![Mansudae-Monument-Bow-2014](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/36/Mansudae-Monument-Bow-2014.jpg)
The North Korean
cult of personality
A cult of personality, or a cult of the leader, Mudde, Cas and Kaltwasser, Cristóbal Rovira (2017) ''Populism: A Very Short Introduction''. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 63. is the result of an effort which is made to create an id ...
surrounding its ruling family, the
Kim family The Kim family or Kim clan may refer to:
People
* The Kim family (North Korea), the rulers of North Korea since Kim Il Sung in 1948
* The Gimhae Kim clan associated with the Geumgwan Gaya
* The later rulers of Silla, who were mostly members of the ...
, has existed in
North Korea
North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...
for decades and can be found in many examples of
North Korean culture
The contemporary culture of North Korea is based on traditional Korean culture, but has developed since the division of Korea in 1945. ''Juche'' ideology formed by Kim Il-sung (1948–1994) asserts Korea's cultural distinctiveness and creativity ...
. Although not acknowledged by the
North Korean government
In the North Korean government, the Cabinet is the administrative and executive body. The North Korean government consists of three branches: administrative, legislative, and judicial. However, they are not independent of each other, but all br ...
, many
defectors
In politics, a defector is a person who gives up allegiance to one state in exchange for allegiance to another, changing sides in a way which is considered illegitimate by the first state. More broadly, defection involves abandoning a person, ca ...
and
Western visitors state there are often stiff penalties for those who criticize or do not show "proper" respect for
Kim Il-sung
Kim Il-sung (; , ; born Kim Song-ju, ; 15 April 1912 – 8 July 1994) was a North Korean politician and the founder of North Korea, which he ruled from the country's establishment in 1948 until his death in 1994. He held the posts of ...
and
Kim Jong-il
Kim Jong-il (; ; ; born Yuri Irsenovich Kim;, 16 February 1941 – 17 December 2011) was a North Korean politician who was the second supreme leader of North Korea from 1994 to 2011. He led North Korea from the 1994 death of his father Kim ...
,
officially referred to as "
eternal leaders of Korea". The personality cult began soon after Kim Il-sung
took power in 1948, and was greatly expanded after
his death in 1994.
While other countries have had
cults of personality
A cult of personality, or a cult of the leader,Cas Mudde, Mudde, Cas and Kaltwasser, Cristóbal Rovira (2017) ''Populism: A Very Short Introduction''. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 63. is the result of an effort which is made to cr ...
to various degrees, the pervasiveness and extreme nature of North Korea's personality cult surpasses that of even
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secreta ...
or
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong pronounced ; also romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the founder of the People's Republic of China (PRC) ...
.
The cult is also marked by the intensity of the people's feelings for and devotion to their leaders,
and the key role played by a Confucianized ideology of
familism
Familialism or familism is an ideology that puts priority to family. The term ''familialism'' has been specifically used for advocating a welfare system wherein it is presumed that families will take responsibility for the care of their members ...
both in maintaining the cult and thereby in sustaining the regime itself. The North Korean cult of personality is a large part of ''
Juche
''Juche'' ( ; ), officially the ''Juche'' idea (), is the state ideology of North Korea and the official ideology of the Workers' Party of Korea. North Korean sources attribute its conceptualization to Kim Il-sung, the country's founder and ...
'', the official ideology of the country.
Background
![Murals of Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il 01](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/62/Murals_of_Kim_Il-sung_and_Kim_Jong-il_01.JPG)
According to
Dae-Sook Suh
Suh Dae-sook (22 November 1931 – 13 September 2022) was North Korean professor emeritus of political science and a director of the Centre for Korean Studies at the University of Hawaii. He received his PhD from Columbia University in 1964 wit ...
, the cult of personality surrounding the Kim family requires total loyalty and subjugation to the Kim family and establishes the country as a one-man dictatorship through successive generations. The
1972 constitution of North Korea incorporates the ideas of Kim Il-sung as the only guiding principle of the state and his activities as the only cultural heritage of the people.
According to ''New Focus International'', the cult of personality, particularly surrounding Kim Il-sung, has been crucial for legitimizing the family's hereditary succession, and Park Yong-soo said in the ''
Australian Journal of International Affairs
The ''Australian Journal of International Affairs'' is an academic journal that was established in 1947 as ''Australian Outlook''. It is published by Routledge on behalf of the Australian Institute of International Affairs. Its forerunner was the ...
'' that the "prestige of the Suryong has
been given the highest priority over everything else in North Korea".
Kim Il-sung developed the political ideology of the
Juche
''Juche'' ( ; ), officially the ''Juche'' idea (), is the state ideology of North Korea and the official ideology of the Workers' Party of Korea. North Korean sources attribute its conceptualization to Kim Il-sung, the country's founder and ...
idea, generally understood as ''self-reliance'', and further developed it between the 1950s and the 1970s. Juche became the main guide of all forms of thought, education, culture and life throughout the nation until
Kim Jong-il
Kim Jong-il (; ; ; born Yuri Irsenovich Kim;, 16 February 1941 – 17 December 2011) was a North Korean politician who was the second supreme leader of North Korea from 1994 to 2011. He led North Korea from the 1994 death of his father Kim ...
introduced the ''
Songun
''Songun'' is the " military-first" policy of North Korea, prioritizing the Korean People's Army in the affairs of state and allocation of resources. "Military-first" as a principle guides political and economic life in North Korea, with "mili ...
'' (military-first) policy in 1995, which augments the Juche philosophy and has a great impact on national economic policies.
At the
4th Party Conference held in April 2012,
Kim Jong-un
Kim Jong-un (; , ; born 8 January 1982) is a North Korean politician who has been Supreme Leader of North Korea since 2011 and the leader of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) since 2012. He is a son of Kim Jong-il, who was North Korea's sec ...
further defined Juche as the comprehensive thought of Kim Il-sung, developed and deepened by Kim Jong-il, therefore terming it as "Kimilsungism-Kimjongilism" and that it was "the only guiding idea of the party" and nation.
According to a 2013 report by ''New Focus International'', the two major North Korean news publications (''
Rodong Sinmun
''Rodong Sinmun'' (; ) is a North Korean newspaper that serves as the official newspaper of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea. It was first published on November 1, 1945, as ''Chŏngro'' (), serving as a communication channel ...
'' and the
Korean Central News Agency
The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) is the state news agency of North Korea. The agency portrays the views of the North Korean government for both domestic and foreign consumption. It was established on December 5, 1946 and now features onlin ...
) publish around 300 articles per month relating to the "cult of Kim".
[
] The report further suggests that with the
death of Kim Jong-il
The death of Kim Jong-il was reported by North Korean state television news on 19 December 2011. The presenter Ri Chun-hee announced that he had died on 17 December at 8:30 am of a massive heart attack while travelling by train to an area ou ...
, the average North Korean citizen is growing weary of the vast amount of propaganda surrounding the Kims.
''
Daily NK
''Daily NK'' is an online newspaper based in Seoul, South Korea, where it reports on various aspects of North Korean society from information obtained from inside and outside of North Korea via a network of informants. North Korea is ranked 179 ...
'' likewise published in 2015 that the younger generation is more interested in the outside world and that the government is finding it difficult to secure the loyalty of the "''
jangmadang
Jangmadang (), , are North Korean local markets, farmers' markets, black markets and bazaars. Since the North Korean famine in the 1990s, they have formed a large informal economy, and the government has become more lenient towards them. Howeve ...
''" (marketplace) generation and promoting the idolization of Kim Jong-un.
The North Korean government claims there is no
cult of personality
A cult of personality, or a cult of the leader, Mudde, Cas and Kaltwasser, Cristóbal Rovira (2017) ''Populism: A Very Short Introduction''. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 63. is the result of an effort which is made to create an id ...
, but rather genuine support not only for their nation's leadership but also the philosophy of Juche socialism.
Kim Il-sung
![Laika ac Pyongyang (7968444776)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/22/Laika_ac_Pyongyang_%287968444776%29.jpg)
The personality cult surrounding
Kim Il-sung
Kim Il-sung (; , ; born Kim Song-ju, ; 15 April 1912 – 8 July 1994) was a North Korean politician and the founder of North Korea, which he ruled from the country's establishment in 1948 until his death in 1994. He held the posts of ...
is by far the most widespread
among the people. While there is genuine affection for Kim Il-sung, it has been manipulated by the government for political purposes.
The personality cult had its beginnings as early as 1949, with the appearance of the first statues of Kim Il-sung.
The veneration of Kim Il-sung came into full effect following a mass
purge
In history, religion and political science, a purge is a position removal or execution of people who are considered undesirable by those in power from a government, another organization, their team leaders, or society as a whole. A group undertak ...
in 1953.
In 1967, Kim Jong-il was appointed to the state propaganda and information department, where he began to focus his energy on developing the veneration of his father.
It was around this time that the title ''Suryong'' ('Great Leader') came into habitual usage.
However, Kim Il-sung had begun calling himself "Great Leader" as early as 1949.
[
]Hwang Jang-yop
Hwang Jang-yop ( ko, 황장엽; 17 February 192310 October 2010) was a North Korean politician who served as the Chairman of the Supreme People's Assembly from 1972–1983 and was largely responsible for crafting ''Juche'', the state ideology o ...
, the second highest level North Korean defector
Since the division of Korea after the end of World War II, North Koreans have fled from the country in spite of legal punishment for political, ideological, religious, economic, moral, personal, or nutritional reasons. Such North Koreans are re ...
, has said that the country is completely ruled by the sole ideology of the "Great Leader". He further said that during the de-Stalinization
De-Stalinization (russian: десталинизация, translit=destalinizatsiya) comprised a series of political reforms in the Soviet Union after the death of long-time leader Joseph Stalin in 1953, and the thaw brought about by ascension ...
period in the USSR
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
, when Stalin's cult of personality
Joseph Stalin's cult of personality became a prominent feature of Soviet popular culture in 1929, after a lavish celebration of his purported 50th birthday. For the rest of Stalin's rule, the Soviet press presented Stalin as an all-powerful, ...
was dismantled in 1956, some North Korean students studying in the Soviet Union also began to criticize Kim Il-sung's growing personality cult and when they returned home they "were subject to intensive interrogation that lasted for months" and "Those found the least bit suspicious were killed in secret".
According to official biographies, Kim Il-sung came from a long lineage of leaders and official North Korean modern history focuses on his life and activities. He is credited with almost single-handedly defeating the Japanese at the end of the occupation of Korea (ignoring Soviet and American efforts) and with rebuilding the nation after the Korean War
, date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
. Over the course of his life he was granted titles of esteem such as "Sun", "Great Chairman", "Heavenly Leader" and many others, as well as awards like the "Double Hero Gold Medal". These titles and awards were often self-given and the practice would be repeated by his son. The Korean Central News Agency (the official government news agency) continually reported on the titles and perceived affection granted to Kim Il-sung by world leaders including Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong pronounced ; also romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the founder of the People's Republic of China (PRC) ...
of China, Fidel Castro
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (; ; 13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban revolutionary and politician who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and president from 1976 to 200 ...
of Cuba and Jimmy Carter
James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...
of the United States.
All major publications (newspapers, textbooks etc.) were to include "words of instruction" from Kim Il-sung.
Additionally, his name must be written as a single word in one line, it may not be split into two parts if there is a page break or the line of text runs out of room (for example: Kim Il-sung, not Kim Il-...sung).
North Korean children were taught in school that they were fed, clothed and nurtured in all aspects by the "grace of the Chairman". The larger elementary schools in the country have a room set aside for lectures that deal specifically with Kim Il-sung (known as the Kim Il-sung Research Institute). These rooms are well taken care of, are built of high quality materials, and have a model of his birthplace in Mangyongdae
Mangyongdae () is a neighborhood in Mangyongdae-guyok, Pyongyang, North Korea. North Korean propaganda claims Mangyongdae is the birthplace of North Korean leader Kim Il-sung, although in his memoirs he wrote that he had been born in the nearby n ...
. The size of the images of him which adorned public buildings are regulated to be in proportion to the size of the building on which they hang. His place of birth has also become a place of pilgrimage.
Kang Chol-hwan wrote of his childhood in North Korea: To my childish eyes and to those of all my friends, Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il were perfect beings, untarnished by any base human function. I was convinced, as we all were, that neither of them urinated or defecated. Who could imagine such things of gods?[Chol-hwan Kang and Pierre Rigoulot (2005). ''The Aquariums of Pyongyang: Ten Years in the North Korean Gulag'', Basic Books, p. 3. .]
In his memoir ''With the Century
''Reminiscences: With the Century'' () is the autobiography of Kim Il-sung, founder and former president of North Korea. The memoirs, written in 1992 and published in eight volumes, retell Kim's life story through his childhood to the time of K ...
'', Kim Il-sung tells an anecdote involving his father and grandfather that gives the rationale for this sanitized presentation of North Korean leaders to their followers. The memoir says that as a young pupil, Kim Il-sung's father was often sent to fetch wine for one of his teachers, who drank frequently, until one day his father saw the drunken teacher fall face-first into a ditch. This led to a confrontation in which the young pupil shamed the embarrassed teacher into giving up wine altogether. Kim Il-sung's grandfather draws the moral of this story: My grandfather's opinion was this: If pupils peep into their teacher's private life frequently, they lose their awe of him; the teacher must give his pupils the firm belief that their teacher neither eats nor urinates; only then can he maintain his authority at school; so a teacher should set up a screen and live behind it.
Biographer Dae-Sook Suh notes: The magnitude of adulation often borders on fanaticism. His photograph is displayed ahead of the national flag and national emblem; the song of Marshal Kim Il-sung is played ahead of the national anthem; the best institution of higher learning is named after him; the highest party school is also named after him; and there are songs, poems, essays, stories, and even a flower named after him.
The Kimilsungia
Kimilsungia is a hybrid orchid of the genus ''Dendrobium''. It is a clone of a plant that was created in Indonesia by orchid breeder Carl Ludwig C. L. Bundt, who in 1964 registered the grex name ''Dendrobium'' Clara Bundt for all orchids of t ...
is an orchid named after Kim Il-sung by Indonesian former president Sukarno
Sukarno). (; born Koesno Sosrodihardjo, ; 6 June 1901 – 21 June 1970) was an Indonesian statesman, orator, revolutionary, and nationalist who was the first president of Indonesia, serving from 1945 to 1967.
Sukarno was the leader of ...
. It was named after him in 1965 during a visit to the Bogor Botanical Garden
The Bogor Botanical Gardens ( id, Kebun Raya Bogor) is a botanical garden located in Bogor, Indonesia, 60 km south of central Jakarta. It is currently operated by Indonesian Institute of Sciences (Indonesian: ''Lembaga Ilmu Pengetahuan Indon ...
s. According to a 2005 speech by Kim Jong-il, Sukarno and the garden's director wanted to name the flower after Kim Il-sung. Kim Il-sung declined, yet Sukarno insisted, "No. You have rendered enormous services to mankind, so you deserve a high honour." Domestically, the flowers (and the Kimjongilia
Kimjongilia is a flower named after the late North Korean leader Kim Jong-il. It is a hybrid cultivar of tuberous begonia, registered as ''Begonia'' × ''tuberhybrida'' 'Kimjongilhwa'. When Kim Jong-il died in December 2011, the flower was us ...
, described below) are used in idolizing the leadership.
When Kim Il-sung died in 1994, Kim Jong-il declared a national mourning period for three years. Those who were found violating the mourning rules (such as drinking) were met with punishment. After his death he was referred to as the "Eternal President
The Eternal leaders of North Korea, officially the Eternal leaders of ''Juche'' Korea, refers to the practice of granting posthumous titles to deceased leaders of North Korea. The official title was established by a line in the preamble to the ...
". In 1998 the national constitution
A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed.
When these princip ...
was changed to reflect this. When his father died, Kim Jong-il greatly expanded the nation's cult of personality.
In 1997, the ''Juche'' Era dating system, which begins with the birth of Kim Il-sung (April 15, 1912) as year 1, was introduced and replaced the Gregorian calendar
The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It was introduced in October 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian calendar. The principal change was to space leap years dif ...
. The year would thus correspond to Juche (there is no year 0).
July 8, 2014 marked the 20th anniversary of Kim Il-sung's death. North Korean authorities declared a ten-day mourning period which ran from July 1 to July 10. The anniversary involved lectures, study sessions, local choirs, etc., with children and workers being mobilized to take part in the various events. According to a resident of Hyesan
Hyesan () is a city in the northern part of Ryanggang province of North Korea. It is a hub of river transportation as well as a product distribution centre. It is also the administrative centre of Ryanggang Province. As of 2008, the population o ...
, "Nowadays people are having a hard time... as events related to the passing of the Suryeong are going on every single day in the Democratic Women's Union and workplaces alike". Nevertheless, the resident said, "Nobody is complaining about it, maybe because ever since the purge of Jang Song-taek last year, if you picked a fight they'd just drag you away".
Kim Jong-il
In keeping with the modern mythologies that pervade North Korea's version of history, which is seen as crucial to the cult of personality and political control, it is alleged that Kim Jong-il was born on Mount Paektu
Paektu Mountain (), also known as Baekdu Mountain and in China as Changbai Mountain ( zh, s=长白山, t=長白山; Manchu: Golmin Šanggiyan Alin), is an active stratovolcano on the Chinese–North Korean border. At , it is the highest moun ...
at in 1942 (his actual birth was in 1941 in the Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
) and that his birth was heralded by a swallow, caused winter to change to spring, a star to illuminate the sky, and a double rainbow spontaneously appeared. These claims, like those surrounding his father, continued throughout his life.
Starting in the early 1970s Kim Il-sung began to contemplate the succession question, albeit surreptitiously at first, but by 1975 Kim Jong-il was referred to as the "party center", or in connection with his father with references to "our great ''suryong'' and the party center". In 1977, the first confirmation of Kim Jong-il's succession by name was published in a booklet which designated the younger Kim as the only heir to Kim Il-sung, that he was a loyal servant of his father and had inherited his father's virtues, and that all party members were to pledge their loyalty to Kim Jong-il. They were also urged to support his absolute authority and to obey him unconditionally.
Prior to 1996, Kim Jong-il forbade the erection of statues of himself and discouraged portraits.
However, in 1996, schools were required to build a separate room for lectures dealing specifically with Kim Jong-il known as the Kim Jong-il Research Institute. They include a model of his birthplace. There are approximately 40,000 "research institutes" (total includes both Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il's) throughout the country.
Between 1973 and 2012, Jong-il accumulated no fewer than 54 titles, most of which had little or nothing at all to do with real political or military accomplishments since he never had any military training.[
] His most common title was "Dear Leader."
Over the course of his life, the government issued numerous propaganda reports of the great accomplishments achieved by Kim Jong-il, such as that he could walk and talk before the age of six months. The North Korean newspaper, ''Rodong Sinmun
''Rodong Sinmun'' (; ) is a North Korean newspaper that serves as the official newspaper of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea. It was first published on November 1, 1945, as ''Chŏngro'' (), serving as a communication channel ...
'', reported that an "unidentified French fashion expert" said of Kim's fashion, "Kim Jong-il mode, which is now spreading expeditiously worldwide, is something unprecedented in the world's history." The Korean Central News Agency has also reported, among other things, that according to eyewitness accounts "nature and the sky unfolded such mysterious ecstasy in celebration of the birthday of Kim Jong Il."
To commemorate Kim Jong-il's 46th birthday
A birthday is the anniversary of the birth of a person, or figuratively of an institution. Birthdays of people are celebrated in numerous cultures, often with birthday gifts, birthday cards, a birthday party, or a rite of passage.
Many relig ...
, Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture
** Japanese diaspor ...
botanist
Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...
Kamo Mototeru is a Japanese horticulturist, creator of the variety of begonia Kimjongilia dedicated to North Korean leader Kim Jong-il.
He is known for creating and maintaining a number of bird and flower theme parks in Japan, including the following.
* Fuji ...
cultivated a new perennial
A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...
begonia
''Begonia'' is a genus of perennial flowering plants in the family Begoniaceae. The genus contains more than 2,000 different plant species. The Begonias are native to moist subtropical and tropical climates. Some species are commonly grown ind ...
named "Kimjongilia
Kimjongilia is a flower named after the late North Korean leader Kim Jong-il. It is a hybrid cultivar of tuberous begonia, registered as ''Begonia'' × ''tuberhybrida'' 'Kimjongilhwa'. When Kim Jong-il died in December 2011, the flower was us ...
" (literally, "flower of Kim Jong-il").
After Kim Jong-il's death
After his death on December 17, 2011, the Korean Central News Agency
The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) is the state news agency of North Korea. The agency portrays the views of the North Korean government for both domestic and foreign consumption. It was established on December 5, 1946 and now features onlin ...
(KCNA) said that layers of ice ruptured with an unprecedentedly loud crack at Chon Lake on Mount Paektu and a snowstorm with strong winds hit the area.
A political paper by his son, Kim Jong-un, sought to solidify his father as the "Eternal General Secretary of our Party." Many had been seen weeping during the 100-day mourning period, which is typical of Korean Confucian
Korean Confucianism is the form of Confucianism that emerged and developed in Korea. One of the most substantial influences in Korean intellectual history was the introduction of Confucian thought as part of the cultural influence from China.
T ...
society, and an analyst at South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
's Korea Institute for National Unification
The Korea Institute for National Unification is a think tank funded by the South Korean government focusing on issues related to Korean reunification.
History
In 1990, the institute was established as a hub of research on North Korea.
In 2010, ...
determined that much of the public grief evidenced during the mourning period was a genuine expression of sorrow. Yet, a journalist from the West
West is a cardinal direction or compass point.
West or The West may also refer to:
Geography and locations
Global context
* The Western world
* Western culture and Western civilization in general
* The Western Bloc, countries allied with NATO ...
questioned the sincerity of the displays of grief.
Similar to the mourning period of Kim Il-sung, individuals who did not follow the 100-day mourning period regulations or were thought to be insincere in their grief were subject to punishment and in some cases may have been executed. A notable example of this was the alleged death of Kim Chol
Kim Chol (, born c. 1960) worked as a Vice Minister in the North Korean Army. He was allegedly purged and executed in spectacular fashion for “drinking and carousing” during the period of mourning for Kim Jong-il. South Korean media repor ...
and other high-ranking officials. However, in the case of Chol, doubts have been raised as to the credibility of the original account with ''Foreign Policy
A State (polity), state's foreign policy or external policy (as opposed to internal or domestic policy) is its objectives and activities in relation to its interactions with other states, unions, and other political entities, whether bilaterall ...
'' stating that stories about violent deaths of North Korean elites tend to be "exaggerated" and observing the version of events disseminated by South Korean media was likely based on "gossip".
Several large-scale bronze statues have been erected alongside statues of Kim Il-sung. They include a statue of Kim Jong-il and Kim Il-sung each riding a horse (the first large monument built after Kim Jong-il's death) and a tall statue at Mansudae, Pyongyang
Pyongyang (, , ) is the capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is known as the "Capital of the Revolution". Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. According to the 2008 populatio ...
. The government has also been replacing statues of Kim Il-sung with updated versions along with new statues of Kim Jong-il beside the ones of his father in each of the provincial capitals and other sites.
Following his death, numerous commemorative stamps and coins were made and slogans have been carved on the sides of mountains in honor of his 70th birthday anniversary.
Kim Jong-un
Kim Jong-un
Kim Jong-un (; , ; born 8 January 1982) is a North Korean politician who has been Supreme Leader of North Korea since 2011 and the leader of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) since 2012. He is a son of Kim Jong-il, who was North Korea's sec ...
, the grandson of North Korea's founder, was largely absent from the public and government service until the mid-2000s. In 2010 he began being referred to as the "Young General" and by late 2011 as "Respected General". Like his father, he lacks any formal military training or service. With the death of his father, state media began to refer to him as the "Great Successor." He is also called "Dear Respected" or "Supreme Leader." When he was still a new ruler, the development of his own personality cult was well underway, with large numbers of posters, signs, and other propaganda being placed all over the country. A journalist from Japan's ''The Asahi Shimbun
is one of the four largest newspapers in Japan. Founded in 1879, it is also one of the oldest newspapers in Japan and Asia, and is considered a newspaper of record for Japan. Its circulation, which was 4.57 million for its morning edition and ...
'' said that his striking likeness in appearance to Kim Il-sung has helped solidify him as the undisputed ruler in the minds of the people.
Kim Jong-un marks the third generation of Kim family dynastic leadership. According to ''Daily NK'', people who criticized the succession were sent to re-education camps or otherwise punished and, after the mourning period of Kim Jong-il, government authorities began to increase their efforts on building the idolization of Kim Jong-un.
After Kim Jong-il's death the president of the Presidium announced that "Respected Comrade Kim Jong-un is our party, military and country's supreme leader who inherits great comrade Kim Jong-il's ideology, leadership, character, virtues, grit and courage."
Shortly after the new leader came to power, a -long propaganda sign was erected in his honor near a lake in Ryanggang Province
Ryanggang Province (Ryanggangdo; ko, 량강도, ''Ryanggang-do'', ) is a province in North Korea. The province is bordered by China (Jilin) on the north, North Hamgyong on the east, South Hamgyong on the south, and Chagang on the west. Ryangga ...
. The sign, supposedly visible from space, reads "Long Live General Kim Jong-un, the Shining Sun!"
In 2013, the Workers' Party of Korea
The Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) is the founding and sole ruling party of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, commonly known as North Korea. Founded in 1949 from the merger of the Workers' Party of North Korea and the Workers' Party of ...
amended the '''', which in practice serves as the primary legal authority and framework of the country, to demand "absolute obedience" to Kim Jong-un.
Kim Jong-un's uncle, Jang Sung-taek
Jang Song-thaek (January or February 1946 – 12 December 2013) was a leading figure in the government of North Korea. He was married to Kim Kyong-hui, the only daughter of North Korean Premier Kim Il-sung and his first wife Kim Jong-suk, and o ...
, was executed on December 12, 2013. His death was attributed, in part, to undermining the Kim family personality cult. His death has also been seen as a move by Kim Jong-un to consolidate his own cult.
In 2015, at the end of the formal three-year mourning period for the death of Kim Jong-il, Kim Jong-un ordered the construction of new monuments to be built in every county
A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
of North Korea. Extensive renovations to the Kumsusan Memorial Palace have also been ordered. According to ''The Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally.
It was fo ...
'', analysts "say the order to erect more statues to the Kim family will be a heavy financial burden on an economy that is already struggling due to years of chronic mismanagement and international sanctions".
The first monument to be at least partially dedicated to Kim Jong-un was announced in January 2017. It is to be constructed on Mt. Paektu and also includes monuments dedicated to Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il. Additionally, stand alone "mosaic murals" of Kim Jong-un are being planned for major cities in each province.
Others
The personality cult extends to other members of the Kim family, although to a lesser degree.
Kim Ung-u
According to the official North Korean history, , Kim Il-sung's paternal great-grandfather, fought against the American schooner
A schooner () is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schoon ...
USS ''General Sherman'' in the 1866 incident and was also an anti-Japanese activist; North Korea won the battle and captured the ship which is now on display in a museum. However, these claims remain unsubstantiated and many historians outside of North Korea doubt their legitimacy.[Suh, D.-S. (1988). ''Kim Il Sung: The North Korean Leader.'' New York: Columbia University Press.]
Kang Pan-sok
Kang Pan-sok
Kang Pan-sŏk ( ko, 강반석; 21 April 1892 – 31 July 1932) was the mother of North Korean leader Kim Il-sung.
Biography
She came from the village of Chilgol and raised Kim on a small farm in Mangyongdae, both near Pyongyang. She ac ...
, the mother of Kim Il-sung, was the first member of the Kim family to have a cult of personality of her own to supplement that of her son's, from the late 1960s onwards. In addition to a museum and statue in Chilgol
Chilgol () is a suburb of Pyongyang in the Mangyongdae District.
Chilgol is known as the place where Kang Pan-sok, the mother of Kim Il-sung, North Korea's first leader, was born in 1892 and spent her childhood. The area features many buildings a ...
, her birthplace, she has been given the title "Mother of Korea" and has had songs and articles written in praise of her.
Kim Hyong-jik
Kim Hyong-jik
Kim Hyong-jik (Korean: 김형직; 10 July 1894 – 5 June 1926) was a Korean independence activist during Japanese rule. He was the father of the North Korean founder Kim Il-sung, the paternal grandfather of Kim Jong-il, and a great-g ...
, the father of Kim Il-sung, is venerated by official North Korean historiographies for having been a prominent leader of the anti-colonial Korean independence movement
The Korean independence movement was a military and diplomatic campaign to achieve the independence of Korea from Japan. After the Japanese annexation of Korea in 1910, Korea's domestic resistance peaked in the March 1st Movement of 1919, which ...
. In fact, official sources claim that Kim not only led the March 1st Uprising of 1919, but also that it took place in Pyongyang—both blatant fabrications. While in reality Kim was at one point briefly detained for anti-Japanese activities,[Lankov, A. N. "North Korea in 1945-8." ''From Stalin to Kim Il Sung: The Formation of North Korea, 1945-1960''. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers UP, 2002. 1-48. Print.] most outside scholars do not support claims of anything further. In fact, according to biographer Dae-Sook Suh, efforts to describe Kim Hyong-jik as playing a major role in the anti-Japanese struggle "seem to be directed more toward upgrading the attributes of Kim l-sungas a pious son." This attribution became important as Kim Il-sung used these stories to aid his ascent to power.
Kim Hyong-jik currently has a museum and statue dedicated to him in his hometown of Ponghwa.
Kim Hyong-gwon
Kim Hyong-gwon
Kim Hyong-gwon (; 4 November 1905 – 12 January 1936) was a Korean revolutionary. He is known for attacking a Japanese police station in Japanese-occupied Korea and subsequently dying in Seoul's Seodaemun Prison where he was serving his sente ...
, paternal uncle of Kim Il-sung and brother of Kim Hyong-jik, is honored in North Korea as an anti-Japanese activist because he skirmished with local police, for which he was arrested and later died on January 12, 1936, during internment in Seoul. There is a statue in his honor in Hongwon, the site of the skirmish. Kim Il-sung later renamed a county in southeastern Ryanggang Province after his uncle. It is called "Kimhyonggwon County
Kimhyŏnggwŏn County is a ''kun'', or county, in southeastern Ryanggang province, North Korea. It borders South Hamgyŏng to the south. Previously known as Pungsan, it was renamed by Kim Il Sung in 1990. He named it after his uncle, Kim Hyŏ ...
".
Kim Jong-suk
Kim Jong-suk
Kim Jong-suk (; 24 December 1917Suh Dae-sook. Kim Il Sung: The North Korean Leader. New York: Columbia University Press, 1988. – 22 September 1949) was a Korean anti-Japanese guerrilla, a Communist activist, North Korean leader Kim Il ...
, mother of Kim Jong-il, is described as "a revolutionary immortal" and "an anti-Japanese war hero houpheld the original idea and policy of Kim Il Sung and performed distinguished feats in the development of the movement for the women's emancipation in Korea." She is typified as a model revolutionary, wife, and maternal figure, and North Korean society looks to stories of her as examples of how to live life.
Although she was first lady of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in the first year of its founding in 1948, she died in 1949, and starting in 1974, in conjunction with her son Kim Jong-il's rise to position as the heir apparent, she was increasingly praised and her accomplishments memorialized throughout the nation. A museum and statue was built in her home town in her honor and she was called an "indomitable Communist revolutionary" by Kim Sung-ae
Kim Song-ae (; born Kim Song-pal; 29 December 1924 – September 2014) was a North Korean politician who served as the first lady of North Korea from 1963 to 1974. She was the second wife of North Korea's founder, Kim Il-sung.
Biography
Born Kim ...
who was Kim Il-sung's then present wife, despite being largely ignored until this point. Thus, originally she was honored as a guerrilla, but not necessarily as a mother or wife. In the 1990s, Kim Jong-suk's portrait was even added to those of Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il, which were displayed in every household and building and treated as sacred objects of veneration and worship. Furthermore, when referring to the "three Great Generals of Paekdu Mountain," a sacred dormant volcano on North Korea's northern border with China, North Koreans understand this to mean Kim Il-sung, Kim Jong-suk, and their son Kim Jong-il.
There is a wax replica of her in the International Friendship Exhibition
The International Friendship Exhibition is a large museum complex located at Myohyangsan, North Pyongan Province, North Korea. It is a collection of halls that house gifts presented to former leaders Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il from various forei ...
.
Ko Yong-hui
Ko Yong-hui
Ko Yong-hui (; ; 26 June 1952 – 13 August 2004), also spelled Ko Young-hee, was the consort of North Korean supreme leader Kim Jong-il and the mother of his successor, Kim Jong-un. Within North Korea, she is only referred to by titles, such ...
, the third wife of Kim Jong-il
Kim Jong-il (; ; ; born Yuri Irsenovich Kim;, 16 February 1941 – 17 December 2011) was a North Korean politician who was the second supreme leader of North Korea from 1994 to 2011. He led North Korea from the 1994 death of his father Kim ...
and mother of Kim Jong-un
Kim Jong-un (; , ; born 8 January 1982) is a North Korean politician who has been Supreme Leader of North Korea since 2011 and the leader of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) since 2012. He is a son of Kim Jong-il, who was North Korea's sec ...
, had three attempts made to idolize her in a style similar to that associated with other female members of the family. These attempts either failed or were ceased after 2012. In 2010, an internal propaganda film was produced about her and her activities with Kim Jong-il during his leadership. It also touched on her important role in raising her son. She is mentioned in North Korean biographies about Kim Jong-un and in some North Korean monuments and texts. She is referred to as "Mother of Great Songun Korea" or "Great Mother", with her name not being public knowledge.
The building of a cult of personality around Ko encounters the problem of her bad songbun (social class status), as her Korean-Japanese heritage would make her part of the lowest "hostile" class, a possible issue for the pure Kim family mythology.
In 2012, Kim Jong-un built a grave for Ko on Mount Taesong
Taesŏngsan is a mountain in Taesong-guyok, Pyongyang, North Korea. It has an elevation of . One popular visitor attraction on Taesŏngsan is the outdoor ice rink. Others include the Revolutionary Martyrs' Cemetery and the Korea Central Zoo.
In ...
.
Familism in the personality cult
Familism
Familialism or familism is an ideology that puts priority to family. The term ''familialism'' has been specifically used for advocating a welfare system wherein it is presumed that families will take responsibility for the care of their members ...
is a type of collectivism
Collectivism may refer to:
* Bureaucratic collectivism, a theory of class society whichto describe the Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin
* Collectivist anarchism, a socialist doctrine in which the workers own and manage the production
* Collectiv ...
in which the one is expected to prioritize the needs of the greater society or family over the needs of the individual. This plays out on a large scale in North Korea, where the Great Leader Kim Il-sung is Father and the Worker's Party is Mother. Thus, not only are the people expected to cherish their birth parents and treat them with all the respect demanded of traditional Confucian filial piety, but they must cherish and adore the ruling Kim family and the Mother Party even more so.
Familism in North Korea stems from a combination of the traditional East Asian Confucian value of filial piety
In Confucianism, Chinese Buddhism, and Daoist ethics, filial piety (, ''xiào'') (Latin: pietas) is a virtue of respect for one's parents, elders, and ancestors. The Confucian ''Classic of Filial Piety'', thought to be written around the late W ...
, the communist system of collectivism, and the Kim cult of personality. As a traditional East Asian and Confucian value, the importance of family has come to resonate through all aspects of North Korean life, from politics to the economy to education and even to interpersonal relationships between friends and enemies.
When the Soviet Union first entered North Korea in 1945 to start its occupation, it had to start almost from scratch in establishing a communist base in the capital region of Pyongyang. In fact, the Soviets' ideologies of communism and socialism were likely as foreign to the Koreans of Pyongyang as the Soviets themselves. However, by emphasizing family and a father-child relationship between the Soviet Union and Korea, and later between Kim Il-sung and the North Korean people, Kim not only managed to apply Western Marxism to an Asian state, but also to secure his own personality cult, thereby constructing a sense of unquestioning loyalty toward him amongst the North Korean people when North Korea was at its most vulnerable to unwelcome western influences.
However, in the late 1960s after the establishment of ''Juche
''Juche'' ( ; ), officially the ''Juche'' idea (), is the state ideology of North Korea and the official ideology of the Workers' Party of Korea. North Korean sources attribute its conceptualization to Kim Il-sung, the country's founder and ...
'' as official North Korean ideology, through the cult of personality North Korea began to prominently focus the family ideology more on the North Korean nation itself, with Kim Il-sung himself as the new ''pater familias
The ''pater familias'', also written as ''paterfamilias'' (plural ''patres familias''), was the head of a Roman family. The ''pater familias'' was the oldest living male in a household, and could legally exercise autocratic authority over his ext ...
''.
The cults of personality also promote the idea of the ruling Kims as a model family. In grief over the death of his second son, Kim Man-il
Kim Man-il (; 1944–1947/1948) was the second son and child of North Korean leader Kim Il-sung and his first wife, Kim Jong-suk.
Biography
Soviet records show that he was born Alexander Irsenovich Kim (russian: Александр Ирсено ...
in 1947, Kim Il-sung returned to the very same spot a decade later with a Korean shaman to perform rituals to "assuage his loss and pain." There was particular stress on the Confucian filial love of the son for his parents. After their deaths Kim dedicated monuments to his father and mother, respectively.
However, biographer Dae-Sook Suh doubts the sincerity of Kim's displays of reverence of his parents. In considering Kim's relatively independent childhood, Suh does not believe that Kim held any special love for his parents that would necessitate separate museums and statues for each. Instead, Suh says that "his purpose, rather, seems to be more self-serving: an effort to build his own image as a pious Korean son from a revolutionary family." By publicly portraying himself as a loyal son who loved his mother and father, Kim positioned himself to demand the same filial loyalty from his subjects.
Likewise, in celebration of his father's 60th birthday
A birthday is the anniversary of the birth of a person, or figuratively of an institution. Birthdays of people are celebrated in numerous cultures, often with birthday gifts, birthday cards, a birthday party, or a rite of passage.
Many relig ...
, Kim Jong-il produced three operas for him, built three monuments, including North Korea's Arch of Triumph, for his 70th birthday in 1982, and upon Kim Il-sung's death in 1994, Kim Jong-il declared three years of mourning before fully claiming leadership of North Korea.
Monuments, images and cost
By 1992, according to Victor Cha
Victor D. Cha (born 1960) is an American academic, author and former national foreign policy advisor.
He is a former Director for Asian Affairs in the White House's National Security Council, with responsibility for Japan, North and South Korea, ...
, there had been nearly 40,000 statues of Kim Il-sung erected throughout the country, and with his death in 1994 the government began erecting 3,200 obelisks, called "", in every town and city. These obelisks espouse the virtues of the "Great Marshal" and, like the other monuments, citizens (and tourists) are required to present flowers and other tokens of respect to the statues during certain holidays and when they visit them. A 2018 review of satellite imagery revealed the existence of fewer than 11,200 outside monuments and murals.
There are legal requirements associated with photographing statues of the Kims including one that states visitors must photograph the entire statue, not just the head or any other individual part.
After the death of Kim Jong-il the government began to inscribe his name on each of the obelisks and build new statues in his image.
Images of Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il are prominent in places associated with public transportation, hanging at every North Korean train station and airport. Every North Korean household is required to have a picture of both Kims hanging on a wall. Nothing else may hang on that wall and they are given special cloths to clean the images daily. Party members in neighborhoods are assigned to inspect houses for dusty portraits. If dust is found, a fine has to be paid, its amount depending on the thickness of the layer. The portraits have to be hung high up, so that people in the room may not stand higher than them. Party
A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often feature f ...
cadres and military officials must keep three portraits, that of the two deceased leaders and one of Kim Il-sung's wife, Kim Jong-suk. The images are only allowed to be made by government approved artists at specific Mansudae workshops. Images found within newspapers or other publications are to be respected and one must not throw away, deface or otherwise misuse a page that contains an image. They are to be collected and returned. Adult North Koreans are also required to wear a lapel pin that features their image on the left side, above their heart.
There have been sporadic stories of people risking their lives to save the portraits from various disasters but few accounts have been verified. In 2012, a 14-year-old girl drowned while trying to save the images from her family's home during a flash flood. The North Korean government posthumously bestowed upon her the "Kim Jong-il Youth Honor Award" and her school was renamed after her.
The Kumsusan Palace of the Sun
The Kumsusan Palace of the Sun (), formerly the Kumsusan Memorial Palace (), is a building near the northeast corner of the city of Pyongyang that serves as the mausoleum for Kim Il-sung, the founder of North Korea, and for his son Kim Jong-il, bo ...
was built as the official residence of Kim Il-sung in 1976. After his death it was converted into his mausoleum
A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be consid ...
(and then that of his son's). It is reported to have cost between $100–900 million. Kumsusan is the largest mausoleum dedicated to a communist leader.
The overall estimated cost of maintaining the personality cult varies greatly between published sources. A white paper
A white paper is a report or guide that informs readers concisely about a complex issue and presents the issuing body's philosophy on the matter. It is meant to help readers understand an issue, solve a problem, or make a decision. A white paper ...
by the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy
The Korea Institute for International Economic Policy (KIEP), established in 1989, is a government-funded economic research institute addressing the international economy and its relationship with Korea. KIEP has aimed to be a regional hub for i ...
placed the cost at 38.5% of North Korea's budget in 2004, up from 19% in 1990. However, other sources such as South Korea's ''Chosun Ilbo
''The Chosun Ilbo'' (, ) is a daily newspaper in South Korea and the oldest daily newspaper in the country. With a daily circulation of more than 1,800,000, the ''Chosun Ilbo'' has been audited annually since the Audit Bureau of Circulations w ...
'' and the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
's ''Daily Telegraph
Daily or The Daily may refer to:
Journalism
* Daily newspaper, newspaper issued on five to seven day of most weeks
* ''The Daily'' (podcast), a podcast by ''The New York Times''
* ''The Daily'' (News Corporation), a defunct US-based iPad new ...
'' estimate the cost in 2012 at between $40 million and $100 million respectively. Large scale construction projects for the Kim family has been blamed for the country's economic downturn
In economics, a recession is a business cycle contraction when there is a general decline in economic activity. Recessions generally occur when there is a widespread drop in spending (an adverse demand shock). This may be triggered by various ...
in the 1980s.
Holidays
In 2013, a new holiday was announced to be celebrated on February 14, which commemorates the date that Kim Jong-il assumed the title "Generalissimo of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea". Unlike celebrations surrounding other important figures throughout the world, the celebrations are mandatory, with numerous events planned (such as dances, sporting events and parades), and citizens will place gifts of flowers at the foot of monuments. Birthday celebrations for the Kims also involve state media broadcasts of films about the lives and accomplishments of the leaders the night before the actual holiday. People are not allowed to talk or fall asleep until the broadcasts are over.
International inspirations
Between 60,000 and 220,000 gifts to Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il from foreign leaders, businesspersons and others are housed in the International Friendship Exhibition
The International Friendship Exhibition is a large museum complex located at Myohyangsan, North Pyongan Province, North Korea. It is a collection of halls that house gifts presented to former leaders Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il from various forei ...
.
The museum is a source of pride for the North Korean government and is used as evidence of the greatness and popularity of their leaders. The North Korean government places a large emphasis on international recognition in order to legitimize their rule in the minds of the population. Tours are arranged to the Exhibition Hall whereupon entering and leaving visitors must pay homage by bowing before images of Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il, as per Korean manners and tradition.
The former dictator of the Socialist Republic of Romania
The Socialist Republic of Romania ( ro, Republica Socialistă România, RSR) was a Marxist–Leninist one-party socialist state that existed officially in Romania from 1947 to 1989. From 1947 to 1965, the state was known as the Romanian People ...
, Nicolae Ceaușescu
Nicolae Ceaușescu ( , ; – 25 December 1989) was a Romanian communist politician and dictator. He was the general secretary of the Romanian Communist Party from 1965 to 1989, and the second and last Communist leader of Romania. He was ...
, partially modeled his own cult of personality on Kim Il-sung's personality cult. When he visited North Korea in 1971, he was impressed by the highly personal way in which Kim ruled North Korea, and launched the July Theses
The July Theses ( ro, Tezele din iulie) is a name commonly given to a speech delivered by Romanian leader Nicolae Ceaușescu on July 6, 1971, before the Executive Committee of the Romanian Communist Party (PCR). Its full name was ("Proposed measu ...
when he returned to Bucharest
Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...
.
Historical significance
Over the past half-century, the North Korean system has promoted an image of not only Kim Il-sung, but also his family, as a nationalist cult. (''see Other
Other often refers to:
* Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy
Other or The Other may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack
* ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...
'') Thus, Kim Il-sung staked his claim as uniquely deserving and qualified to the exclusion of all other potential claimants to leadership by promoting the myth of an impressive family lineage. Kim Il-sung was not only descended and born of revolutionary leaders, but he married a revolutionary leader (Kim Jong-suk
Kim Jong-suk (; 24 December 1917Suh Dae-sook. Kim Il Sung: The North Korean Leader. New York: Columbia University Press, 1988. – 22 September 1949) was a Korean anti-Japanese guerrilla, a Communist activist, North Korean leader Kim Il ...
) and fathered a revolutionary leader (Kim Jong-il
Kim Jong-il (; ; ; born Yuri Irsenovich Kim;, 16 February 1941 – 17 December 2011) was a North Korean politician who was the second supreme leader of North Korea from 1994 to 2011. He led North Korea from the 1994 death of his father Kim ...
). This in turn would help justify the succession of Kim Jong-il and then Kim Jong-un in replacing their fathers. The idea is that as long as his bloodline continues to rule, Kim Il-sung's righteous and godlike spirit lives on in the North Korean leadership.
See also
* Media coverage of North Korea Media coverage of North Korea (officially known as the Democratic People's Republic of Korea) is hampered by an extreme lack of reliable information. There are a number of reasons for this lack of information.
Access to North Korea by foreign news ...
* ''Juche
''Juche'' ( ; ), officially the ''Juche'' idea (), is the state ideology of North Korea and the official ideology of the Workers' Party of Korea. North Korean sources attribute its conceptualization to Kim Il-sung, the country's founder and ...
''
* Imperial cult
An imperial cult is a form of state religion in which an emperor or a dynasty of emperors (or rulers of another title) are worshipped as demigods or deities. "Cult" here is used to mean "worship", not in the modern pejorative sense. The cult may ...
* Charismatic authority
Charismatic authority is a concept of leadership developed by the German sociologist Max Weber. It involves a type of organization or a type of leadership in which authority derives from the charisma of the leader. This stands in contrast to two o ...
* Propaganda in North Korea
Propaganda is widely used and produced by the government of North Korea (DPRK). Most propaganda is based on the ''Juche'' ideology and on the promotion of the Workers' Party of Korea.
The first syllable of ''Juche'', "ju", means the man; the ...
* Paektu Mountain
Paektu Mountain (), also known as Baekdu Mountain and in China as Changbai Mountain ( zh, s=长白山, t=長白山; Manchu: Golmin Šanggiyan Alin), is an active stratovolcano on the Chinese–North Korean border. At , it is the highest moun ...
* The Great General can use teleportation
"The General Uses Warp" () is a North Korean song praising Kim Jong-il. The song was first released in 1996 by Wangjaesan Light Music Band, with lyrics written by Chong Ryol () and music composed by Kim Un-ryong ().
Background
The song clai ...
* Death and funeral of Kim Il-sung
Kim Il-sung died of a sudden heart attack on the early morning of 8 July 1994 at age 82. North Korea's government did not report the death for more than 34 hours after it occurred. An official mourning period was declared from 8–17 July, du ...
* Death and funeral of Kim Jong-il
The death of Kim Jong-il was reported by North Korean state television news on 19 December 2011. The presenter Ri Chun-hee announced that he had died on 17 December at 8:30 am of a massive heart attack while travelling by train to an area ou ...
* Stalin's cult of personality
Joseph Stalin's cult of personality became a prominent feature of Soviet popular culture in 1929, after a lavish celebration of his purported 50th birthday. For the rest of Stalin's rule, the Soviet press presented Stalin as an all-powerful, ...
* Song of General Kim Il-sung
The "Song of General Kim Il-sung" (Korean: 김일성장군의 노래) is a North Korean marching song composed by Kim Won-gyun in 1946. As a part of an ongoing cult of personality, the song praising Kim Il-sung, North Korea's " Eternal President ...
* Mao Zedong's cult of personality
Mao Zedong's cult of personality was a prominent part of Chairman Mao Zedong's rule over the People's Republic of China from his rise in 1949 until his death in 1976. Mass media, propaganda and a series of other techniques were used by the stat ...
* Xi Jinping's cult of personality
A cult of personality has been developing around Xi Jinping since he became General Secretary of the ruling Chinese Communist Party and the regime's paramount leader in 2012.
Background
After Deng Xiaoping started the Chinese economic reform ...
* Nicolae Ceaușescu's cult of personality
During the Cold War, Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu presided over the most pervasive cult of personality within the Eastern Bloc. Inspired by the personality cult surrounding Kim Il-sung in North Korea, it started with the 1971 July Theses w ...
* List of cults of personality
This is a list of regimes of countries as well as a list of individual leaders around the world which have been described as having created a cult of personality by the media or academia. A cult of personality uses various techniques, including ...
References
Bibliography
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External links
NK News: How the Kim Cult of Personality Came to Dominate North Korean Life
{{Portal bar, North Korea
Cults of personality
Society of North Korea
North Korean politicians
Kim Jong-il
Kim Jong-un
Kim dynasty (North Korea)
Kim Il-sung
Cult of personality
A cult of personality, or a cult of the leader, Mudde, Cas and Kaltwasser, Cristóbal Rovira (2017) ''Populism: A Very Short Introduction''. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 63. is the result of an effort which is made to create an id ...