution was adopted, and socialism was officially proclaimed at a national level.
However, north Korea did not add "socialist" to its name.
But of course, a socialist country does not have to have socialism in its name.
There are countries like People's Republic of China, Republic of Cuba, Lao People's Democratic Republic which do not put "socialism" into the name.
Among the names of existing socialist nations, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is the only one that does so.
Thus, "socialist" not appearing in the name of north Korea is not an unusual phenomenon.
North Korea explains that the non-inclusion of "socialist" and the use of "democratic" in its name is due to the situation of (Korea's) division.
Since the establishment of its government, north Korea has continued to show its position to cover the entire Korean Peninsula, contrary to the single election policy of the Syngman Rhee administration.
Therefore, the national name does not reflect only the north Korean region where the socialist system has been established, but maintains democracy in the country's name in consideration of the division situation.
In addition, the reason for adding "People's" into the name is to show that "the people are the masters of the state and society, in a highly dignified country where everything serves the people."
A republic has the meaning that a country has adopted a republic system.
A republic system is one where there is no king and the power rests with the people.
On the other hand, a system ruled by a king is known as a monarchy, with countries such as Japan, the United Kingdom, and Saudi Arabia falling under this type.
Class collaborationist DPRK confirmed
j/k China did it too