After World War II, the Korean Peninsula became divided. As compensation for the Soviet-US duality, the two Koreas split into two factions, giving birth to two new states - North Korea and South Korea. With the help of the Soviet Union, a communist system of government was established in North Korea. And the head of that government was a military leader named Kim Il Sung. After coming to power, he declared himself the supreme leader of the country. With this announcement, a controversial and enigmatic chapter of the ‘Kim’ dynasty began in the country.
What kind of state North Korea will be was decided during the rule of this Supreme Leader. He was succeeded by his son, Kim Jong Il. This led to a succession of power shifts in North Korea. And to the North Koreans, the Kim dynasty became a divine incarnation. The national identity and rank of the leaders of this dynasty became much greater than that of the great leaders. And the biggest role in creating this situation was played by Supreme Leader Kim Jong Il.
Confusion about birth
To the people of North Korea, the Kim dynasty has the status of a god . They also revered Kim Jong Il, the second ruler of the dynasty, as a leading figure. There are various legends and myths about his personality, ordinary life, hobbies, sports life, education and even birth events. In particular, this information can be found in the national documents of North Korea. According to documents, Kim Jong Il was born on February 16 , 1942, in a secret military base on Mount Pekdu. At the time of his birth, a pair of rainbows appeared in the sky. Moreover, a new star was seen in the sky that day. These two incidents seem to indicate the divine dignity of the new baby Kim Jong Il. Moreover, the people of the country are taught that the birth anniversary of Kim Jong Il is celebrated in grand ceremonies all over the world.
Pekdu Mountain; Photograph: Hiroji Kubota / Magnum Photos
But a different story can be seen in the papers of the then Soviet Union. According to Soviet data, Kim Jong Il was born in 1941 , not in 1942, in the Vyatskoye region of Siberia. Historians believe that the fact that the country's national leader was not born in Korea could be a thorn in the side of his supreme leader. So maybe father Kim Il Sung changed this information.
Kim Jong Il; Image Source: Sputnik
His father, Kim Il Sung, commanded the 1st Battalion of the Soviet 7th Brigade during World War II . The battalion was made up mainly of Korean and Chinese soldiers exiled by the Japanese. Kim Jong Il's first wife, Kim Jong Ik, was Kim Jong Il's mother. According to national documents, Kim Jong Il was born into a revolutionary nationalist family whose lifelong pursuit was to save Korea from twentieth-century imperialist Japan.
Baby Kim Jong Il with parents; Photograph: Family Archive
Education
Kim Jong Il completed his education at a Korean educational institution - as can be seen in the national documents. He completed his education in the capital Pyongyang between 1950-60 . While still a student, he actively participated in various political activities. While studying at Namsan High School in Pyongyang , he was involved in various organizations, including the Children's Union and the Democratic Youth League. He has been studying Marxism extensively ever since. However, his education covered a wide range of subjects including agriculture, music and mechanical engineering. In addition to his studies, he used to travel on the farms of the country. He encouraged other students to engage in great ideological education.
Kim Il Sung University; Photograph: Delphine Jaulmes
But historians say otherwise. According to them, at that time there was instability in the two Koreas and the Korean War took place. For this reason he was sent to the People's Republic of China for primary education. After completing his secondary education in 1960, Kim Jong Il studied Marxist economics at Kim Il Sung University . Moreover, philosophy and martial arts were his optional subjects. During this time he accompanied his father on various state trips. In fact, Kim Jong Il continues to prepare himself for the future.
Political career
In July 1981, Kim Jong Il formally joined North Korea's ruling Workers' Party. Although North Korea has been moving away from Soviet ideology since 1956, experts believe the Workers' Party was conducting some Stalinist-style politics. The doctrine of the Workers' Party is called 'Ju-Che' or Juche in Korea . The word juche means self-reliance. In addition to self-reliance, unwavering support for the Supreme Leader is the principle of this party. From this support the party continues to spread thousands of legends surrounding their Supreme Leader. In this way, the Supreme Leader is presented to the people as a divine incarnation.
Politics and education - the two continue together Kim Jong Il. At the end of his education in '84, he concentrated on politics. At that time, there was a policy conflict between North Korea and the contemporary communist states. This is why North Korea came out of the ring of China and the Soviet Union. At that time, his father Kim Il Sung appointed Kim Jong Il to the Central Committee to strengthen the ideological position of the party. He was tasked with reorganizing the country's military. At his behest, many dissenting military officers and activists were expelled from the party .
Culture-minded personality
He later became the caretaker of the North Korean government's propaganda department and movement . Censorship of various media and entertainment materials was the prerogative of this department. He issued instructions across the country that all writers, artists and officials in the country work only to propagate the ideology of the Workers Party. In the media, he took various steps to propagate the Juche doctrine. According to national documents, Kim Jong Il initiated a revolution in Korean applied arts . He encouraged new artists in the country.
North Korean promotional paintings; Image Source: Pyongyang major museum
He produced a number of films through a mix of history, political ideology and legend . He realized that cinema could be the best way to spread the ideology of the Workers' Party. In the movie, he preaches the glory of his father and the party. He has also composed six operas and performed at several concerts, according to national documents. In addition to making movies and music, he is said to have been a fan of foreign movies. His collection contained more than 20,000 movie cassettes. On Friday, The Thirteenth , Godzilla , the Rambo series and the James Bond series topped his list of personal favorites. Her favorite heroine was CleopatraElizabeth Taylor.
Promotional movies to be made in North Korea; Image Source: The Guardian
From his penchant for movies, he once sat down to do a strange thing. After he became the Supreme Leader, he decided to make a version of the movie 'Godzilla' in the socialist ideology of North Korea. Whatever you think is work. The 1978 South Korean film director Shin Sang-ukake kidnapping and ordered. The kidnapped Sang-Uk made the movie 'Pulgachhari' under his direction . Because of this strange activity he became quite popular.
Wife Shin Sang-uk with Kim Jong Il; Photograph: The lovers and the depot
At the top of power
From the early 1980s, Kim Jong Il was trained by his father to become the Supreme Leader. He was included in the committee of top leaders of the party. He continues to be promoted. During this time, he introduced the rule that top officials were required to work with their subordinates in the field for one month to improve the bureaucratic relationship with the people . This increased its popularity overall. Moreover, his proposed 'Three-Revolution Team' would travel across the country and impart technical, scientific and political training to the people. In October 1970, he was declared the successor to the Supreme Leader . In 1990-91 , he was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the North Korean military. In 1994Kim Jong Il has succeeded North Korea's Supreme Leader after his father, Kim Il Sung, died of a heart attack. The beginning is one of the most important chapters in the history of the country.
Supreme Leader Kim Jong Il; Image Source: Korean News Service
But it took another three years to declare him chairman of the Workers' Party . In 1996, he was officially elected the country's Supreme Leader. He honored his father, Kim Il Sung, with the title of "Eternal President" of North Korea . He was also elected chairman of the National Defense Commission. Through this he became the only source of omnipotence in the country.
Reign
When Kim Jong Il took power, the economy in North Korea was extremely fragile. To get rid of the fragile economy and famine, he decided to amend one of the basic principles of the country, 'separatism' . According to this policy, the economic activities of the country were conducted without any cooperation by severing all relations with the outside world. He moved away from this policy and tried to develop relations with several countries. He also scrapped a nuclear bomb project inside the country and signed an agreement with the United States to build a nuclear power plant capable of generating electricity under the supervision of an outside party . The main contractor in this agreement was South Korea. It is considered one of the most important political decisions in the history of the country.
Kim Jong Il with George Walker Bush; Image Source: Reuters
He even suspended long-range missile tests in 1999 at the request of the United States. In return, the United States eased economic sanctions on the country. He was the first North Korean leader to meet with South Korean leader Kim Jong-un . Economic relations were established with Italy and Australia. North Korea's economic situation continues to improve dramatically. But this situation changed dramatically in 2002. Former US President George W. Bush called North Korea, Iran and Iraq "the axis of the devil." ." The United States has blamed North Korea for trying to build a secret nuclear bomb.
The breach of the agreement caused a rift between the two countries. To everyone's surprise, Kim Jong Il announced the cancellation of North Korea's name from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty signed in 2003 to prevent the expansion of nuclear capabilities . Through this, he indirectly made a fuss in world politics by announcing that he was making an atomic bomb. Since then, nuclear capability in North Korea has become an important issue in international politics. Kim Jong Il has been accused of using the issue as a tool to defuse tensions with South Korea.
North Korea's nuclear weapons test site; Image Source: The Wall Street Journal
In 2008, Kim Jong Il announced in the media that North Korea had successfully tested a nuclear weapon underground. In 2008, Lee Myung-bak was elected President of South Korea . He took a firm stand against North Korea. North Korea went through one final nuclear test after another. In 2010, North Korea sank a South Korean warship, the Cheonan . In the same year , North Korea killed two South Korean Marines on the island of Yongping . As a result, relations between the two Koreas soured under Kim Jong Il.
Nuclear weapons in North Korea; Photograph: Wong Maye-E
There are many legends about Kim Jong Il
Despite being criticized in the international arena, Kim Jong Il's popularity in the country was skyrocketing. Textbooks and the media, in particular, continue to spread legends and hymns about him. Conventional legends about his birth have already been discussed. In addition, he was able to stand up straight at 3 weeks of age and walk at 6 weeks. It is known that he has written about 1,500 books and edited 6 operas in just 3 years of his university life . According to the National Base, the operas performed by Kim Jong Il are "superior to any music in history." In 1994, a news story broke in the Pyongyang media. It is reported that for the first time in his life, Kim Jong Il played 36 under-per-rounds, including 11 golfs.His golf ball fell into the hole in the first shot. The names of 16 bodyguards are mentioned as witnesses to his fame. Shortly after this incident, Kim Jong Il retired from sports life forever.
Kim Jong Il played 36 under-par rounds at this golf course in Pyongyang; Image Source: URI Tours
A national newspaper, Radong Sinmun, published in North Korea, claimed that Kim Jong Il's coat was considered a measure of global fashion . Such news was later spread about his son Kim Jong Un. In the news , the world wears clothes and cuts hair in imitation of the Kim family. But it is a ridiculous claim made in a biography written on the North Korean national website that surpasses all legends. There it is claimed that Supreme Leader Kim Jong Il does not leave the excrement . That website was later rendered invalid. It is unknown at this time what he will do after leaving the post. In this way, one legend after another is constantly being spread in the media about the Kim family, which the citizens of the country unanimously believe.
North Koreans knew Kim Jong Il as an international fashion icon; Image Source: Reuters
Death
In 2006, Kim Jong Il's health deteriorated. He could not appear in public for several months due to illness. Ever since then, rumors have been circulating about his dying condition. Presumably, he was bedridden due to bleeding in the brain. Since then, power has been handed over to his son, Kim Jong Un, as his successor. The mysterious leader died on December 16 , 2011 after a long illness . According to the North Korean media, he breathed his last while traveling by train for the development of the country . This news was broadcast 2 days after his death. Foreign leaders and journalists were not invited to his funeral due to restrictions on the international media. Thousands on both sides of the road during his funeralThe Koreans stood up and cried and said goodbye to their 'great leader' for the last time. The whole country was paralyzed by the mourning of the beloved leader.
Kim Jong Il was a mysterious leader. It was not possible to verify the truth of all the events of his life due to the abundance of native legends. Because of this very little is known about him. Due to these reasons, his biography has become very obscure to the researchers. Even a decade after his death, little is known about him.
(Left) The statue of Kim Jong Il (right) next to the father's statue; Photograph: José Fernandes Jr.
His son Kim Jong Un is currently in power in the country. He has been presenting his father as a great man by giving eternal honor to his father like his grandfather.
This article about the late supreme leader of North Korea Kim Jong-Il. He was a mysterious man sorrounded my numerous myths about his lifestyle. He is considered as the pioneer of North Korea as a communist nation.
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