North Korean president Kim Jong Il was born in Siberia in 1941 while his father, Kim Il Sung, was in exile in the Soviet Union. Kim the Younger has ruled North Korea since the 1994 death of Kim Il Sung, amassing dictatorial power, primitive (albeit nuclear) weaponry and an unrivaled reputation for eccentric behavior.
Kim Jong Il’s masterful talents are plainly too magnificent to be confined to the political realm. Accordingly, Kim has extended his leadership to encompass architecture, literature, and film.
Kim is credited with personally designing the famous Juche Tower in Pyongyang. The Korean concept of "juche" (self reliance) has been the guiding principle of life in North Korea under both Kims.
The "official" North Korean account of Kim’s birth was, in a sense, Kim’s first entry into the world of fiction. Not satisfied with the reality of his birth on foreign soil, Kim simply reinvented himself. The official version of his birth now states that he was born in a Lincolnesque cabin atop North Korea’s tallest mountain, Mt. Paektu, in 1942. Upstaging even Jesus, Kim’s birth was marked by a double rainbow in addition to a bright star in the sky.
Many of the books penned by Kim are available in English. Clearly, his is a gift to be shared with the world.
Kim’s Guidance for Journalists instructs reporters in the finer points of North Korean journalism. From page 116: "It is advisable that the newspapers carry articles in which they unfailingly hold the president in high esteem, adore him and praise him as the great revolutionary leader."
Newspapers like the Pyongyang Times and Korea Today maintain strict conformity by focusing on flattering articles about Kim’s daily activities and achievements.
Writing six operas in a span of two years, Kim taught the nation to sing rousing hymns.
Naturally, Kim has written a bizarre manual for opera singers. The actual title of one of the chapters in Kim’s On the Opera is "Charlotte Church: Crossover as the Dialectical Logic of Late Capitalism, or Just Some Cocky Welsh Teeny Bopper?"
Kim also supervises production at the ten million square foot Korean Feature Film Studio, generating such classics as the sci-fi monster flick Pulgasari. The studio is staffed by actors and directors kidnaped from South Korea.
Bert's North Korea Files:
Books by Kim Jong Il:
Juche Tower, Pyongyang:
Kim, accompanied by grinning yes-men, ponders a field of wheat:
Dear Leader Comrade Generalissimo Kim Jong Il pauses for a snack:
Kim Jong Il performs quality control inspections for the Chinese:
Tony Vasquez as Kim Jong Il:
Kim Jong Il: the Great Architect
Kim Jong Il: the Great Dietician
Kim Jong Il: Master of Creation
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