{"id":77,"date":"2009-03-23T04:51:17","date_gmt":"2009-03-23T08:51:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/korean\/?p=77"},"modified":"2014-08-27T17:36:13","modified_gmt":"2014-08-27T17:36:13","slug":"kim-jong-ils-birthday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/korean\/kim-jong-ils-birthday\/","title":{"rendered":"Kim Jong Il’s (\uae40\uc815\uc77c) Birthday"},"content":{"rendered":"

Did you know that last month was Kim Jong Il’s sengil (\uc0dd\uc77c<\/strong>) or birthday?\u00a0 His birthday is a national holiday.\u00a0 Kim Jong Il’s birthday was accompanied by a ceremony much like the mass games for the Olympics.\u00a0 There were synchronized swimmers, acrobatic dancers, and muscians.\u00a0 Strangely enough, Kim Jong Il (\uc0dd\uc77c<\/strong>) was not present at the games and there is some speculation that he might have suffered a stroke.\u00a0 He has yet to name a successor, and it’s understandable as to why Hilary Clinton made one of her first trips to South Korea.\u00a0 The future of North Korea and the future of the nuclear weapons program may lie in the hands of one of Kim Jong Il’s (\uae40\uc815\uc77c<\/strong>)\u00a0sons.<\/p>\n

What are the mass games?\u00a0 The mass games consist of traditional Korean dances and music with lavish displays of acrobatic acts.\u00a0 It’s a rare chance for Western media to take a glimpse into North Korea, because it’s really the only time in the year that the North Korean government is this open to foreigners.\u00a0 There is still a huge security clearance that Western journalists need to go through to get to the North, but hey, it’s a rare chance, so you could say it’s almost worth it.\u00a0 My guess is that the North Korean government is using the mass games as a way to display their power.\u00a0 One of the highlights of the mass games is a military parade consisting of very disciplined soldiers all marching in a single, neat order.\u00a0 The North Korean military is called the Korean People’s Army (\uc800\uc120\uc778\ubbfc\uad70<\/strong>) and the games are a means to publicize the army.<\/p>\n

Let me tell you more about Kim Jong Il (\uae40\uc815\uc77c<\/strong>).\u00a0 He\u00a0is not addressed by his name- at least not by his own people.\u00a0 He is addressed as “Dear Leader” (\uce5c\uc560\uc544\ub294 \uc9c0\ub3c4\uc790<\/strong>).\u00a0 Of course there were many well wishers who congratulated Kim Jong Il’s (\uae40\uc815\uc77c<\/strong>)\u00a0sixty-seventh birthday.\u00a0 He’s certaintly lived a long life, considering the average age of mortality for men in North Korea is 40 years.\u00a0 Ironically he was born in Russia under the name Yuri.\u00a0 Of course this fact is hidden from his people but anyway, he has three sons, by three different women.\u00a0 I guess you could say he’s been very “busy” in that sense.<\/p>\n

When much of North Korea is suffering from famine, disease, poor housing infrastructure and the like, he lives in very lavish mansions, 17 to be exact, in addition to several holiday lodges.\u00a0 He’s been known to import caviar and expensive wines through airlift planes.\u00a0 I’m going to leave you to make your own conclusions as to whether he’s a “benevolent leader” but I think it’s already pretty clear.\u00a0 All I’m going to say is that he reminds me a lot of Saddam Hussein…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Did you know that last month was Kim Jong Il’s sengil (\uc0dd\uc77c) or birthday?\u00a0 His birthday is a national holiday.\u00a0 Kim Jong Il’s birthday was accompanied by a ceremony much like the mass games for the Olympics.\u00a0 There were synchronized swimmers, acrobatic dancers, and muscians.\u00a0 Strangely enough, Kim Jong Il (\uc0dd\uc77c) was not present at…<\/p>\n

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