In one regard – and one regard only – North Korea appears to have moved somewhat closer to global norms. Several state media outlets have abruptly abandoned their use of the Juche, or “self-reliance”, calendar, giving only Gregorian dates. Days before, they had also placed North Korea in the year 113, since the Juche system begins with the birth of the country’s first leader Kim Il-sung in 1912 – though it was not adopted until 1997 (or the year 86).
The onward march of the Gregorian calendar, first across western Europe and then the globe, appears relentless. Yet a handful of countries hold out. Iran and Afghanistan use the solar and lunar Islamic Hijri calendars respectively, placing their citizens in 1446 AH. Nepal’s Vikram Samvat calendar runs more than half a century ahead of the Gregorian. The Ethiopian calendar, like the Gregorian, is dated from the birth of Christ – but probably more accurately, according to Biblical scholars, since it places it in 7BC.
Many countries rely on alternative systems for religious purposes – in Orthodox countries, the Julian calendar; in Gulf countries, the Islamic Hijri system. But others use dual systems for civil matters, as North Korea did. Thailand is speeding through the 26th century, thanks to a calendar said to commence with the death of the Buddha. In the Hebrew calendar used by Israel, said to begin with the creation of the world, the year 5785 has just begun. In Japan, the era system – dated from the accession of each emperor – is still widely used, especially for official purposes. A Nobel prize-winning scientist and a former supreme court judge were among those who selected the name of the latest era, Reiwa, which began in 2019.
In a globalised world, where the same television shows, fashions and brands of coffee can be consumed from Seoul to Lagos to Sydney, there can be value and charm in preserving distinct cultures and identities. But our ways of ordering time are inescapably political. Some see Japan’s era system as an anachronism in a society no longer ruled by emperors. In the mid 1970s, the Shah of Iran decreed that the calendar should start with the reign of Cyrus the Great rather than the Hijrah of the prophet Muhammad, catapulting his country forward 1,180 years. Following his overthrow, it reverted to the earlier dating system.
Britain’s 1752 switch from the Julian to Gregorian calendar prompted concerns over its sovereignty and Catholic influence as well as conspiracy theories: some feared their lives were being shortened by 11 days. In North Korea’s case, Kim Jong-un capitalised on his resemblance to his grandfather in the early years of his rule. Now he seems to be promoting his own status and relying less on his lineage. Downplaying Kim Il-sung’s birth may be part of that.
Historical differences in understanding and arranging time have reflected not only the inherent difficulties of the task but also beliefs – or official statements – about what matters. The “clock time” that has spread since the Industrial Revolution has come to dominate “nature time” and “event time”, making us fit our lives to the clock rather than to daylight hours or what we wish or need to do. Similarly, the calendar can be a tool of power and control. Time systems originated in our attempts to order the world. Inevitably, they become systems that end up ordering us.
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