North Korean cult of personality

[8] The 1972 constitution of North Korea incorporates the ideas of Kim Il Sung as the only guiding principle of the state and his activities as the only cultural heritage of the people.

[19] The North Korean government claims there is no cult of personality, but rather genuine support not only for their nation's leadership but also the philosophy of Juche socialism.

[23] In 1967, Kim Jong Il was appointed to the state propaganda and information department, where he began to focus his energy on developing the veneration of his father.

[26] Hwang Jang-yop, the second highest level North Korean defector, has said that the country is completely ruled by the sole ideology of the "Great Leader".

He further said that during the de-Stalinization period in the USSR, when Stalin's cult of personality was dismantled in 1956, some North Korean students studying in the Soviet Union also began to criticize Kim Il Sung's growing personality cult and when they returned home they "were subject to intensive interrogation that lasted for months" and "Those found the least bit suspicious were killed in secret".

[23] He is credited with almost single-handedly defeating the Japanese at the end of the occupation of Korea (ignoring Soviet and American efforts)[28] and with rebuilding the nation after the Korean War.

Over the course of his life he was granted titles of esteem such as "Sun", "Great Chairman", "Heavenly Leader" and many others, as well as awards like the "Double Hero Gold Medal".

[34] In his memoir With the Century, Kim Il Sung tells an anecdote involving his father and grandfather that gives the rationale for this sanitized presentation of North Korean leaders to their followers.

[43] In 1997, the Juche Era dating system, which begins with the birth of Kim Il Sung (April 15, 1912) as year 1, was introduced and replaced the Gregorian calendar.

[46] The anniversary involved lectures, study sessions, local choirs, etc., with children and workers being mobilized to take part in the various events.

According to a resident of Hyesan, "Nowadays people are having a hard time... as events related to the passing of the Suryeong are going on every single day in the Democratic Women's Union and workplaces alike".

[46] In keeping with the modern mythologies that pervade North Korea's version of history, which is seen as crucial to the cult of personality and political control,[47] it is alleged that Kim Jong Il was born on Mount Paektu at his father's secret base in 1942 (his actual birth was in 1941 in the Soviet Union) and that his birth was heralded by a swallow, caused winter to change to spring, a star to illuminate the sky, and a double rainbow spontaneously appeared.

Over the course of his life, the government issued numerous propaganda reports of the great accomplishments achieved by Kim Jong Il, such as that he could walk and talk before the age of six months.

"[56] The Korean Central News Agency has also reported, among other things, that according to eyewitness accounts "nature and the sky unfolded such mysterious ecstasy in celebration of the birthday of Kim Jong Il.

[58] After his death on December 17, 2011, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said that layers of ice ruptured with an unprecedentedly loud crack at Chon Lake on Mount Paektu and a snowstorm with strong winds hit the area.

[70] Following his death, numerous commemorative stamps and coins were made and slogans have been carved on the sides of mountains in honor of his 70th birthday anniversary.

When he was still a new ruler, the development of his own personality cult was well underway, with large numbers of posters, signs, and other propaganda being placed all over the country.

[74][75] A journalist from Japan's The Asahi Shimbun said that his striking likeness in appearance to Kim Il Sung has helped solidify him as the undisputed ruler in the minds of the people.

"[77] In 2013, the Workers' Party of Korea amended the Ten Principles for the Establishment of a Monolithic Ideological System, which in practice serves as the primary legal authority and framework of the country,[78][79] to demand "absolute obedience" to Kim Jong Un.

According to The Daily Telegraph, analysts "say the order to erect more statues to the Kim family will be a heavy financial burden on an economy that is already struggling due to years of chronic mismanagement and international sanctions".

"[95] She is typified as a model revolutionary, wife, and maternal figure, and North Korean society looks to stories of her as examples of how to live life.

[96] Although she was first lady of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in the first year of its founding in 1948, she died in 1949 at the age of 31, and starting in 1974, in conjunction with her son Kim Jong Il's rise to position as the heir apparent, she was increasingly praised and her accomplishments memorialized throughout the nation.

Familism in North Korea stems from a combination of the traditional East Asian Confucian value of filial piety, the communist system of collectivism, and the Kim cult of personality.

As a traditional East Asian and Confucian value, the importance of family has come to resonate through all aspects of North Korean life, from politics to the economy to education and even to interpersonal relationships between friends and enemies.

"[86] By publicly portraying himself as a loyal son who loved his mother and father, Kim positioned himself to demand the same filial loyalty from his subjects.

[108] These obelisks espouse the virtues of the "Great Marshal" and, like the other monuments, citizens (and tourists) are required to present flowers and other tokens of respect to the statues during certain holidays and when they visit them.

The North Korean government posthumously bestowed upon her the "Kim Jong Il Youth Honor Award" and her school was renamed after her.

[125] In 2013, a new holiday was announced to be celebrated on February 14, which commemorates the date that Kim Jong Il assumed the title "Generalissimo of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea".

[129][130] Birthday celebrations for the Kims also involve state media broadcasts of films about the lives and accomplishments of the leaders the night before the actual holiday.

[133][134] The North Korean government places a large emphasis on international recognition in order to legitimize their rule in the minds of the population.