This study examines the historical development and cultural significance of North Korean commercial art (doan), institutionalized after liberation to support socialist state-building. Encompassing trademarks, packaging, and advertising, it integrates traditional motifs, calligraphy, and symbolic imagery to create a distinctive visual language, simultaneously emphasizing the people’s role as self-reliant actors (Juche subjects) in cultural production. Analysis of representative works identifies six developmental stages spanning the post-war era to the present, illustrating how design mediates the relationship between material culture, political ideology, and everyday life. Typographic practices, labeling, and advertising formats demonstrate intersections of industrial growth, living standards, and aesthetic regulation, while institutional milestones underscore design’s dual function as both a practical and ideological instrument. Under Kim Jong-un, commercial art has increasingly adopted branding strategies in airports, hotels, and special economic zones, reflecting tensions among globalization, consumer agencies, and socialist symbolism. By documenting these transformations, the study situates North Korean visual culture within a comparative framework while addressing broader questions of cultural continuity, visual identity, and the role of design in the future of Korean unification. KEYWORDS: North Korea, Commercial Art/Design, Trademarks, Packaging, Advertising Designing Juche: The Historical Development and Ideological Function of Commercial Art in North Korea, 1945–2021 A Critical Analysis of Representative Trademarks, Packaging, and Advertising Designs Across Different Periods Hyunguk Ryu, Design Dr., Professor National Tsukuba University of Technology, Japan. Email: h-ryu@a.tsukuba-tech.ac.jp ABSTRACT: This study examines the historical development and cultural significance of North Korean commercial art (doan), institutionalized after liberation to support socialist state-building. Encompassing trademarks, packaging, and advertising, it integrates traditional motifs, calligraphy, and symbolic imagery to create a distinctive visual language, simultaneously emphasizing the people’s role as self-reliant actors (Juche subjects) in cultural production. Analysis of representative works identifies six developmental stages spanning the post-war era to the present, illustrating how design mediates the relationship between material culture, political ideology, and everyday life. Typographic practices, labeling, and advertising formats demonstrate intersections of industrial growth, living standards, and aesthetic regulation, while institutional milestones underscore design’s dual function as both a practical and ideological instrument. Under Kim Jong-un, commercial art has increasingly adopted branding strategies in airports, hotels, and special economic zones, reflecting tensions among globalization, consumer agencies, and socialist symbolism. By documenting these transformations, the study situates North Korean visual culture within a comparative framework while addressing broader questions of cultural continuity, visual identity, and the role of design in the future of Korean unification.