Chukjibeop
Chukjibeop (축지법) is a Korean-language term translated as 'distance-shrinking magic' and refers a hypothetical method of contracting physical distance. It is similar to supernatural speed or teleportation.[1]
History
The concept of 'Chukjibeop' is common to East Asian mythology. The equivalent Chinese term is Qinggong while the Japanese word is Shukuchi. A related Korean term is 'Bihaengsul' meaning a supernatural power to levitate, fly and travel across time and space.
The term appears in the title of a popular North Korean song called 'General uses Chukjibeop' about Kim Jong-il. As part of the North Korean cult of personality the leaders of North Korea have been credited with this ability. In 2020 the party newspaper Rodong Sinmun published a purported anecdote from 1945 in which Kim Il-sung described methods of deception he used while fighting the Japanese forces, while denying the literal existence of chukjibeop:[2]
In fact there is nobody who disappears, and after disappearing reappears, and one can't fold the earth. It is because of active support from the popular masses that we were able to fight against heavily-armed bandits during the anti-Japanese armed struggle. If there is a "chukjibeop," it is the people's "chukjibeop."[3]
This article was interpreted internationally as a possible step back from the supernatural mystification of North Korea's leaders, in line with guidance that Kim Jong-un had provided a year earlier.
References
- http://www.korean-pavilion.or.kr/15pavilion/introduction.html
- "North Korean regime finally admits Kim Jong-un cannot magically bend time and space". 2020-05-22. Retrieved 2020-05-22.
- Jang Un Kyeong (20 May 2020). "The secret of "chukjibeop"". Rodong Sinmun. Retrieved 2020-05-24.