"[4] The first guidance tour "as an institutionalized leadership act" came in December 1956 at the Kangson Steel Plant, at which Kim initiated the Chollima Movement "mass competition campaign for rapid economic development" (1957–1961).
Third, he used the guidance tours as a means of understanding the situations that existed in these lower-level organizations before deciding on new policy issues at the top level.
In sum, the guidance tour was the North Korean leader's ruling method for multiple purposes – mass mobilization, policy inspection, and reality checks – and was also a means of redressing bureaucratic red tape.
Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, as the Kim Il Sung personality cult deepened, the guidance tours became a ritualized and even sanctified routine act.
A special guidance tour involved the leader selecting a particular workplace unit as a model for some mass-mobilization campaign.
[1] This focus on visiting army bases and other military installations during the "Arduous March" period emphasized the government's "military-first" (Songun) strategy to the North Korean public.
"[11] Along with Kim Jong Un's undertaking of projects directed to appeal to this class, such as "a maternity hospital, health complex, skating rink, apartment complexes, and a fun fair," this is seen by analysts as one indication that Kim has attempted to consolidate support among North Korean urban elites.
"[1] At the actual event, the leader will dispense "practical advice" and instructions for improving productivity[2] or working conditions.