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Recently a number of people on Facebook have mentioned the funny name of the equally funny Tumblr Blog “Kim Jong Il Looking at Things“

Kim Jong Il Looking At Things, or KJILAT, updates regularly with images of The Dear Leader Comrade General™ Kim Jong Il on his many inspection tours or what the KCNA often calls “field guidance”.

Authored by someone calling themselves “Makemisteaks” from Lisbon, Portugal, KJILAT has updated mostly daily for the last month and seems to source Images of The Dear Leader from around The Internet.

The deadpan descriptions of each picture however are all the Blog’s own:

looking at fruit

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Featuring: Mizaru and Haebangchon, Seoul residents.

Produced by: Shizaru

From Friday, November 26, to Sunday, November 28, 2010 in the central Seoul, multiethnic borough of Haebangchon (“Liberation Village” in Korean) the Three Wise Monkeys hit the street to gauge the sentiments of foreign residents and Koreans following the North Korean attack on the western island of Yeonpyeong in the Yellow Sea on November 23.

Respondents—Russian, Filipino, American, Korean, Irish—were asked basic questions about how they felt regarding the shelling of the island and what impact, if any, it had on their lives and feelings about living on the peninsula.

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NPR interviewed B.R. Myers regarding the attack on Yeonpyeongdo yesterday. At one point he noted the apparent lack of concern over the attack, and wondered if South Koreans are “habituated to a certain amount of tension, and perhaps they see this only as an incremental increase.”

This is something he brought up at a talk a month or so ago about the lack of state patriotism in South Korea, when he said he worried that continued provocations by North Korea might desensitize people in the South to them (and also noted that the North could not have failed to notice that one of the results of the attack on the Cheonan was that it led to a sizable segment of the South Korean population turning on its own president).

In other news related to the attack, an early article in the Wall Street Journal is here, an earlier report by YTN is here, CCTV footage of the shells hitting the village on Yeonpyeongdo is here, and a report about the two marines who were killed is here. A map of the attack can be found here, which shows the village on the south side of the island (facing away from North Korea), which is located 13 kilometers from North Korea, and where “an estimated 1,700 people live in some 930 houses,” according to this Korea Times article.

This MBC report has a satellite photo of the smoke moving away from the island:

The Joongang Ilbo has several reports in English here, here, and here.

You can read Popular Gusts’ original post here.

This afternoon North Korea attacked a small South Korean island off of Incheon. I heard that one soldier has been announced dead, 4 other soldiers have been wounded and 70 homes from the island have been damaged and 14 civilians have been injured. Read other articles here

This time, unlike the other times, I am actually worried.

Now here are some of my own opinions on North Korea:

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Nanoomi friend Brad M. in Tokyo, Japan, recently had a chance to dine with the former sushi chef of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il. Below is his account. You can follow Brad on Twitter at @boogerdigger.

I knew that it was bound to be a strange night when I received a text-message from Y.T. I had met Y.T. on a Japanese group tour to North Korea in 2005 at the same time that the 60th Anniversary of the Worker’s Party of Korea and the Arirang Festival were in full swing (a whole other story).

“Interested in going for dinner and drinks with Kim Jong-il’s sushi chef, Kenji Fujimoto?” read the text.

Here we go. Every time I am invited somewhere by Y.T., it always has something to do with North Korea and is accompanied by a level of bizarreness which comes hand in hand with anything to do with the “Democratic People’s Republic.”

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As we can see from yesterday’s front page, the Maeil Gyeongje (Maeil Business Newspaper) has let its readers in on why the South Korean team won the U-17 Women’s World Cup:

Korean Women’s DNA is Different
Out of only 345 women, 21 were picked, and in the end they did the job.
The splendid achievements by golfers, figure skater Kim Yu-na, and the soccer Taegeuk Girls are connected.

Well now, I guess that may explain why Roboseyo “personally was told “foreign blood and Korean blood together has problems” [by] one of the nurses at a blood clinic[.]” It all makes sense now – Koreans’ DNA is different. What a simple, obvious explanation.

Actually, while the article tells us that “Questions arise each time Korean female athletes accomplish great things on the world stage,” it (sadly) does not follow up on the promise of the headline, instead dwelling on more mundane cultural and social influences. Mind you, the fact that “Korean women’s DNA is different” was a headline on the front page of a newspaper should go to show that the idea of genes and bloodlines was dominating the writer (or editor)’s thinking, and that they figured others would agree.

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News this week that all might not be well north of the DMZ in terms of the proposed succession by Kim Jong Un to the leadership of The DPRK. (Speculated is perhaps a better word there.)

The big clue that Pyongyangologists have seized upon is the convening of North Korea’s parliament – or lack thereof – which was supposed to happen “Early September” according to the KCNA.

It seems that Kim Jong Il’s sister – Kim Kyung Hee - likes her chances.

Such are the problems with family dynasties I suppose – there’s always an aunt or an uncle tucked away somewhere who turns up to Christmas dinner, 3 sheets to the wind, making inappropriate comments and not wanting to sit next to cousin Joan.

So here is a bit of a Kim family primer.

A recent front page of The Korean People’s Army Newspaper the 조선인민군

Here are the three Generals of Mt. Beakdu. Dad, Kim Il Sung, son Jong Il and mum Kim Jong Suk. These three bronze statues were only publically admitted to very recently, and the statue of Kim Jong Il is said to be one of only two in existence – the other being a gold leafed image of The Dear Leader, Comrade General Kim Jong Il, that stands in the grounds of the People’s Security University. Statues of people like the Kims generally don’t start to appear until they are dead and gone – thus many have seen this as further evidence of the rise of a successor to Kim Jong Il in The DPRK.

Of course Kim Jong Il has a sister – Kim Kyung Hee – sometimes spelt Kim Kyong Hie. In true dynastic style she is married to Chang Sung Taek (also spelt Jang Song Taek) the Director of the Workers Party of Korea Central Committee Administrative Dept – nominally the number 2 position in North Korea.

Chang Sung Taek

Kim Jong Il also had a brother – Man Il who drowned in 1947 aged 3.

Kim Kyung Hee – being Kim Jong Il’s only living blood relative, is in a unique position, having served in many top posts within the Korean Worker’s Party’s Central Committee. Likewise it seems she’s not shy of using a bit of the old cloak and dagger . This article by the Korea Times article alludes to her having a hand in the orchestration of a “traffic accident” that killed  Ri Je Gang a senior party official who, in addition to being seen as a guardian to would be successor Kim Jong Un, tried to oust Kim Kyung Hee from power.

Bad move dude.

Kim Kyung Hee.

(As a side note Kim Jong Il and Kim Kyung Hee have 3 half-siblings from Kim Il Sung’s second marriage to Kim Song Ae. Kim Pyong Gil is the DPRK ambassador to Poland while other half brother Kim Yong Il died in 2000, and half sister Kim Kyong Chin keeps a low profile. As you would.)

Kim Kyung Hee and Chang Sung Taek have one daughter, Chang Kum Song, born 1977 and who died in September 2006.

Kim Jong Il, on the other hand is a bit of a randy bugger and has been married at least twice, to Hong Il Chon and Kim Yong Suk, and has had at least three mistresses, Song Hye Rim, Ko Young Hee and most recently Kim Ok. There are differing accounts as to which woman has born which children to Kim, but according to this Leadership Chart produced by the US Director of National Intelligence’s Open Source Centre it goes a little something like this:

We of course know Kim’s oldest son, Jong Nam, famous for giving interviews in elevators of Macau hotels…

Kim Jong Nam, eldest son of Kim Jong Il and mistress Song Hye Rim.

…and who fell out of favour with his father after trying to sneak into Japan on a forged passprt to go to Tokyo Disney World.

Of the other known sons who might have (or have had) a chance at leadership we now know Kim Jong Un son of Kim Jong Il and mistress Ko Young Hee:

Kim Young Hee

Kim Jong Un, aged 11.

Rounding out the known off spring of Kim Jong Il are the middle son Kim Jong Chul, born 25 September 1980, has also been touted as a successor, being appointed to some sort of position in the KWP, but who reportidly fell out of favour with his father because of his sickly demeanor. Jong Chhul studied in Geneva and apparently plays guitar and likes Eric Clapton. The Japanese Tabloids favour him above his older and younger brothers:

he definitely has the hair styling skills of his father.

Finally there’s the youngest daughter Kim Yo Chung:

Seen here in a side by side with Jong Un. (From here.)

Unfortunately the question still remains as to who will succeed Kim Jong Il, once he shuffles off this mortal coil.

The latest news on the topic comes from, of all places, former US President Jimmy Carter:

When former President Jimmy Carter visited with Chinese Prime Minister Wen on Sept. 6, he surprised our delegation, Carter said, according to Dong-A.

Citing the Chinese official, Carter was told that when Kim visited Beijing last month, he said to Wen that speculation that he would transfer power to his youngest son was a “false rumor from the West”.

Carter’s revelation comes in the wake of an apparent delay of North Korea’s biggest political gathering in 30 years which has fueled speculation that Kim Jong-il’s health may be worsening as he prepares to transfer power. Other analysts believe there might be a power struggle in Pyongyang or the delay was simply caused by recent storm damages.

Still, a government official in Seoul opined, “Carter’s comments deserve attention since they came when Jong-un failed to achieve his goal of being officially appointed as successor through the convention.”

“The possibility of a power struggle between Jong-un and Jang Sung-taek (second in power and husband of Kim Jong-il’s sister, Kim Kyung-hee), director of the administrative department of the Workers’ Party, or a change of Kim’s plan to transfer power to his youngest son cannot be ruled out.”

Indeed, I put to you, that when it comes to North Korea – NOTHING can be ruled out.

The government released some new reading material the other day:

South Korea’s latest weapon in the fight against Kim Jong Il’s regime is a 32-page manga comic strip that seeks to dispel public doubts about North Korea’s responsibility in the deadly sinking of a patrol boat.

The Ministry of National Defense yesterday began distributing the cartoon story to schools, libraries and government offices in a bid to turn back a wave of skepticism among the nation’s youth. More than half of South Koreans in their 20s don’t trust their government’s latest account of the March 26 sinking of the Cheonan, according to a poll by Seoul-based research company Realmeter.

The Truth About the Attack on the Cheonan

The comic can be read online here. Whether this will help communicate the government’s position or simply be perceived as propaganda remains to be seen.

You can read the original post at Gusts of Popular Feeling.

The Korea Herald had a blurb on its front page that North Korea had opened a YouTube channel.  Now, this is very, very interesting news to me, because a North Korean propaganda channel on YouTube is/could be…

1. Unintentionally hilarious
2. Unintentionally frightening
3. A fascinating convergence of backward-looking thought with new media
4. In danger of being blocked by the Korean government
5. Loaded with hilariously bad English

Here we expat bloggers have been moaning that South Korean promotions people have been failing to reach their audience because they’ve been publishing/producing stuff THEY like instead of stuff that’ll actually reach their audience… How much do you want to bet a North Korean YouTube channel will raise that hilari-out-of-touchness to a degree we may never have seen before?

…If the intended audience of the YouTube channel is the international world, and not just South Korean sympathizers/potential sympathizers, that is.

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