He is the most beloved man in North Korea.
Perhaps because there’s a strict law that tells you to love him or else.
Kim Jong-Un has become the subject of many news features and documentaries and the stories
surrounding him are more interesting than the facts about his real life.
To the outside world he is a crazy despot who has a strange friendship with Dennis Rodman of all people
but to North Koreans, he is a being sent by the gods to save them from turmoil and bring
them to paradise.
So today we are exploring these myths and counting down to the 10 reasons why North Koreans think
Kim Jong-Un is a god.
Number Ten: Daddy Was a God In order to be a god you must also have parents
who are gods.
The late dictator, Kim Jong-il, was a mythical being to North Koreans as well as Kim Il-Sung,
Jong-Un’s grandfather.
The “Kims” are said to have descended from a bloodline that was chosen by ancient
gods to save North Korea.
According to an official biography, Kim Jong-Il was born atop a mountain considered to be
sacred by North Koreans.
During his birth on that winter night, a star appeared in the sky and immediately the season
changed to spring as if to herald his coming into the world and roll out the red carpet
for North Korea’s savior.
But in actuality, according to North Korea’s Soviet allies, Kim Jong-Il was born in a small
Siberian village in 1941, far from any mountain and nowhere near the Korean peninsula.
However, the myth was cemented by the North Korean population and extending the same mythical
personality to Kim Jong-Un who is now equally considered heaven sent.
Number Nine: Hamburger Meister Who doesn’t love burgers?
Nice crispy slices of bacon. Maybe an avocado.
It’s just so perfect and has become an icon in the American diet as well as one of the
world’s most recognized sandwiches.
And the world has Kim Jong-il to thank for that.
Calling it “Double Bread with Meat”, Kim Jong-Un’s father was considered to be the
creator and father of this delicious piece of delicacy that he sees as the national dish
of North Korea.
Who would not want to sing praises to the son of the man who brought us the hamburger?
Kim Jong-Il, during his last days made every effort to secure Kim Jong-Un’s position
as his heir as well as deeply etch his cult of personality into the minds of a subjugated
nation.
Claiming that the hamburger was an invention of his was a small piece of a bigger puzzle
that helped secure Kim Jong-Un’s now incontestable power.
Number Eight: Despot Style Shortly after Kim Jong-Il’s death, his signature
grey military overall was being celebrated by the international fashion community according
to North Korean State media; according to fashion designers, the Kim Jong-Il model
is something unprecedented in the world’s history.
Fast forward to Kim Jong-Un’s rise to power, his haircut has made quite a statement to
the country as well.
As the closely cropped haircut with a bushy top grew in “popularity”, North Korean
men have been known to cut their hair the same way as Kim Jong-Un as they see him as
a man of immense style, calling the style of haircut “Ambition”.
If you ask us, you really have to be pretty ambitious to walk in a sea of people with
with that haircut
No wonder that Kim Jong-un was voted the “Sexiest Man Alive” by The Onion in
2012
Number Seven: Blessed Bowels Like his father and his grandfather before
him, Kim Jong-Un, according to North Korean media and his biographers, are perfect human
beings and are highly evolved that their bodies have done away with bowel movement.
It is strongly believed by North Koreans that Kim Jong-il and Kim Jong-un’s bodies were
so perfectly “calibrated” that they never need to urinate or defecate.
Their official biographers also states that they can consume food and their bodies would
absorb all of the nutrients and, somehow, get rid of unneeded elements in the food without
any kind of toiletry
Number Six: The Shining Sun North Koreans revere their leaders highly,
and that’s an understatement.
Placing portraits of their leaders in their homes, offices, and even schools gives a little
bit of an eerie vibe that you may only encounter in a George Orwell novel but that is daily
life for an average North Korean.
Each success, big or small, is attributed to their leaders – dead or alive – and
with good reason
They are all expected to adore them like one would adore a relic from a Saint or like a
religious zealot.
The Kims have quite a monopoly on this in order to strengthen their image for whatever
purpose
Like his father and his grandfather before him, Kim Jong-Un is showered with titles from
the ceremonial to the ones that they seem to have just come up with on the spot.
In 2012, in addition to being satirically declared The Sexiest Man Alive by The Onion,
a 1800-foot hillside carving was made and dedicated to him by his country and reads:
“Long Live [The] General, Long Live The Shining Sun.”
The Shining Sun was among his many titles but he is mostly known as The General or The
Supreme Leader, following the tradition of titles such as “The Eternal Leader” for
Kim Il-Sung and “The Generalissimo” or “The Great Leader” for Kim Jong-il.
Number Five: Heir to Greatness Kim Jong-Un was undoubtedly as great as his
father, at least according to North Korean state media.
Apparently so, in his youth, Kim Jong-Un was already an expert sailor that could have given
a few tips to the pros.
What’s even more amazing was the fact that Kim Jong-Un learned how to drive by the age
of three and was really good at it as well; something that most youth in the Western
everybody else in the world must envy
Adding to his extensive resume of skills and talents
Kim Jong-un is also a celebrated composer
and musician sharing his fame and talent across the globe.
Number Four: Time Lord Aside from the United States, North Korea
has a degree of disdain towards other countries aside from hating on the US
North Korea’s bitterness against Japan, however, comes with an interesting story.
For decades, North Koreans held a strong belief that during their occupation in 1919, they
stole Time from the country.
Yes, Time; which, according to them, was an injustice to the North Korean people.
On August 15th, 2015, this “injustice” was corrected when Kim Jong-Un himself gave
time back to the North Korean people, winding their clocks back by half and hour.
Number Three: No Contest Years after Kim Jong-Un took control of the
country, he declared that elections should take place in order to show to the world that
North Korea was not a totalitarian regime and gave its people a form of democracy that
allows them civil liberties.
In this electoral move, Kim Jong-Un won 99.9% of the votes, showing that he is only 0.1%
more popular than his father.
According to news reports from media agencies outside of North Korea, people were not allowed
to choose another candidate but they must cast votes in a “specially designated”
booth.
Number Two: Picture of Youth While it is not quite mythical or god-like,
Kim Jong-Un is known as the youngest world leader.
While there is much speculation about his true age and date of birth, this fact has
worked wonders for the North Korean leader to his advantage.
With learning how to drive at the age of 3, and being a master sailor before he reached
his teens, being the youngest world leader adds more wood to the fire of his cult of
personality that North Korea sings praises over and creates parades for.
On a similar note, the speculation about his true year of birth is within the years 1982,
1983, or 1984; which puts him in his mid 30’s.
Number One: A Global Event The North Korean PR machine is an incredible
thing that it can really make people believe the things they say about their leaders.
Starting in schools and conditioning children to devote their lives to glorify Kim Jong-Un
and his father, as well as his grandfather, songs are always sung about their lives and
the mythology that envelops it.
Taking our Number One spot is the myth North Koreans are led to believe that Kim Jong-Un’s
birthday is a global event.
Just like Christmas or New Year’s day, North Koreans are told that Kim Jong-Un is beloved
by all the people in the world that they celebrate his birthday and mark it as a special occasion
that warrants parades and festivities akin to the ones done within the hermit state.
This pushes Kim Jong-Un’s godlike status in the minds of the North Korean people because
what deity would not want to have a feast day dedicated to him and celebrated internationally?