Down-with-Imperialism Union
political party in Korea
The Down-with-Imperialism Union (DIU; Korean: 타도제국주의동맹) was allegedly founded on 17 October 1926 in Hwatian County, Kirin, China, in order to fight against Japanese imperialism and to promote Marxism–Leninism. It is considered by the Workers' Party of Korea to be its root and foundation and its creation is celebrated every year.
History
North Korean or sympathetic sources claim that the organization was founded and led by Kim Il Sung, who would have been fourteen years old at the time.
However, most scholarly sources identify Ri Jong-rak, a radical militant, as the founder of the Down with Imperialism Union also known as Down with Imperialism Alliance.
In 2016, in particular, the DIU received special attention, especially on 18–19 October. This included dramas, singing of songs in a Pyongyang plaza, "dancing parties" of students and youth, and wreaths laid at the graves of revolutionary martyrs to commemorate the founding of the revolutionary organisation, saying that it was the origin of the ideas of Juche. Additionally, commemorative stamps were released, a national meeting was held at the People's Palace of Culture attended by "senior party, state and army officials ... labour innovators and bereaved families of the revolutionary martyrs," a national art exhibition opened at the Korean Art Gallery, and members (and workers within) the General Federation of Trade Unions of Korea commemorated the occasion. A poster was even issued by Workers' Party of Korea to "mark the 90th anniversary of the formation of the Down-with-Imperialism Union (DIU)."
According to the North Korean newspaper Rodong Sinmun, in 2016, many people such as the chairperson of People Unity-"Kyrgyz El" Republican Political Party in Kyrgyzstan, the secretary general of Bangladesh Jatiya Party, the chairperson of the Juche Idea Study Society in India, the chairperson for the Juche Philosophy Study Committee in India, high-ranking individuals in the Pakistan-Korea Friendship Association, the National Committee for the Study of the Juche Idea of the Democratic Republic of the Congo all praised the developments of the Workers' Party of Korea and celebrated the DIU's anniversary.
Claimed Juche connection
On 17 October 1982, Kim Jong Il honoured the DIU with a speech.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Down-with-Imperialism Union” is political party in Korea. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Down-with-Imperialism, Union and political, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “political party in Korea” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 26, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q5302762. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1926, 2016 and 1982.
A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Down-with-Imperialism Union”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Down-with-Imperialism Union primary sources, Down-with-Imperialism Union archive and Down-with-Imperialism research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Down-with-Imperialism Union”?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Down-with-Imperialism Union” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.