Why one city in Nepal worships North Korea and follows ‘Juche’ ideology

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Why one city in Nepal worships North Korea and follows ‘Juche’ ideology

A mistrust of outsiders and desire for self-reliance drive Bhaktapur to embrace North Korean style communism

Benjamin R. Young October 18, 2021

Why one city in Nepal worships North Korea and follows ‘Juche’ ideology

Narayan Man Bijukchhe Facebook page | Chairman of the Nepal Workers and Peasants Party Narayan Man Bijukchhe speaks in front of a photo of Kim Il Sung, Sept. 8, 2019

North Korea is not the only place that follows the Kim family cult and “Juche” ideology. For nearly three decades, the Nepal Workers and Peasants Party (NWPP) has ruled over the Kathmandu Valley city of Bhaktapur, with its leader promoting the DPRK’s state doctrine of self-reliance and self-sufficiency.

In the party’s headquarters, portraits of North Korean dictators Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il hang alongside pictures of the party’s chairman, Narayan Man Bijukchhe, also known as Comrade Rohit.

About the Author

Benjamin R. Young

Benjamin R. Young is an Assistant Professor of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness at VCU (Virginia Commonwealth University). He is the author of Guns, Guerillas, and the Great Leader: North Korea and the Third World (Stanford University Press, 2021). He received his Ph.D. from The George Washington University in 2018. He has previously taught at the U.S. Naval War College and Dakota State University. He has published peer-reviewed articles on North Korean history and politics in a number of scholarly journals and is a regular contributor to NK News.

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