Kim Il Sung - the permanent leader North Korea, developer of Korean Marxism. He ruled the Land of Morning Freshness for 50 years. Some consider him an outstanding politician, a master of political intrigue. Others are ranked among the most brutal dictators of the 20th century. The life of this unique person, who has gone from a simple boy from a poor Korean village to the "eternal president", is full of mysterious events.
Kim Il Sung's biography is full of fiction, and it is sometimes difficult to separate the truth from a beautiful fairy tale. Few people know that this man ruled for 50 years under an assumed name, and his real name is Kim Sung Joo.
The eternal president of Korea was born on April 15, 1912 in the village of Namni into the family of a rural teacher and herbalist. At the age of 20, Kim Sung Joo became the commander of an anti-Japanese detachment in China. He quickly promoted his career and it was then that he took on a pseudonym - Kim Il Sung, which means "the rising sun". There is no doubt that Kim was a successful guerrilla commander who successfully fought in the infernal conditions of the Japanese occupation.
As for the personal life of the future leader, then riddles begin. According to one version, his first wife fought with him in a detachment, then in 1940 she was captured by the Japanese and executed. According to another, official version, his first wife since 1940 was the daughter of a farm laborer Kim Jong Suk. It turns out that when his first beloved was executed, he immediately married another? In 1942, their first son appears, according to the official version, he was born on the sacred mountain of Pektusana.
In 1991, the Alma-Ata newspaper published in Korean “ Open letter To President Kim Il Sung. " The author, Yu Sung Cher, a former chief of the operational headquarters of the Korean People's Army, claimed that Kim Il Sung had shamefully fled under the blows of the Japanese army into Soviet territory and miraculously managed to escape the Japanese. And it was in the Soviet seaside that his son was born. “You cannot but remember all this. But you are ashamed to remember all this ... ”.
It is also unclear how Kim Il Sung came to power in North Korea, since he belonged to the Korean lower classes, did not have higher education, and received all the basic ideas about social and economic life in political studies in partisan detachments. In addition, in 1945, when he returned to North Korea, many believed that the partisan commander was replaced, as everyone was amazed at his too youthful appearance. This statement even made it into American intelligence reports. The Soviet military authorities even organized a demonstration trip for Kim Il Sung to his home village along with correspondents.
Replaced or real, but having seized power, Kim Il Sung became the permanent leader of this long-suffering country for many years and brought the principles of socialism on the territory entrusted to him to the point of absurdity. The economy has become completely planned, everywhere there is a distribution system. Probably, this was not even in our country in the most rabid socialist times. For example, household plots and market trade were declared a bourgeois-feudal relic and liquidated. Each family was given strictly defined portions of rice, flour, sugar.
Koreans copied the personality cult of Stalin, but even in this they surpassed their northern brother - the USSR. It all started with the renaming of Pyongyang University in honor of the beloved leader. Further more. Monuments were erected to Kim Il Sung, his biography was studied, colorful glossy magazines with numerous portraits of the leader were published. In the impoverished country, pompous festivities in honor of the beloved president were tripled, at which portraits of the country's leader were hung next to the portraits of Marx, Lenin, Stalin.
After the 1960s. the personality cult of the Korean leader began to take on unprecedented forms and was especially manifested on the day of his 60th birthday. The country even adopted a new constitution, in which comrade Kim Il Sung is described as a genius of ideas, an all-conquering steel commander, a great revolutionary. Every book in Korea was required to contain quotes from the speeches of the leader, criticism was considered a state crime and was imprisoned.
The stability of North Korean society was ensured only by tight control and massive indoctrination. In terms of the scope of its repressive organs, North Korea has surpassed all states of the world. The population of the country was divided into several dozen families who lived in one block or house and were bound by mutual responsibility with the unlimited power of the head of the group. Without the consent of the headman, a simple Korean could not invite guests to his place, spend the night outside the house.
There were more than 120 thousand political prisoners alone in the country. In the late 1950s, public executions were practiced in stadiums.
However, the leader himself and his son did not deny themselves anything. They had a special group of female servants under the meaningful name "Joy", to which only young, beautiful, unmarried women with good backgrounds are selected. Virginity was also a special requirement. To keep Kim's joy forever, the Institute of Longevity, located in Pyongyang, was engaged in maintaining health. In order to rejuvenate Kim Il Sung's body and enhance his male function, doctors used the human placenta. Especially for the leader, virgins of 14-15 years old were fertilized, then provoking premature birth. The Institute was in charge of purchasing high quality products abroad.
Despite the nationwide concern for his health, at the age of 82, Kim Il Sung died of a heart attack. His death was mourned by the entire nation. Great Kim was buried in the mausoleum, having declared three years of mourning in the country. For 5 months, more than 23 million people climbed the hill where he is buried. By a decree of July 8, 1997, the country adopted a calendar with the chronology from the birth of Kim Il Sung, and the date of his birth became the "Day of the Sun". Amendments to the constitution were adopted: the presidency was abolished, since Kim Il Sung became the Eternal President of the DPRK.
His son, Kim Jong Il, continued his father's work, actually receiving the throne after his death. He became “the guarantee of the unification of the Motherland”, “the fate of the nation”, “the bright star of Pektusan” and, like Stalin, “the father of the people”. Although Kim Jong Il himself was not particularly musical, special composers wrote six operas for him, and he was declared a great composer. He was also glorified as a great architect.
Kim Jong Il has surpassed his father in terms of repression. During his reign, labor concentration camps were created, public executions were carried out, women were forced to abortion. Western states have repeatedly accused North Korea of \u200b\u200bhuman rights abuses and found signs of slavery in its labor system. The socialist planned economy failed miserably, the impoverished country looked pitiful against the background of the rapid development of capitalist North Korea.
Brigades of North Koreans were sent to different countries, including Russia, Kazakhstan, who worked from morning till night for the good of their homeland. Of course, access to information has opened the eyes of many Koreans to the true state of affairs. From the country, labor camps, cases of desertion became more frequent, but the retribution in cases of capture was terrible. At the first attempt to escape - imprisonment in a labor camp, for the second - the death penalty.
"Suns of the nation" died on board his own armored train, but no one knew about it for 2 days. It was announced - "from mental and physical fatigue caused by continuous inspection trips around the country in the interests of building a prosperous state." It is said that on the day of his death, even the bears woke up from their hibernation to grieve over the great loss, and flocks of forty began to circle over the spire of the Kim Il Sung mausoleum to inform their father about the death of their son. This was followed by three months of mourning. Labor camps awaited those who did not mourn this grief enough. It was strictly forbidden to use mobile communications at this time.
Currently, the new head of state is the third son of Kim Jong Il - Kim Jong Un (Kim III). He is also a "new star", "brilliant comrade" and "genius among the geniuses of military strategy." He also has a nuclear button.
The personality cult of Kim Il Sung fully manifested itself after the massive "purges" among the opposition at the end of the Korean War in 1953. The process of establishing the regime of sole power was completed by 1958. In instilling a personality cult, Kim Il Sung pursued two goals: to strengthen the regime of personal power and to facilitate future succession of power to Kim Jong Il. The personality cult took root in the minds of Koreans through the creation of symbols, rewriting the biography of the "leader" and indoctrination.Two factors played a decisive role in shaping Kim Il Sung's personality cult. First, it is claimed that he is a leader who came from the people who came to fulfill a great mission in Korean history. To this end, North Korean historians presented Kim as the successor of the valiant deeds of his ancestors, and he became a hero of the anti-Japanese resistance. Thus, historians dealing with modern history Korea, focus on the origins of Kim Il Sung, and historians of the anti-Japanese movement describe the heroic deeds of Kim Il Sung in the field of revolutionary struggle. The North Korean version of history justifies Kim Il Sung's one-man rule. Secondly, Kim Il Sung's outstanding ability is praised in every possible way. It is believed that he is not only a hero of resistance, but also a great thinker who surpassed Marx and Lenin, as well as a brilliant theoretician who spoke his word in various fields of human activity: political, economic, social, cultural and art. Thus, in justification of the regime of absolute power of Kim Il Sung, reference is made to his heroic biography and exceptional talent.
When referring to Kim Il Sung, they most often used the titles "Father-Leader", "Great Leader", "God-Like". His name was printed in a special font in all print media to make it stand out from the rest of the text. Kim Il Sung is the author of all foundational documents in North Korea, including the Constitution, Labor Law, Land Law and Education Regulations. All printed publications - newspapers, magazines, school textbooks and scientific publications - began with the instructions of Kim Il Sung. All North Koreans were taught at school that they owe a "caring Leader" for being fed, dressed, and able to work. His portraits were in every home, throughout the country there are countless "places of worship" of the Leader, including 35 thousand of his statues.The deification of Kim Il Sung continued after his death. His body was installed "for everlasting time" in the Presidential Palace in Pyongyang, his authority is immortalized in the title "Eternal President", his influence has been preserved through the regime of "rule by testament". For example, Kim Il Sung's perpetuated influence serves to justify the current regime of Kim Jong Il's one-man rule. Probably, someday they will stop talking about the "immortality" of Kim Il Sung, but for now it is obviously premature to think so.
On August 29, Yonhap agency, citing South Korean intelligence, announced the addition of Kim Jong-un to the family of the DPRK leader. On the eve of the birth of a child, whose gender and name are unknown, representatives of the National Intelligence Service of South Korea announced at a briefing. According to them, the child was born in February.
According to media reports, this is the third heir to Kim Jong-un. It was reported that his two oldest children were born in 2010 and 2013. But there is no official confirmation of this information.
Little is known about the family of the North Korean leader and his close and distant relatives. The Kim Dynasty - in the RBC photo gallery.
Kim Il Sung (1912-1994)
Eternal President and Founder of the DPRK. Generalissimo. The grandfather of the current head of North Korea, Kim Jong-un.
The founder of the Juche ideology (Marxism based on national traditions).
He spent his childhood with his family in China, where he joined a Marxist circle, for which he was sent to prison at the age of 17. In 1945, he became chairman of the North Korean organizing bureau of the Communist Party of Korea (1945-1946). In 1948 he headed the country. In 1998 he was declared the eternal president of the DPRK.
He was married twice. The first wife died shortly after the birth of their son. The second wife was Kim Sung Ae, who is believed to have been the secretary of Kim Il Sung's personal security chief before that.
Since the mid-1950s, a tightening of the regime began in the DPRK. All North Korean students were expected to return from Europe and undergo an ideological retraining course. It was under Kim Il Sung that the entire economy of the country switched to rigid central planning. Market trade was declared a bourgeois-feudal remnant and liquidated.
Kim Jong Suk (1919-1949)
Kim Jong Il's mother, Kim Il Sung's wife, Kim Jong-un's grandmother.
Kim Jong Suk became known only a few years after her death. In 1972, she was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the DPRK, and then the titles of "heroine of the anti-Japanese war" and "great mother of the revolution." In addition, if in the DPRK they talk about "three commanders", then everyone knows that they are talking about Kim Il Sung, Kim Jong Il and Kim Jong Suk.
Kim Jong Il (1941 (1942?) - 2011)
Grand Leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Generalissimo (posthumously). The eldest son of Kim Il Sung. Kim Jong-un's father.
Kim Jong Il was born in 1941, although, as is customary in the DPRK, the official biography reduces the ruler's age by a year. Like his father, he studied in China. Returning to his homeland, he began work in the party, initially being considered the successor of Kim Il Sung.
After the death of his father, he led the country de facto for three years, without officially occupying top leadership positions in the country. Thus, traditional Korean norms were observed, in particular the Confucian principle of filial piety, which prescribes the observance of three years of mourning.
After Russia stopped cooperating with the DPRK in the 1990s, the country was forced to look for new allies. In May 1999, Kim Jong Il made a trip to China, in 2000 - a historic meeting of the leaders of the warring South and North Korea. In October 2000, the then US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright flew to Pyongyang, after which preparations began for the visit of US President Bill Clinton to North Korea at the end of 2000. However, it never took place, and the new US President George W. Bush was in no hurry to restore relations with the DPRK.
Kim Jong Il died on December 17, 2011. The funeral took place on 28 December. According to the South Korean newspaper The Chosun Ilbo, they cost $ 40 million.
Ko Young Hee (1953-2004)
Kim Jong-un's mother.
Ko Yeon Hee is one of Kim Jong Il's wives and the mother of his youngest son, Kim Jong Un. Before meeting Kim Jong Il, she was a dancer. She died in 2004 in Paris from breast cancer. In the last years before her death in the DPRK, she was called nothing less than "a respected mother." In the meantime, there is no need to worry about it. ”
Kim Chen In
The youngest of Kim Jong Il's three sons, and the grandson of Kim Il Sung.
In January 2009, the South Korean news agency Renhap reported that, fearing for his health, Kim Jong Il had appointed his youngest son, Kim Jong-un, to succeed him. He was educated in Bern (Switzerland), then studied at the military academy in Pyongyang. In 2010, he was elected to the Central Committee of the Korean Workers' Party, and became deputy chairman of the party's Central Military Commission.
After the death of his father in 2011, Kim Jong-un was declared the supreme leader of the DPRK party, army and people.
Very little is known about Kim Jong-un, and almost everything is from a book that was published in Tokyo in 2003. Its author was allegedly the chef Kim Jong Il. From the book, in particular, it became known that Kim Jong-un's mother was one of Kim Jong-il's wives, actress Ko Yeon-hee.
Under Kim Jong-un, North Korea is committed to developing its economy in parallel with strengthening its nuclear arsenals. Several nuclear tests were carried out, an artificial earth satellite was launched.
Since 2016, Kim Jong-un has been subject to unilateral US sanctions imposed due to human rights violations in the country.
In 2012, it was announced that Kim Jong Un was married to Lee Seol Joo. According to various sources, from 2010 to 2013, the couple had a daughter, Kim Joo E.
The fourth wife of Kim Jong Il, stepmother of Kim Jong-un.
For the last, fourth time, Kim Jong Il got married in 2006. His former personal secretary, Kim Ok, became his wife. South Korean media reported that Kim Ok studied piano at the Pyongyang University of Music and Dance, and became the personal secretary of the DPRK leader in the early 1980s.
Lee Seol Zhu
First Lady of the DPRK. Kim Jong-un's wife.
On July 25, 2012, the Central Telegraph Agency announced the opening ceremony of the Rungna People's Amusement Park, where Kim Jong-un came with his wife, Lee Seol Joo. This was the first mention of the first lady as the wife of the DPRK leader.
Until now, almost nothing is known about her and her acquaintance with Kim Jong-un. Many observers note that her name and appearance point to a resemblance to the young singer who performed in 2010 at one of the New Year's gala concerts in Pyongyang.
According to one of the versions that were expressed in the South Korean media, Lee Seol-Chu graduated from the Kim Il Sung University of Pyongyang, studied natural sciences. Her father is a professor at the same university, and her mother is the administrator of a large Pyongyang clinic.
According to another version, Li Sol Zhu did not study at the university, but received a musical education in Beijing.
Kim Jong Nam (1971-2017)
The eldest son of the Great Leader of the DPRK Kim Jong Il and the brother (on the father's side) of the Chairman of the DPRK State Council Kim Jong-un.
Even less is known about the eldest son of Kim Jong Il than about the current head of the DPRK. His mother was actress Song Hye Rim. The media reported that as a child, like his brother, Kim Jong Nam studied in Switzerland. There is no official confirmation of this information.
In 2001, Kim Jong Nam was detained while trying to enter Japan with a fake passport in order to visit Tokyo Disneyland. He was deported to China, where he lived all the time until his death. On February 14, 2017, the South Korean agency "Renhap" citing a source about the murder of Kim Jong Nam at the airport in Malaysia.
Kim Jong Chul
The elder brother of Kim Jong-un.
Was born in 1981. The media wrote that Kim Jong Chol, like his brother, studied at a Swiss school. For some time (from 2003 to 2009) it was believed that he could succeed his father as the leader of the DPRK. In 2007, Kim Jong Chol was appointed to the position of the Workers' Party of Korea.
He is known as a big fan of the creativity of guitarist and singer Eric Clapton: the media reported that he was seen at the concerts of the latter in 2006, 2011 and 2015.
Kim Kyung Hee
Daughter of Kim Il Sung, younger sister of Kim Jong Il, aunt of Kim Jong Un.
In 2010, together with her husband Jang Sung Taek, she was appointed executor of her brother and, in the event of his death, was to become Kim Jong Un's guardian. In the government of Kim Jong Il, she led the light industry of the DPRK, and her husband was Kim Jong Il's deputy in the state defense committee. In 2013, Jang Sung Taek was charged with high treason and executed. Kim Kyung Hee's death data has not been confirmed.
Jang Sung Taek (1946-2013)
Uncle Kim Jong-un.
In 2013, Jang Sung Taek was accused of trying to seize the highest power in the party and state, as well as selling national resources to foreigners at unjustifiably low prices and executed. Prior to that, he was deputy head of the State Defense Committee, was a member of the Politburo and headed the organizational department of the Central Committee, which was in charge of the selection of personnel and oversaw the special services. Many experts called him the gray eminence, right-hand man and mentor of Kim Jong-un.
Kim Yeo Jung
Younger sister of Kim Jong-un.
She was born in 1987. Studied in international school in Bern, Switzerland in 1996-2001, together with his brother, Kim Jong-un. She may have also studied at the military academy in Pyongyang after returning.
In 2014, Kim Yeo-jung was appointed deputy head of the department at the TPK central committee. Kim Yeo-jong is the only relative of the DPRK leader who holds an officially confirmed post in the country. According to South Korean sources, she is in charge of personnel appointments as well as propaganda.
The wife of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un - Lee Seol Joo - for the first time since the beginning of the year. In the old days, when the country was ruled by the father and grandfather of the Great Heir, this was the norm: the founder of the Kim dynasty rarely brought out his wife, and Kim Jong Il generally tried not to advertise his novels. However, the current ruler not only seeks to look like an exemplary family man, but also allows the first lady liberties, which are unacceptable both for ordinary DPRK citizens and for the wives and mistresses of his predecessors. "Lenta.ru" tried to understand the peculiarities of the personal life of the North Korean leaders.
Modern North Korea is unique public education: although in words the country is committed to the communist ideology, in fact it is an absolute monarchy. One can argue about what remains of communism and even socialism in the DPRK, but the hereditary nature of power in the DPRK is absolutely indisputable. In any monarchy, women play an important role - spouses, mistresses and concubines of rulers. North Korea is no exception. Now the focus of attention is Kim Jong-un's wife, the beauty Lee Seol Joo. However, there is a lot to tell about her predecessors, the women of the ruling Kim clan.
The founder of the North Korean state, Kim Il Sung (real name Kim Sung Joo) was born in 1912 in the vicinity of Pyongyang in a family of Christian activists who later emigrated to China. In the early 1930s, the future leader joined the Chinese Communist Party, a fact that has ceased to be mentioned in the North Korean press since the late 1950s. During the 1930s, Kim Il Sung participated in the anti-Japanese movement in Manchuria and gradually developed into one of the most famous guerrilla commanders. But in 1940 under pressure superior forces Japanese, he had to leave across the border and take refuge in the Soviet Union.
Shortly before that, Kim Il Sung met a Korean girl who also fought against the Japanese. Her name was Kim Jong Suk.
Kim Jong Suk was born in 1919 in the city of Hoeryeong, but she left these places as a child when her family, like that of Kim Il Sung, moved to Manchuria. Like most peasant girls, she received no formal education. It is quite possible that she learned to read and write already in a partisan detachment. Nevertheless, those who knew the future first lady of the DPRK treated her with unconditional sympathy. She is remembered as a kind, smiling, hard-working and devoted woman to her family.
Apparently, the marriage of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Suk was never formalized, which is not surprising: registry offices in partisan detachments are usually not provided.
Some kind of family life began after the young partisans ended up in the USSR, where Kim Il Sung received the rank of captain. Soviet army and began to command a battalion in the 88th separate brigade... It was there, on the basis of the brigade in the village of Vyatskoye near Khabarovsk, that the firstborn was born to Kim Chon Suk and Kim Il Sung - the future Great Leader Generalissimo Kim Jong Il. The child was named by the Russian name Yura - perhaps because then Kim Il Sung did not expect too much of a quick return home and was preparing to spend the rest of his life as soviet officer... In Russian, by the way, they also named Kim Jong Il's brother - Shura (Shura Kim died in early childhood as a result of an accident).
In September 1945, Kim Il Sung returned to his homeland, where he soon headed the government of the emerging North Korean state. In Pyongyang, Kim Jong Suk gave birth to another child - a girl named Kim Kyung Hee. Subsequently, Kim Jong Il's sister ran the North Korean garment industry, received the rank of army general, but disappeared from the political arena in December 2013, after her husband, Central Committee Secretary Jang Song-taek, was shot on the orders of her nephew Kim Jong-un.
Photo: Noboru Hashimoto / Sygma / Corbis / East News
In 1949, Kim Jong Suk died of unsuccessful childbirth. In the early 1950s, Kim Il Sung remarried - to Kim Sung Ae, who worked in his headquarters either as a typist or as a telephone operator (information on this matter differs). Kim Il Sung had four children from his second marriage.
Kim Jong Suk received a certain, albeit modest, posthumous status as a hero of guerrilla warfare. At the same time, for almost 15 years, the North Korean press did not mention the existence of Kim Il Sung's second wife. The fact that the great leader and sun of the nation, Marshal Kim Il Sung, has a wife, the North Koreans learned only in 1965, when the official press casually announced the appearance of Kim Sung Ae at one of the official receptions.
In the late 1960s, Kim Il Sung appointed his wife as chairman of the Women's Union, an organization mandatory for all North Korean housewives. Then there was even some semblance of the personality cult of Kim Sung-e: in the country, for example, centers for the study of the revolutionary activities of Kim Sung-e were opened - similar to the centers for the study of the revolutionary activities of Comrade Kim Il Sung, created in all large North Korean institutions and enterprises. However, the rise of Kim Jong Il put an end to his stepmother's political ambitions. Since the mid-1970s, she has appeared extremely rarely and always only as the wife of Kim Il Sung, whom she accompanied to meetings with foreign heads of state.
In the early 1970s, Kim Il Sung made an unprecedented decision by the standards of socialist countries to transfer power by inheritance. The heir, as expected, was his eldest son Kim Jong Il, who quickly neutralized potential rivals. Kim Il Sung's children from their second marriage were sent abroad, where they received prominent diplomatic posts, but did not have the opportunity to fully participate in the Pyongyang intrigues.
Characteristically, after the transformation of Kim Jong Il into the heir, North Korean propaganda began to promote the cult of his late mother Kim Jong Suk. As a result, the humble cook and seamstress of the partisan unit was posthumously transformed into one of the "Three Great Generals of Mount Paektu."
The heir's personal life was very stormy: in his youth, Kim Jong Il enjoyed considerable popularity among the representatives of the Pyongyang elite. Of course, any crown prince is popular by definition. However, the young Kim Jong-il was a charismatic and charming person in himself. Despite the tendency to be overweight, generally characteristic of the Kim family, he skillfully drove a motorcycle (perhaps the future Great Leader was the first biker in Pyongyang), was fond of horse riding, was well versed in cinema and had a good sense of humor.
At the same time, Kim Jong Il tried not to advertise his personal life, so that the number of his wives and girlfriends, and the number of children born by them, is not known for certain.
Perhaps Kim Jong Il's first serious hobby was the film actress Song Hye Rim, the sex symbol of the then Pyongyang. The novel was not prevented by the fact that Song Hye Rim was married, and to the son of Lee Gi Young, perhaps the most famous North Korean writer. Song Hye Rim divorced her husband and moved to Kim Jong Il's residence for several years. From this union, Kim Jong Il's first son, Kim Jong Nam, was born. He now lives in Macau, shuns politics and appears to be in a serious spat with his paternal brother, the country's current ruler, Kim Jong-un.
However, from the very beginning, the relationship between Kim Jong Il and Song Hye Rim was overshadowed by the hostility with which the Great Leader treated his son's friend. Kim Il Sung didn't like that the heir got involved with the divorcee. He was also annoyed by the suspicious profile of his son's chosen one, who was the daughter of South Korean communists who fled to the North in the late 1940s (although South Korean revolutionaries in the DPRK were welcomed, they were not held for their own).
In the end, Song Hye Rim and Kim Jong Il broke up. Son Hye Rim, who suffered from serious nervous diseases, went abroad for medical treatment. She spent the rest of her life in Moscow, where she died in 2002. Kim Jong Il's ex-girlfriend took care of his support.
Cover of a collection of folk songs published in 1973
Soon after breaking up with Song Hye Rim, the young heir became involved with a girl who in many ways resembled her predecessor. Like Song Hye Rim, Go Young Hee is an artist. True, she did not act in films, but was a dancer. Like Song Hye Rim, Ko Young Hee's biography was flawed - she came from a family of ethnic Koreans who arrived in the DPRK from Japan in the 1960s to build socialism. Kim Jong Il and Ko Yeon Hee had three children - sons Kim Jong Chol and Kim Jong Un, and daughter Kim Yeo Jong. Ko Yeon Hee graduated from her days in 2004 in Paris, where she was treated for cancer.
It is believed that the aging Kim Jong-il's last girlfriend was his secretary, Kim Ok, twenty years younger than the Great Leader.
Apart from three long-term romances, Kim Jong-il has had quite a few short-term relationships. Apparently, this circumstance had a significant impact on his son Kim Jong-un. Eunwoo did not really like the style of his father, who easily changed women, and the young future leader decided that he would be an exemplary family man. So far he succeeds.
In the summer of 2012, six months after Kim Jong-un's accession to the Pyongyang throne, a pretty and very charming young lady began to be noticed next to him at events and concerts. Soon, the official North Korean media reported that her name was Lee Seol Joo and that she was the spouse of the Young Marshal.
Little is known about Lee Seol Zhu. It seems that the current first lady of the DPRK was born into a military family. She studied music and even, according to rumors, visited South Korea as part of the North Korean delegation. For some time she was an artist in the Moranbong ensemble - the most western in spirit of the North Korean ensembles.
Unlike his grandfather, who rarely went out in public, accompanied by his wives, and his father, who generally did not recognize the fact that there was a place for women in his life, Kim Jong-un did not hide his spouse. She can be seen at a General Staff meeting, surrounded by elderly generals standing at attention, and in the apartments of advanced workers who received attention from the DPRK leader (once she even helped the hostess clear the table and wash the dishes). At the same time, Lee Seol Joo is almost the only woman who appears in public without a badge with a portrait of Kim Il Sung, Kim Jong Il, or both. Wearing such badges since the 1970s is mandatory for all citizens of the DPRK and symbolizes their loyalty to the regime. It is difficult to say if this badge irritates Li Sol Joo for aesthetic or political reasons. However, such behavior by North Korean standards is at least non-standard and greatly surprises her "subjects" - although, of course, for now, they prefer not to express their surprise out loud.
In early 2012, Lee Seol Joo and Kim Jong Un had a daughter. This is, most likely, their first child. Many even speculated about the impact this fact would have on the North Korean succession system. Most likely, it is too early to talk about it now. In general, there is reason to doubt that the North Korean system of absolute monarchy will last long enough for the daughter of Lee Sol Joo and Kim Jong-un to be considered a real candidate for the Pyongyang throne.
KIM IR SEN
(born in 1912 - died in 1994)
Dictator, permanent leader of the DPRK, creator of the Juche doctrine.
The long-lived dictator, who headed North Korea for half a century, "Great Leader, Sun of the Nation, Marshal of the Mighty Republic" is Kim Il Sung. Biographical data about him are quite contradictory, and about many years of his life are practically not preserved.
The future leader was born in the village of Mangyongdae near Pyongyang on April 15, 1912. His father, a member of the grassroots Korean intelligentsia, was a Protestant believer, a Christian activist associated with religious organizations. At times he taught in primary schools... The mother was the daughter of a rural teacher. In addition to Kim Il Sung, who was called Kim Sung Joo in childhood, the family had two other sons. They did not live well, they needed it. Need forced parents in the early 20s. move from the Japanese-occupied Korea to Manchuria, where little Kim Il Sung was educated in a Chinese school and perfectly mastered chinese... My father controlled the study quite tightly. The boy returned home for several years, but in 1925 he left his native place. My father died the following year.
While studying in China, in Jirin, Kim Il Sung joined an underground Marxist circle created by the Chinese Komsomol members. In 1929, the circle was discovered by the authorities, and its members ended up in prison. Six months later, a 17-year-old teenager, leaving prison and never graduating from school, went to partisan detachment Is one of many created by the CCP to fight the Japanese invaders. Already in 1932, Kim Il Sung joined the Chinese Communist Party. He fought well and quickly advanced in service: in 1934 he was a platoon commander in the Second Partisan Army, which fought against the Japanese near the Korean-Chinese border, and after 2 years he commanded the 6th Division. The name Kim Il Sung gained fame after a successful raid on Pochonbo, when a gendarme post and some Japanese institutions were destroyed. Then rumors about the "commander Kim Il Sung" spread throughout Korea, and the authorities promised a reward for any information about his whereabouts. In the late 30s. he was already the commander of the 2nd operational area, and all the guerrilla units in Jiangdao province were subordinate to him. However, at this time, the position of the Manchu partisans deteriorated sharply: in battles with the Japanese they suffered heavy losses. Of the top leaders of the 2nd Army, only Kim Il Sung survived, whom the Japanese hunted with special fury. In such a situation, in December 1940, together with 13 soldiers, he broke through to the north and, crossing the Amur ice, ended up on the territory of the USSR. Having passed the required test, after a few months the 28-year-old partisan commander became a student of courses at the Khabarovsk Infantry School.
Kim Il Sung's personal life was generally successful. True, the first wife of Kim Hyo Sunn, who fought in his squad, was captured by the Japanese, which they reported as a great triumph. Her further fate is unknown. In the late 30s. Kim Il Sung married Kim Choch Sun, the daughter of a North Korean farm laborer who had fought in a guerrilla unit since the age of 16. In 1941, their son was born on Soviet territory, who was named by the Russian name Yura (today he is the leader of the DPRK, known throughout the world as Kim Jong Il). Then they had two more children.
In 1942, in the village of Vyatsk near Khabarovsk, the 88th was formed from the Korean partisans who had crossed into Soviet territory. rifle brigade, in which the young captain of the Red Army Kim Il Sung was appointed battalion commander. It was a brigade special purpose... Some of its soldiers participated in reconnaissance and sabotage operations in Manchuria. True, Kim Il Sung himself did not participate in any operations during the war. But he really liked the life of a career officer, and he did not see his future outside the army: the academy, the command of a regiment, a division. Many even then began to note the young officer's lust for power. In the fleeting war with Japan, the 88th brigade did not take part. After the war, it was disbanded, and its soldiers and officers were sent to the liberated cities of Manchuria and Korea as assistants to the Soviet military commandants and to ensure communication of the military authorities with the local population. Kim Il Sung was appointed assistant commandant of Pyongyang, the future capital of North Korea. He arrived in Korea in October 1945 on the Pugachev steamer. His arrival came in handy, since the attempt of the Soviet command to rely on nationalist groups failed, and the local communist movement was not so strong, but too striving for independence. Therefore, a young officer of the Soviet Army with a heroic guerrilla biography turned out to be the best figure for the role of "the leader of the progressive forces of Korea." On October 14, the commander of the 25th Army, IM Chistyakov, introduced Kim Il Sung at the rally as a "national hero" and "a famous partisan leader." From this began his ascent to the heights of power.
In December 1945, Kim Il Sung was appointed chairman of the North Korean organizing bureau of the Communist Party of Korea, and in February of the following year, by decision of the Soviet military authorities, he headed the Provisional People's Committee of North Korea - the country's provisional government. It was a formal position, because even after the proclamation of the DPRK in 1948, the Soviet military authorities and the apparatus of advisers, who made up the most important documents and made decisions, had a decisive influence on the country's life. Even the appointment of officers to positions above the regiment commander until the mid-50s. it was necessary to coordinate with the Soviet embassy.
The first years of Kim Il Sung's stay at home were overshadowed by two tragedies: in 1947, his son drowned, and in 1949 his wife died during childbirth. During this period, an acute confrontation emerged in the country, divided by the decision of the Potsdam Conference into zones of occupation - the Soviet North and the American South. Both regimes claimed to be the country's only legitimate unifier. Things were heading for war, but Kim Il Sung was not the most resolute supporter of a military solution to the Korean problem. The decision to start a war was made in the spring of 1950 in Moscow during Kim Il Sung's visit and his conversations with Stalin.
During the 1950-1951 war. The DPRK leadership settled in bunkers dug into the rocky ground at a depth of several tens of meters. The main brunt of the hostilities fell on the Chinese troops sent to Korea at the request of Kim Il Sung and with the blessing of the Soviet government. The Koreans, on the other hand, operated in secondary directions and provided rear protection. During the war, there was a weakening of Soviet influence and an increase in the independence of Kim Il Sung, who began to get a taste of power. He showed himself to be a master of political intrigue, showed the ability to maneuver and use the contradictions of both opponents and allies. The only thing he sorely lacked was education, and he did not have time to educate himself.
The beginning was marked by Kim Il Sung's struggle for sovereignty in the country. All his efforts were aimed at destroying the North Korean elite - four factions that were at war with each other. Their destruction gave Kim Il Sung the opportunity to get rid of Soviet and Chinese control. However, the reprisal against them led to the fact that delegations headed by A.I. Mikoyan and Peng Dehuai, who threatened to remove Kim Il Sung himself from the leadership of the country. He was forced to make concessions, but the role of a puppet imposed on him forced him from the mid-50s. to persistently and carefully distance themselves from their patrons. At that time, the DPRK was very dependent on economic and military assistance from the USSR and China, therefore, skillfully maneuvering, Kim Il Sung managed to make sure that this assistance did not stop. At first, he was more inclined towards the PRC, which was facilitated by cultural closeness, joint struggle and criticism against Stalin that unfolded in the USSR. This displeased the Soviet leadership and cut aid, which put a number of economic sectors on the brink of collapse. In connection with the conflict between the USSR and the PRC and the "cultural revolution" that began in China, Kim Il Sung began to distance himself from China, taking a neutral position in the conflict. This, of course, caused discontent in Moscow and Beijing, but it never led to a reduction in aid.
By the end of the 50s. Kim Il Sung, having destroyed (physically or expelled from the country) the opposing, mainly pro-Soviet groups, gained full power. Only the old comrades-in-arms in the partisan struggle, whom he trusted, were appointed to the highest posts. It was then that there was a refusal to copy Soviet models, and their own methods of organizing production, their cultural and moral values \u200b\u200bbased on the ideas of "Juche", and the propaganda of the superiority of everything Korean over foreign were established. Rigorous planning began, the militarization of the economy, "labor armies" were created, where workers were divided into military units (platoons, companies, etc.) and were subordinate to commanders. Household plots and market trade were prohibited. Self-reliance was declared the basis of the economy, and a fully self-sufficient, tightly controlled production unit was declared the ideal. But all this has led to a sharp decline in economic growth and to an even greater, than before, decline in the living standards of the population. Kim Il Sung proved to be strong in the struggle for power, but not in governing the country. Since the 70s. stability in the state was ensured only by strict control over the population, combined with massive indoctrination. The population of the country was divided into groups of several families living in the same block or house. They were bound by mutual responsibility. The head of the group had considerable power. Even going to visit was impossible without his consent. And there was no free movement around the country without the consent of the security service. Camps for political prisoners have appeared. Public executions - shootings in stadiums - have become a practice. Since 1972, with the celebration of Kim Il Sung's 60th birthday, a campaign has begun to praise him as the most illustrious leader modern world: "The Great Leader, the Sun of the Nation, the Iron All-Conquering General, the Marshal of the Mighty Republic, the Pledge of the Liberation of Mankind." All Korean adults were required to wear badges with Kim Il Sung's portrait. In general, his portraits hung everywhere. On the slopes of the mountains in his honor, toasts were carved in multi-meter letters. All over the country, monuments were erected only to Kim Il Sung and his relatives. The birthday of the Great Leader became a public holiday; biography has been studied since kindergarten; works were memorized; the places he visited were marked with memorial plaques; children in kindergartens were obliged to thank the leader for a happy childhood before dinner in chorus; songs were composed in his honor; the heroes of the films performed feats inspired by their love for him. The universities began to teach a special philosophical discipline of Suryongwan - leadership studies.
On the outskirts of Pyongyang, a pompous palace was built for Kim Il Sung, and many luxurious residences were built throughout the country. However, the leader preferred to travel a lot (he did not like airplanes), accompanied by reliable numerous guards, around the country, visiting villages, enterprises, institutions. In 1965, he married Kim Sung Ae, a young secretary to one of his security chiefs. They had two sons and a daughter.
In the early 70s. Kim Il Sung had the idea of \u200b\u200bmaking his son his heir. Weak protests among top officials ended in the disappearance of the disaffected. In 1980, Kim Jong Il was officially proclaimed the heir to his father, "The Great Continuer of the World Juche Revolutionary Cause." After the death of Kim Il Sung in 1994, he concentrated all power in the country in his hands, pursuing a policy of tyranny and political isolation of the DPRK based on the Chukche doctrine.