Its well known that kim jong il loves movies hes written books on filmmaking, he owns more than 20,000 movies, hes a reputed james bond fan and, apparently, hes obsessed with elizabeth taylor. The birthdate and early childhood of north korean leader kim jongun is shrouded in mystery. Almost every building in north korea can be seen spotted with portraits, murals and largerthanlife mosaics of kim jong il and his father, kim iisung, either sidebyside or standing together. The dear leader kim jongil was born inside of a log cabin beneath koreas most sacred mountain, where upon the moment he came into this world, a shooting star brought forth a spontaneous change from winter to summer, and for the icing on the birthday cake. In a subsequent bestselling book, the true character of kim jongil, shigemura cited apparently unnamed. Sep 26, 20 read cnn s fast facts on the late kim jong il and learn more about the former leader of democratic peoples republic of korea.
Kim jong il s most popular book is on the juche idea. He majored in marxist political economy and minored in philosophy and military. He then built a plant capable of mass hamburger production to feed his students and teachers, despite the fact that the majority of his citizens battle famine on a daily basis. Following listed are some of the most whacky facts about him. Explore the profile, childhood, life and timeline of this dictator, through this biography.
George orwell had a premonition about kim and wrote a novel about a regime that is eerily. He became north koreas maximum leader after the death of his father, longtime dictator kim ilsung. This book has everything you need to know about kim jong uns assassinated brother. I would stress that the lack of hard facts reflect more on the subject of the book. A kim jongil production recounts a bizarre legacy the. Facts about north korea are thin on the ground here in america, but this book blasts open a personal history of kim jongil with a canny, graceful, and wise commentary that seems far beyond what anyone else has been able to manage.
Once in office, he ramped up north koreas nuclear program. Interesting historical facts they dont teach in schools. According to kim jong ils official biography, he was born in a secret military camp on baekdu mountain during north koreas japanese occupation and his arrival was prophesised by a double rainbow. Kim jong il, north koreas dear leader, was in the process of grooming. Almost every building in north korea can be seen spotted with portraits, murals and largerthanlife mosaics of kim jongil and his father, kim iisung, either sidebyside or standing together. Since the position of president had been eliminated by the supreme peoples assembly. A couple of days ago north korea announced that it was improving its nuclear arsenal in both quality and quantity. North koreas leader was more than just a mercurial despot. North korean leader kim jongil has died following a stroke or heart attack.
He is the son of previous super villains, kim jong il 19412011 and the grandson of kim il sung 19121994. Jan 31, 2011 the incredible kim jong il and his amazing achievements known to his people variously as the supreme leader, the dear leader, our father, the general, lodestar of the 21st century or eternal. Paul fischers book a kim jongil production is a highly illuminating deep dive on the. Kim jongil claimed that while he was at university, he wrote 1,500 books in three years. From the formation of the kim dynasty to the famine and current nuclear weapons incident which nowadays is an ongoing topic in the news i really. They had one son, kim jongnam 19712017, who was kim jongils eldest son. In a kim jongil production, paul fischer defrosts a cold war story almost too wild to believe, an epic love story that reveals in technicolor the north korean hermit kingdom and its movieobsessed, improbably charismatic late leader. Besides being an excellent golf player, a cognac lover and a movie enthusiast, kim jongil was a composer as well. Facts about north korea are thin on the ground here in america, but this book blasts open a personal history of kim jongil with a canny, graceful, and wise.
His official government biography claims kim jong il completed his general education between september 1950 and august 1960 in. Paul fischer recounts kim jongils efforts to remake north korean film on the labors of kidnapped film artists. He enrolled in the kim il sung university, where he took marxist political economy as the major and philosophy and military science as the minor. Young master, young general, great successor, outstanding leader, lil kim, brilliant comrade, yongmyonghan tongji. Kim jongil has been the subject of intense interest and fear in recent months. Kim jong il was the supreme ruler of north korea for 17 years, from 1994 to 2011. All most people know is the ruthless leader of north korea bent on a nuclear program. Learn more about kims life and career in this article. Yonghui was married to kim jongil from 1977 until 2004 when she. State propaganda perpetuated claims of kims talents as well, and many north. On his 60th birthday based on his official date of birth, mass celebrations occurred throughout the country on the occasion of his hwangap. Apr 11, 2020 kim ilsung, communist leader of north korea from 1948 until his death in 1994. North korean newspaper minju joson reported that kim jong il invented a new sandwich called double bread with meat in an attempt to provide quality food to university students. This book has everything you need to know about kim jong.
Kim jong il is an avid equestrian, and has even appeared in a tv movie atop a snowwhite horse. Kim jongun has an older brother kim jongchu 1981 and a sister kim yojong 1987. Kim jong il graduated from namsan higher middle school in 1960 and enrolled the same year at kim il sung university. This is what we know about kim jong il, equally as masterful at life.
According to a book written by one of kim jong ils exstaff members, he was once injured by falling off his horse when it slipped on loose rocks. The incredible kim jong il and his amazing achievements known to his people variously as the supreme leader, the dear leader, our father, the general, lodestar of the 21st century or eternal. Whole the story was interesting and facts revealed about n korea are. Be sure to check out the awesome slapped ham for incredible videos including.
A kim jongil producton, on filmmaking under duress. He was named chairman of the kwp in october 1997, and in september 1998 he formally assumed the countrys highest post. His official biography states that he was born on a sacred mountain baekdu mountain, the legendary birthplace of koreas first kingdom on february 16, 1942, where his father was serving in a secret military base, attempting to overthrow the japanese. North koreas film industry ambitions were a mix of the. Slapped ham take over alltime numbers, in this epic list of facts about kim jong il.
During his often oppressive reign over north korea, kim jong il cultivated a personal mythology that included some outlandish claims. North koreas dear leader, he shifts his sights northward, poking around the infamous rogue state and gathering up insights about its leader, a man newsweek dubbed dr. The fact that new volumes are being added in such a peculiar order testifies to the fact that. Global post compiled 10 bizarre bits of reported fact and propaganda from the life of dear leader. Kim jong il, also spelled kim chong il, born february 16, 1941, siberia, russia, u.
Kim jongil was the powerful leader of north korea from 1994 until his death in 2011. North koreas government is secretive, and little was known about kim jong il even after his many years in power. North korean leader kim jongun was born on the 8th january 1983. With nothing left uncovered, drawing straight from dozens of books, hundreds of articles and thousands of years of korean history, dear reader is both the definitive account of kim jong ils life and the complete strangerthanfiction history of the worlds most unique country. Kim jongun is known to be slightly different from his father and grandfather, so much so that the people recognize him to be a revolutionary.
It is said that the leader wants to look older and more mature, so his official date of birth is 1982. Kim jong il or kim jongil, to prevent confusion when using sans serif fonts, or yuri irsenovich kim on his soviet birth certificate 19412011 was the vertically challenged 53, to be exact megalomaniac totalitarian dictator of north korea. North koreas dear leader is not just a biography, but is also a commentary about north korea, and how the population and military accepts his, and his fathers, leadership of the country despite the dire. The incredible kim jongil and his amazing achievements. Anyway, he is one of the youngest leaders in the world. The founder and first leader of north korea, kim il sung, created the countrys policy of juche or. Kim jong il abuses of socialism are intolerable discourse published in kulloja, official magazine of the central committee of the workers party of korea march 1, 1993 1 at a time when the imperialists and reactionaries are resorting to. This was unsurprising in the kim family, which has a history of heart disease.
Kim jongil 16 february 19411942 17 december 2011 was the supreme leader of north. Kim jong uns late father and former north korean dictator, kim jong il, was a huge fan of strange foods such as shark fin soup and dog meat soup, which he ate to promote immunity and virility. Based on kim jongii s official biography, he was born on koreas most sacred mountain, mt. On his 60th birthday, mass celebrations occurred throughout the country on the occasion of his hwangap.
Here are facts that most people may not know about the secretive world leader. The only thing of interests were his personal experiences, which are fairly rare from north korea and did shed some light. Kim jong il s mother was kim jong suk, his fathers first wife. Kim jong il, north korean politician, son of the former north korean premier and korean workers party kwp chairman kim ilsung, and successor to his father as ruler 19942011 of north korea. Kim jong il was often the centre of attention throughout ordinary life in the dprk. During his leadership of the country, kim built on the mystique already surrounding his family. This work of creative nonfiction will undoubtedly catch many asiawatchers by surprise. Legend has it that a double rainbow and a glowing new star appeared in the heavens to herald the birth of kim jong il, in 1942, on north koreas. He became north koreas maximum leader after the death of his father, longtime dictator kim il sung. From his miraculous rainbowfilled birth during the fiery conflict of world war ii, kim jong il watched as his beloved korea finally earned its freedom from the cursed japanese. Kim jong il ruled north korea from 1994 to 2011 and passed away on december 17, 2011. Bush, in a customary nod toward diplomacy, called a pygmy. According to sources, north koreas government under kim s rule was the most repressive one.
Kim jong il has 48 books on goodreads with 606 ratings. Commemorated in similar fashion, the birthday of kim il sung is known as the day of the sun and falls on april 15. After kim il sung died during the disasters of the 1990s, his son kim jong il took his place and was promoted by the government as the leader who led north korea out of the disasters. Aug 18, 2005 breen does at times go overboard in ridiculing the dear leader comments about the big hair are rife throughout the book. Kim kept both the relationship and the child a secret even from his father until he ascended to power in 1994. Kim jongil biography birthday, trivia political figure. It was a book written by our very own eternal commander and golf legend kim jongil. This, compounded with the fact that only 18% of north korea is arable land and the countrys inability to import the. Presumably born in north korea, kim is the son of ko younghee, an opera singer, and kim jong il, the. Vallokal i pyongyang, med fotografier pa kim ilsung och kim jongil. Kim jongil was the supreme ruler of north korea for 17 years, from 1994 to 2011. The extraordinary true story of a kidnapped filmmaker, his star actress, and a young dictators rise to power by paul fischer, stephen park, et al. Kim didnt waste any time as he joined politics soon after his graduation.
Kim was the focus of an elaborate personality cult inherited from his father and founder of the dprk, kim il sung. This book essentially culls common western thought about kim jong il, references his state biography a few times and repeats many things from the press without note. The notion that cinema rules was never truer than during north koreas parallel reagan era, when the movieobsessed heir apparent, kim jong il aka the dear. Official accounts indicate that kim jong il comes from a family of nationalists who actively resisted imperialism from the. Taken directly from books spirited out of pyongyang, dear reader is a carefully reconstructed firstperson account of the man behind the mythology.
North koreas government is secretive, and little was known about kim jongil even after his many years in power. My father, kim jong il, and me, published by a japanese journalist in 2012, draws on extensive interviews and emails to cast light on his criticism of his family and the north korean regime. Kim jong il was the focus of an elaborate personality cult inherited from his father and founder of the dprk, kim il sung. Kim jong il enacted a new policy of songun, or militaryfirst, which turned the country into a. The extraordinary true story of a kidnapped filmmaker, his star actress, and a young. Kim jong il loved movies he had a collection of more than 20,000 and his 1973 book on the art of cinema became a manual for north korean directors.
Little of his early life is known, but in 2009 it became clear that he was being groomed as his fathers successor. Here are 50 facts about the late dictator and his country. His regime used to be most conservative one with no freedom of the press, religion or equal education. North koreans are told he was born in a log cabin on mt paekdu, the most sacred mountain. Kim jong il was the powerful leader of north korea from 1994 until his death in 2011. Other than being a despotic dictator and bearing an uncanny resemblance to no. Kim jongun is the current supreme leader of north korea, a position inherited from his father kim jongil. Having wanted to read this book for some time and having read other books on north korea id say this book does give a more than most balanced account of the late leader of north korea, kim jong il. Kim jongil had a supernatural birth move over jesus.
386 392 1156 1084 1485 311 1413 203 151 35 658 1348 1578 503 321 296 323 529 204 511 1045 1527 1454 1176 472 248 306 1302 23 1513 975 297 646 456 896 1024 1282 704 1243 95 301 1400 1083 1159 20