March 9, 2022 • 42 mins
In the cutthroat world of Pyongyang’s palaces, a pair of manipulative mothers drives two generations of Kims to claw for their father’s affection, sparking a ruthless succession race. Plus, the embarrassing mistake that may have cost Kim Jong-nam the crown—and his life.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
Here's something you wouldn't expect about Kim Jong il. He
wasn't born on the divine slopes of Mount pet two.
He wasn't even born in Korea. He spent the first
four years of his life living in the eastern stretches
of the Soviet Union, a logging camp in Siberia. To
(00:25):
be exact. According to Russian birth records, Kim Jong Il's
name is actually Yuri Irsinovich Kim it was the Korean
Peninsula was occupied and controlled by Japan, and Kim's father,
the future Supreme Leader, Kim Il sung, was a guerrilla
(00:47):
freedom fighter, the leader of a rag tag platoon of
communist soldiers fighting Japanese imperialists. But when World War Two erupted,
Kim Il sung fled into the Soviet Union with a
female soldier, a dogged fighter who had served as his bodyguard.
Her name was Kim Changshuk. According to people who knew her,
(01:11):
Chungsuk was a warm hearted, but rugged and fearless woman.
When she was a teenager, her family had been murdered
by Japanese settlers. She had sworn revenge, joined the Korean
cause and met Kimio sung on the battlefield. She even
saved the man's life from a deadly ambush, and it
(01:33):
was during this time in the early forties, a Tongsuk
and Kimilsung fell in love, became unofficially married and had
two boys, Yuri Rsenovich, lovingly nicknamed Urah and his little
brother Shoulda. In Russia, the children received endless attention and affection,
(01:55):
but in when Korea was liberated from Japan, the Kim
family returned home. Kim Il sung, who had ingratiated himself
with Soviet leadership, was installed by Joseph Stalin as North
Korea's chairman. For a young Kim Jong Il and his brother,
leaving Russia was difficult. Their parents became busy and distant.
(02:21):
Their dad was occupied trying to build a communist utopia,
and their mother was often away traveling the country as
his political representative. And then in September, tragedy struck. Kim
Jong Zook was pregnant and Kim Jong Il, just eight
(02:42):
years old, waited in the palace for his mom to
bring home a baby sister. Hours later, a family member arrived,
tears streaming down her cheeks. Kim Jong Ille was told
to prepare instead for a funeral. The baby had been lost,
(03:02):
and so too had his mother. Kim Jong Ill panicked,
he sprinted out the door in the direction of the hospital.
Guards swooped in and grabbed him. As an officer lugged
him back into the house, the little boy began wailing uncontrollably,
calling out for his mother. At the funeral, Kim Jong
(03:24):
Il was inconsolable. He clung to his dead mother's body
and wept in her arms. When a group of elders
tried to lead the boy away, his father stopped them, saying,
tomorrow you will have no mother anymore, and who's embraced
to cry? Little did the boy know, but the supreme
(03:45):
leader was already thinking about his wife's replacement. A grieving
Kim Joang Ill would watch with jealousy as his father
built a new family around a new woman, growing even
more distant from his eldest on. That's the strange thing
about the stories of Kim Jong Il and Kim Jong Nam.
(04:06):
The two generations share an eerie parallel. Both, in one
way or another, would lose their mothers and childhood, and
both would spend the rest of their lives fighting these
other new families for the love and attention of their father,
the supreme leader. The result would be a series of
(04:28):
cruel family games of manipulative in fighting that would do
much more than alter the dynamic inside the gilded palaces
of Kung Yang. It would change the course of world history.
My name is even Lee, and in this episode, the
(04:50):
tale of two generations of Kim's vying for power in
a world of subterfuge, espionage and deceit, and the mistake
that may have caused Kim jong Nam the crown and
his life. She takes a gun away, and she says,
you're not getting any stupid ideas. Be a man and
go forth and lead your country in the East Asia.
(05:12):
People around the court like to go on and on
about which branch has what it takes to be the
leading branch of the family. I think that it was
due to the mothers that the succession decision was made.
This is big brother. While Kim Jong Il's mother had
(05:41):
died in childbirth, Kim Jong Nam's mother, you may remember,
was still alive. She was exiled to a mental facility
in Russia, leaving the young Kim Jong Nam effectively motherless
and the states secret And then in nine a d
When the boy was nine years old, his father agreed
(06:04):
to send him to a boarding school abroad. Here's journalists
and fifield. Kim Jong Nam was living this very abnormal life.
You know, he didn't go to school in North Korea.
He was confined to one of these palatial compounds. And
his grandmother actually said, you know, this is no way
for a kid to live. So they the first idea
(06:27):
was to go off to the Soviet Union, to Moscow,
but Kim Jong Nam was no fan of Russia. Like
a true spoiled prince, he whined constantly. His biggest complaint
how dirty the Soviet Union's toilets were. So. At the
behest of his uncle Chang Song Tech, the boy was
(06:48):
sent to Switzerland. Joan Song Tech had found out that
lots of celebrities sent their children to the school in Geneva.
A Taie Prince is Michael Douglas had all gone to
the school in Geneva, so Kim Jong Nam moved to
Switzerland to attend the International School of Geneva, one of
(07:09):
the most diverse academies on the planet. The institution overflowed
with the sons and daughters of wealthy dignitaries and diplomats
from all over the world, and even boasted alumnis such
as Indira Gandhi. Kim's cousin and playmate Enamo, came with him.
The two received fake names and fake passports. They were
(07:31):
given alibis and told everybody they were the children of
diplomats to avoid bumping into nosey South Korean students who
were usually enrolled in English speaking classes. The two cousins
two courses in French. It's worth noting they did not
speak French. One of those nosy South Korean students, by
(07:55):
the way, happened to be doctors Hung Yun Lee, professor
at Tufts Universe At many years ago. I enrolled at
the International School of Geneva, Switzerland sometime in September. Not
only did doctor Lee attend the same school, he attended
at the same time as Kim Jong Nam. I enrolled
(08:17):
on the very same day. Kim Jong Nam was three
years younger than I, so we never were in the
same classroom. Hardly ever cross path. But the South Korean
ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva mistook Kim Jong
Nam as a South Korean student and struck up a
conversation with Kim jong Nam, and the North Korean princeling said,
(08:41):
I'm actually from North Korea. To say the least, the
regime would have its hands full keeping Kim jong Nam
a secret. North Korea watched the potential successor closely. Even
his cousin in Am enrolled in the same classes just
to keep a protective eye on him. Even though she
was five years older than him, she went to his class,
(09:03):
she was denied a normal upbringing. She was always five
years behind the with him. The regime even rented a
fifth floor apartment across the street to monitor the princeling.
But constant surveillance couldn't stop the fact that Kim jong
Nam would be exposed to everything. Europe offered a mixed economy,
a free press, and a vast expanse of art, culture
(09:27):
and different ways of thinking. For years, this Western playground
distracted him from the gossip of Kongyang, namely that his
father was building a new family with a new step
mom and two younger half brothers. Instead, Kim jong Nam
spent his teenage years in blissful ignorance, and as he
(09:49):
hobbed nobbed with the richest and most privileged children, in
the world. He became something of a snotty playboy. At school,
Kim jong Nam befriended the children of famous French thing ears.
He went for joy rides and Mercedes benzes with moneyed
Arab princes. He let loose on the Riviera with hotel
heiresses and skied the Alps with kids who had their
(10:10):
own Swiss bank accounts. He partied and snorted drugs. He
bought booze with his fake I d and drained the
bottles by night. He slept with women and lost count
of how many, And then in it all came crashing
to an end. Kim Jong Nam turned eighteen and his
(10:35):
father demanded that he returned to kung Yang. When he arrived,
Residence Number fifteen was boiling with gossip. Kim Jong Ill
had children with another woman Uh, and then Kim Jong
Ill's affections within show at upon that family. To put
(10:55):
it lightly, the two branches of the family were not
getting along. This is something that seems to have really
emotionally Scott Kim jong Nam, and he felt cast aside.
Residents number fifteen, according to Anna Fifield, seethed with rivalry.
As she wrote in her book The Great successor quote.
(11:16):
They were convinced that the other woman was a manipulative
shrew who was poisoning Kim Jong Ill against them. They
talked about whether the woman was fat and derided her
as half jack. They even concocted vicious nicknames for the stepmother,
calling her punct coal, a slur that means hammer nose,
but with a twist referencing the gambling game pachinko to
(11:40):
snipe at her Japanese roots. But insults couldn't heal the hurt.
When Kim jong Nam was sent to Europe, his branch
of the family had become an afterthought. Now they felt
second class, neglected, and the implications were obvious. The situation
(12:00):
harmed Kim Jong Nam's political future, But for those close
to the Kim family, this drama wasn't anything unusual. It
was just a ja vu because decades earlier, when Kim
Jong Il was a little boy, similar complaints were swirling
in the palace air. After the death of his mom.
(12:23):
His dad had come home with a new mistress, and
with this new woman in the picture, his political future
had been at risk too. The story of how Kim
Jong Ill clawed his way to the top when we return.
(12:55):
Truth be told, Kim jong Il had a tenuous relationship
with his father long before this other woman stepped in,
and that's because of a traumatic event that took place
when Kim jong Il men known as Udah, was just
a little boy. It's Dah and his little brother Shouldah
(13:20):
are playing alone near the edge of a pond. Udah
is around six shouda four. The boys grapple and horseplay
around the shallows, splashing and dunking each other's heads under
the surface. Udah lifts himself out of the water, but
when little Shuda tries to climb out, Udah, the bullying
(13:40):
big brother, playfully pushes him back in. The boys laugh,
and then Shouldah tries to get out a second time,
but Udah shoves him right back into the murky lagoon.
Udah teases his little brother and continues the cruel game
again and again and again. Minutes later, the Supreme Leader
(14:04):
rushes to the pond and finds a young Kim jong
Il is standing awkwardly at the water's edge. What's the matter?
What's the matter? He repeats the question over and over.
The little Kim jong yellen speechless. I'm asking you what
this is all about. Look at me, Look at me.
Kim jong il just stands there, his face to the ground,
(14:27):
arrowed in shame. What have you been doing? Just offshore,
floating in the water is the lifeless body of his
little brother. Kim Jong Il's official biography makes no mention
of his dead brother, but documents captured by American soldiers
(14:49):
after the Korean War show that Kim Il sung was
so heartbroken that he invited Buddhist monks and a shaman
to pray at the side of the drowning. According to Defect,
they're close to the Kim family. Young Kim jong il
would spend the following years a quote lonely and guilty child, quiet,
depressed and fearful of what his father thought of him.
(15:14):
The dual tragedy of losing his brother and mother would
forever alter Kim Jong il's relationship with his father, who
had already started a separate family with a new woman
and new sons. And that's what sparked a competition that
would reshape the politics of North Korea. You see, during
(15:35):
the DPR case infancy, Kimo Song was more likely to
pass power to a fellow comrade rather than his kids.
The whole concept of hereditary succession was anathema to communist teaching.
In fact, the North Korean Dictionary of Political Terminologies lambasted
the practice quote hereditary succession is a reactionary custom of
(15:57):
exploitative societies. Originally a product of slave societies, it was
later adopted by feudal lords as a means to perpetuate
dictatorial rule. But then at some point Kim il sung
changed his mind. By the mid nineties sixties, the Supreme
Leader made it clear that power would remain in the family.
(16:20):
Kim Jong il, of course, was the first and eldest son.
By Confucian tradition, the throne should have been his, but
his spot wasn't guaranteed. Kim il sung clearly preferred his
two youngest sons over his firstborn. Kim Jong Ille felt
the odds were stacked against him, and since his brother
(16:42):
and mother were dead, he didn't have many advocates in
the regime, so he deployed a plan. At the time,
there was no true single party rule, yet multiple communist
groups were jockeying for influence. Lumble Over Kimilsung knew that
(17:04):
the stability of the country and his pursuit of power
depended on consolidating their support. He gave impassioned speeches like
the one you're hearing now to rally groups behind his leadership.
Here's Michael Madden Kim Il sung. When he first became
(17:25):
leader in forty five, he had to contend with different
factions of nationalist Koreans. Kim Il sung doesn't have ultimate power,
so his whole pursuit from to nifty is basically to
dominate the North Korean political system. Kim Il sung strategy
centered on a combination of hard and soft power by
(17:46):
both cracking skulls and poisoning minds. When he wasn't eliminating
traitors through bloodshed, the leader was focusing his attention on
winning people's trust. He enlisted advisor to boost his reputation
as a person whose wisdom, knowledge, and power or unmatched.
(18:07):
All of a sudden, peddling propaganda became a way to
win favor with the leader. A palatial arms race ensued.
Who could praise and idolize the supreme leader the most.
This was Kim Jong Il's wheelhouse. As a lover of
theater and movies, he was a master of artifice. He
(18:29):
turned out films and news articles depicting his father not
just as a wise and compassionate strong man, but as
all knowing. Kim Jong Il, in other words, would help
transform his father into a living god. As part of this,
Kim Jong Ill made everybody in North Korea where lapel
(18:50):
pins of his father's face. He built dozens of mansions
for his dad, and funneled millions of dollars into erecting
statues of his likeness. And so Kim Il Sung the
man became Kim Il Sung, the legend, and the leader
relished the attention. As more people praised him, the more
(19:16):
the personality called grew into a cartoonish mythology. The history
books literally changed. Kim Il Sung transformed from a meager
guerrilla fighter to the beating heart of the resistance movement,
the man who had singlehandedly liberated the country, and people
believed it. In nine, journalist Bradley Martin visited North Korea
(19:41):
for the World Table Tennis Championships. He realized that North
Korea operated with a peculiar piety. When I first went there,
it clearly was a religious state that the people worshiped
Kimmel Song, and in his opinion, it was sincere the
worship was not purely a matter of their submitting to government,
(20:05):
but they wanted to worship him. They loved him, and
I detected very little falsity in the expressions of praise,
and it was very much a religious state. Kim Jong
Il's propaganda efforts would change the face of North Korea,
and they put him back in his father's good graces,
(20:28):
but it still didn't guarantee that he'd inherit the throne.
The one thing standing in Kim Jong Il's way was
his new stepmother, who was positioning her firstborn son, named
Kim Chang Ill as a successor. In East Asia, people
around the court like to go on and on about
which branch has what it takes to be the leading
(20:51):
branch of the family. That was pretty much as it
was with Kim Jong il and his brother Kim Young.
Kim Kang yell was a terrifying opponent. He was the
spitting image of their father. He had a much more
affectionate relationship with him too, and no amount of flattering
(21:14):
publicity could replace the fact that Kim Il sung spent
his nights sleeping next to Kangiel's mother. Propaganda was no
match for pillow talk. Kim Joang Ill realized that in
order to become the front runner, he'd have to do
more than boost his father into the image of a god.
(21:35):
To destroy his little brother's prospects, he'd have to eliminate
the power of the other woman. Two decades later, Kim
jong Nam would face a similar challenge with his stepmother.
(21:57):
When he returned from Europe. The dynamics of palace life
had changed. His father once so loving hardly visited Residence
Number fifteen anymore. It was as if the Chong Nam
side of the family didn't exist. Kim Jong Il's other
family included a five year old son, Kim Jong Un,
(22:21):
and their father devoted all of his free time and
energy to this little boy. But what really shocked and
dismayed Kim jong Nam's branch of the family was how
brazen his father's new mistress, Ko Yuan Ki was acting.
Up until this point, Kim Jong Il's wives were to
run the household. They were not to be involved in politics.
(22:43):
He changes his mind about that with Koyeng Hui. As
Michael Madden explains, Couse shamelessly inserted herself into politics. Kyeong
Whui is allowed to talk to the political age that
come by the house to brief Kim Jong Ill. That's
where Koyonghui starts to attain a degree of political importance.
She's a close steward a selection of Kim Jong Ill's
(23:06):
top guys. The Kim jong Nam side of the family,
koyeng He was just manipulating the man. She was nothing
but a gold digger, an illegitimate concubine, unworthy of the
title of wife, and she was part Japanese North Koreas
sworn enemy. And so to Kim jong Nam's family, her
(23:27):
kids weren't successors. They were illegitimate children and thus illegitimate heirs.
But like the generation before him, Kim Jong Nam's mother
was out of the picture. Kim Jong Nam's mother had
basically had a mental breakdown and gone to Moscow and
stayed abroad for almost the rest of her life, and
(23:49):
so she was literally out of the inner circle. She
was far away. She didn't have much influence. Koyeong He,
on the other hand, Kim Jong UN's mother, she was
very much an in a circle. She was at Kim
Jong Il's side. She was making decisions, she was advising him,
(24:11):
and she had been trying to position both of her
sons as the heir apparent to Kim jong il, so
she did things like making sure that they both got
the military uniforms and were called little generals just like
Kim jong nam was. She made sure that they went
into like the North Korean equivalent of West Point, so
(24:35):
that they had that military training and they could justify
leading a country that had a military first policy. She
was actively lobbying for them behind the scenes. I think
that it was due to the mothers that this succession
decision was made, and Koeng he knew a finger too
(24:58):
about getting on the leaders good side. In fact, she
became one of the most important people in the regime.
At that point, Kim jong il had taken the reins
of decision making, with his father remaining a mere figurehead.
But one day, Kim jong il was riding a horse
(25:19):
when he fell off and suffered a severe head injury.
It was so bad that the regime flew in a
neurologist from France. According to Michael Madden, with her husband incapacitated,
Koyong he stepped in during that point. During that point,
Young we basically starts helping him with paperwork that's coming
into the house, and so for a whole year koyong
(25:43):
He acts as Kim jong Il's top advisor. And then
when Kim jong Il officially become supreme leader, she saves
her husband's life a second time. Goes by a room
in one of the houses and sees Kim jong Il
cleaning his gun. Kim jong Il is going to shoot
himself in the head and commit suicide. She takes a
(26:05):
gun away, and she says, you're not getting any stupid ideas.
Be a man and go forth and lead the country.
So this is where Kim jong UN's mother is sort
of endeared to the leader, where she becomes a political
force and a political influence. This is where Kim jong
Nam's path diverges from his father's. Kim Jong Il prevented
(26:26):
his step family from stealing the successorship by well sucking
up to his father. It was filial piety on steroids,
But when Kim jong Nam's stepmother interfered, he rebelled. Rather
than elevate his father's image, he escaped his royal compound
and drank his way across kong Yang. There was a
(26:49):
period of time when Kim jong nam was in his
twenties and was essentially kind of locked in this gilded
cage and Pyongyang. You know, he was this young guy
wanting to be you know, socializing and having fun and things,
and he wasn't able to do that in Pyongyang. So
him and his cousin Nam Mock would go out in
(27:10):
one of the regime mercedes, you know, at nighttime, go
joy riding around the place and kind of burn off
a little steam, and words spread fast. Keng Yang's elite
complained that Kim jong nam was a belligerent and obnoxious drunk.
He made people bow when he entered a room. One time,
the drunken prince entered a hotel lobby, pulled out a pistol,
(27:33):
and littered the ceiling with bullet holes, all because somebody
had taken his parking space. Their speculation that these stories
aren't actually true, but in kiang Yang that didn't matter.
These rumors were circulating and they were making Kim Jong
ill look bad. So when he found out he went dessert.
(27:56):
Kim Jong Il's was extremely angry about this um and
basically put them on the house arresed uh in their
compound in Pyongyang. He denied food to them. They had
to live on what they had, and you know, they
were really cut off and punished as a result of this.
Kim Jong Nam's father even threatened to send his son
and extended family to a labor camp. But nobody in
(28:20):
residence Number fifteen blamed the young prince. They blamed his stepmother.
According to Chong Nam's cousin Enamo quote, the other woman's
fingerprints were all over this. There is a suggestion, yeah
that it was Kim Jong's mother who took off Kim
jong Il and tried to make them look bad. Gossip
(28:41):
spread that it was actually the stepmother who had snitched
on Chong Nam. As Fifield writes in her book, Koyong
he had quote encouraged Kim Jong Il to allow his
oldest son more freedom, then rat it on the young
man when he enjoyed that freedom. The family was convinced
that this other woman would do anything to tarnish the
(29:04):
reputation of the man competing with her sons. In his
mid twenties, Kim jong Nam did clean up his act
and began joining his father on official summits, even accompanying
him on a trip to Mount pet two. He began
studying economics, a sign that he was destined for big
(29:26):
things and was given a military post. Here's Bradley Martin.
When Kim jong Nam was twenty four, his father presented
him the general's uniform. Everybody started calling him general. That
seems to me a pretty good indication that he was
at least being thought of as the successor. And at
(29:49):
the same time, Kim jong Nam was awarded the freedom
to travel beyond the palace walls. He adventured to Japan
and Beijing, where some suggests he indulged in women and
illicit activities as well as official business. Everywhere he went,
he traveled with a fake passport under a fake name.
(30:13):
Things were looking up. Kim jong Nam was elected as
a delegate to North Korea's legislature. He even got to
flex his muscles as a computer was He was active
in getting the Korean Computer Center started up and in
the import of computers, and he had a position which
is now called the Ministry of Social Security. Those are
(30:33):
pretty high end positions as far as the North Korean
regime of that day. This latter position at the State
Security Ministry was an important one. Kim jong Nam had
the tough job of handling defectors and refugees, and it
gave him an opportunity to show his soft side. There
there was an incident around where hundreds of North Koreans
(30:56):
had fled into China to try to find food, which
was highly legal. These people were all detained and then
one day they're all turned loose. They all got pardoned,
and they were told to thank Comrade Kim jong Nam
because Comrade Kim jong Nam had exercised his benevolence on
their behalf and forgiven these hungry people. In the words
(31:18):
of a human rights activists, the official party line was
you owe all of this to Kim jong Nam. By
the millennium, it seemed that Kim jong Nam had survived
his roaring twenties, had survived the manipulations of his stepmother.
He was building a name for himself in the regime.
(31:40):
And then in two thousand and one this happened Tokyo Disneyland, Disneyland,
taking his sons to Disneyland. Kim jong Nam got caught
going to Disneyland. Y we'll get back to Mickey Mouse later.
(32:16):
The very fact that Kim jong Nam's political prospects ever
survived the nineties, despite his gun coding beer guzzling, sex
loving reputation is remarkable because that's exactly what helped bring
down Kim Jong Il's half brother, Kim Kangyell. Remember that rivalry.
In the nineteen seventies, Kan Yell was steadily climbing the ladder.
(32:40):
He entered the bodyguard division of the Supreme Guard Command,
graduated from Kim Millsung University, was promoted to colonel and
named vice head of the Strategic Department of Bodyguards. All
signs pointed to Kim kangy Ill as a Supreme Leader's favorite.
It helped that his mother was all around to whisper
(33:01):
encouraging words into Kim Il Sung's ear. But there was
one problem. Kim Kang Ill was the life of the party.
He drank, danced, and caroused with officers in the State
Security Department and with big wigs in the bodyguard units.
He lived for elaborate gifts, engraved watches, and free drinks.
(33:26):
Little did he know Big Father Kim Jong Il was
spying on him. One day at a party, a group
of bodyguards started drunkenly praising the young potential air chanting
live man. This was a dumb mistake in a country
(33:53):
where Kim il sung was a living god. Only one
person deserved a live long chant. This was pure, unadulterated blasphemy.
Words soon reached Kim jong Il as the state propaganda master.
He knew these chants sounded like somebody trying to chip
away at the supreme leaders allegiances. Kim Jong Il was
(34:16):
a better in fighter than Kim kyong yo, so he
got some dirt on Kim kyong yo and got the
word through his father that Kim Yongyo was arrating around
as if he were the successor designate, as if he
were a big shot. Kim il Sung was outraged. Kyongyo
(34:39):
was quickly demoted. He went off and became a diplomat
in Europe for his old career, and so Kim kang
Ill was shipped off an embassy overseas. For a member
of the royal family, it was like being put out
to pasture. Kim kang Ill would spend the rest of
his life living under constant surveillance. Kim Jong Ille was
(35:02):
happy to have his half brother out of the picture,
but al staying matt nuisance wasn't enough. He was hell
bent on weakening his stepmother's power too. Just to be safe,
so he exploited one of his father's greatest weaknesses. The
Supreme Leader was a notorious flirt, and his son knew
(35:25):
he could drive a wedge into their relationship by simply
introducing his dad to new women, ladies who could shower
him with attention and pleasure. The scheme weren't. The marriage
between his father and his stepmother frosted over. With Kim
Il sung's attention elsewhere, the woman's influence waned. Kim Jong
(35:48):
Ille won a battle of attrition. Soon he was announced
the successor. He celebrated by sticking his stepmother's nose in
it In she was forced to publicly read an embarrassing
speech praising Kim Jong Il's dead mother. The stepmom was
(36:09):
compelled to call her quote an imperishable communist revolutionary fighter
and outstanding woman activists. She also had to call her
one of the three generals of Mount Peto and the
biggest insult the mother of the nation. Soon, the stepmother's
(36:29):
relationship with Kim Il Song completely dissolved. Six years later,
she was placed under house arrest. By the late nineteen eighties,
as Kim Jong il amassed more power, the woman who
had tried to cut him down was nowhere to be seen,
(36:50):
but the same could not be said for Kim jong
nam stepmother. On May one, two thousand and one, a
plane flying out of Singapore touchdown at Nadita International Airport
outside of Tokyo, Japan. Kim jong Nam, then just nine
(37:14):
years old, arguably near the height of his political cloud,
stepped off the plane with his family, two women and
a little four year old boy. As the family stood
in line for immigration, security officials approached, they asked to
inspect Kim jong Nam's passport. Like the rest of the
(37:35):
royal family, the document was fake. It said he was
from the Dominican Republic and listed his name as Pang
Yung Chinese for fat Bear. Officials led Kim jong Nam
into a room for questioning. At first, Chong Nam stonewalled
the investigators, speaking a mix of Japanese and English. An
(37:57):
hour past before he dropped the bombshell that he was
the son of North Korea's dictator, thought Kim Joda. He
explained that he had come to take his young son
to Tokyo Disneyland. He showed them his passport, again, displaying
stamps proving that he had entered Japan multiple times without trouble,
(38:18):
but the questioning continued. Over the next seventy two hours.
Kim jong nam and his family would be kept at
an immigration detention center. Word got out fast and journalists
flocked to the airport. Meanwhile, and Kongyang official scramble to
(38:38):
deny the news. The regime, according to Hongyun Lee, was
growing embarrassed. Why is that embarrassing because North Korea rails
against the evils of capitalism, materialism, Western pop culture and
Disneyland nicely and captures all of those quality. After three days,
(39:02):
Kim jong nam and his family were deported, but not
before journalists snapped photos of North Korean royalty making the
walk of shame onto an airplane. When Kim Jong Nam
returned home, his father was outraged. He disinvited his son
from attending a special economics meeting with the Chinese, and
(39:22):
he'd never be invited to a high level event again.
Two years later, the North Korean People's Army Publishing Company
released an article entitled The Respected Mother is the most
faithful and loyal subject to the Dear Leader, Comrade Supreme Commander.
The story was designed to deify the mother of the
(39:43):
future successor in the same way that Kim jong il's
late mother had been celebrated. But the subject of the
article was not Kim jong nam's mother. It was Koyong he,
the mother of Kim jong Un. To this day, rumors
swirl that Kim jong un was, in fact just the
(40:04):
beneficiary of his mother's dirty tricks. There was South Korean
chitta chatta that it was actually Kim jong UN's mother
who leaked the details about the Disneyland Tokyo trip to
the Japanese press in an effort to actively embarrass Kim
jong nam. Did Kim jong UN's mother tip off the
Japanese about Kim jong Nam's travel plans to Tokyo, nobody
(40:27):
is certain, but with Kim jong Nam disgraced an international
laughing stock, the events certainly helped push her sons to
the front of the line. I came away with the
impression that it was because of her efforts to promote
her sons that Kim jong Un had risen to the top.
Kim jong Il won the battle against his stepmother, Kim
(40:50):
jong Nam did not next time on big brother. Kim
jong Nam walk a tight rope with his father's favor
After putting the regimes carefully protected image in peril. Big
(41:12):
Brother is a production of School of Humans and I
Heart Radio and hosted by me Eden Lane. Lucas. Riley
is our writer, co director and associate producer. Amelia Brock
is our senior producer, co director and editor. Executive producers
are Virginia Prescott, Brandon Barr, L. C. Crowley, and Jason English.
(41:33):
Our fact checker is Aaron Blakemore Music composed by Jason
Todd Shannon and Tunewalders. Original score mixed by Vic Stafford.
Our opening song is Walt's Number two from the Second
Suite for Jazz Orchestra by Dmitri Shostakovich, as performed by
the Ukraine National Symphony Orchestra, licensed from Naxos Records and G. Shermer, Inc.
(41:56):
The North Korean National Anthem is licensed from Warner Chapel Production.
Muse Sick audio editing by Jesse nice Swanger sound design
and mixed by Harper W. Harris. Special sound credit to
Kuama to a Free Sound dot Org. Audio correction by
Josh Fisher. Voice acting by Mark Chung, June Yune, Mike Coscarelli,
(42:17):
Sean McKee, Daniel Kim, Udy Nam and Judy Alice Lee.
Special thanks to Notic Kazu and Hanako Goto, Ryan Murdoch
and Will Pearson. Sound licensed from Critical Past. If you're
enjoying the podcast, help us get the word out by
leaving a rating in your favorite podcast app. Until next time,
(42:38):
I'm Even Lee School of Humans
Here's something you wouldn't expect about Kim Jong il. He
wasn't born on the divine slopes of Mount pet two.
He wasn't even born in Korea. He spent the first
four years of his life living in the eastern stretches
of the Soviet Union, a logging camp in Siberia. To
(00:25):
be exact. According to Russian birth records, Kim Jong Il's
name is actually Yuri Irsinovich Kim it was the Korean
Peninsula was occupied and controlled by Japan, and Kim's father,
the future Supreme Leader, Kim Il sung, was a guerrilla
(00:47):
freedom fighter, the leader of a rag tag platoon of
communist soldiers fighting Japanese imperialists. But when World War Two erupted,
Kim Il sung fled into the Soviet Union with a
female soldier, a dogged fighter who had served as his bodyguard.
Her name was Kim Changshuk. According to people who knew her,
(01:11):
Chungsuk was a warm hearted, but rugged and fearless woman.
When she was a teenager, her family had been murdered
by Japanese settlers. She had sworn revenge, joined the Korean
cause and met Kimio sung on the battlefield. She even
saved the man's life from a deadly ambush, and it
(01:33):
was during this time in the early forties, a Tongsuk
and Kimilsung fell in love, became unofficially married and had
two boys, Yuri Rsenovich, lovingly nicknamed Urah and his little
brother Shoulda. In Russia, the children received endless attention and affection,
(01:55):
but in when Korea was liberated from Japan, the Kim
family returned home. Kim Il sung, who had ingratiated himself
with Soviet leadership, was installed by Joseph Stalin as North
Korea's chairman. For a young Kim Jong Il and his brother,
leaving Russia was difficult. Their parents became busy and distant.
(02:21):
Their dad was occupied trying to build a communist utopia,
and their mother was often away traveling the country as
his political representative. And then in September, tragedy struck. Kim
Jong Zook was pregnant and Kim Jong Il, just eight
(02:42):
years old, waited in the palace for his mom to
bring home a baby sister. Hours later, a family member arrived,
tears streaming down her cheeks. Kim Jong Ille was told
to prepare instead for a funeral. The baby had been lost,
(03:02):
and so too had his mother. Kim Jong Ill panicked,
he sprinted out the door in the direction of the hospital.
Guards swooped in and grabbed him. As an officer lugged
him back into the house, the little boy began wailing uncontrollably,
calling out for his mother. At the funeral, Kim Jong
(03:24):
Il was inconsolable. He clung to his dead mother's body
and wept in her arms. When a group of elders
tried to lead the boy away, his father stopped them, saying,
tomorrow you will have no mother anymore, and who's embraced
to cry? Little did the boy know, but the supreme
(03:45):
leader was already thinking about his wife's replacement. A grieving
Kim Joang Ill would watch with jealousy as his father
built a new family around a new woman, growing even
more distant from his eldest on. That's the strange thing
about the stories of Kim Jong Il and Kim Jong Nam.
(04:06):
The two generations share an eerie parallel. Both, in one
way or another, would lose their mothers and childhood, and
both would spend the rest of their lives fighting these
other new families for the love and attention of their father,
the supreme leader. The result would be a series of
(04:28):
cruel family games of manipulative in fighting that would do
much more than alter the dynamic inside the gilded palaces
of Kung Yang. It would change the course of world history.
My name is even Lee, and in this episode, the
(04:50):
tale of two generations of Kim's vying for power in
a world of subterfuge, espionage and deceit, and the mistake
that may have caused Kim jong Nam the crown and
his life. She takes a gun away, and she says,
you're not getting any stupid ideas. Be a man and
go forth and lead your country in the East Asia.
(05:12):
People around the court like to go on and on
about which branch has what it takes to be the
leading branch of the family. I think that it was
due to the mothers that the succession decision was made.
This is big brother. While Kim Jong Il's mother had
(05:41):
died in childbirth, Kim Jong Nam's mother, you may remember,
was still alive. She was exiled to a mental facility
in Russia, leaving the young Kim Jong Nam effectively motherless
and the states secret And then in nine a d
When the boy was nine years old, his father agreed
(06:04):
to send him to a boarding school abroad. Here's journalists
and fifield. Kim Jong Nam was living this very abnormal life.
You know, he didn't go to school in North Korea.
He was confined to one of these palatial compounds. And
his grandmother actually said, you know, this is no way
for a kid to live. So they the first idea
(06:27):
was to go off to the Soviet Union, to Moscow,
but Kim Jong Nam was no fan of Russia. Like
a true spoiled prince, he whined constantly. His biggest complaint
how dirty the Soviet Union's toilets were. So. At the
behest of his uncle Chang Song Tech, the boy was
(06:48):
sent to Switzerland. Joan Song Tech had found out that
lots of celebrities sent their children to the school in Geneva.
A Taie Prince is Michael Douglas had all gone to
the school in Geneva, so Kim Jong Nam moved to
Switzerland to attend the International School of Geneva, one of
(07:09):
the most diverse academies on the planet. The institution overflowed
with the sons and daughters of wealthy dignitaries and diplomats
from all over the world, and even boasted alumnis such
as Indira Gandhi. Kim's cousin and playmate Enamo, came with him.
The two received fake names and fake passports. They were
(07:31):
given alibis and told everybody they were the children of
diplomats to avoid bumping into nosey South Korean students who
were usually enrolled in English speaking classes. The two cousins
two courses in French. It's worth noting they did not
speak French. One of those nosy South Korean students, by
(07:55):
the way, happened to be doctors Hung Yun Lee, professor
at Tufts Universe At many years ago. I enrolled at
the International School of Geneva, Switzerland sometime in September. Not
only did doctor Lee attend the same school, he attended
at the same time as Kim Jong Nam. I enrolled
(08:17):
on the very same day. Kim Jong Nam was three
years younger than I, so we never were in the
same classroom. Hardly ever cross path. But the South Korean
ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva mistook Kim Jong
Nam as a South Korean student and struck up a
conversation with Kim jong Nam, and the North Korean princeling said,
(08:41):
I'm actually from North Korea. To say the least, the
regime would have its hands full keeping Kim jong Nam
a secret. North Korea watched the potential successor closely. Even
his cousin in Am enrolled in the same classes just
to keep a protective eye on him. Even though she
was five years older than him, she went to his class,
(09:03):
she was denied a normal upbringing. She was always five
years behind the with him. The regime even rented a
fifth floor apartment across the street to monitor the princeling.
But constant surveillance couldn't stop the fact that Kim jong
Nam would be exposed to everything. Europe offered a mixed economy,
a free press, and a vast expanse of art, culture
(09:27):
and different ways of thinking. For years, this Western playground
distracted him from the gossip of Kongyang, namely that his
father was building a new family with a new step
mom and two younger half brothers. Instead, Kim jong Nam
spent his teenage years in blissful ignorance, and as he
(09:49):
hobbed nobbed with the richest and most privileged children, in
the world. He became something of a snotty playboy. At school,
Kim jong Nam befriended the children of famous French thing ears.
He went for joy rides and Mercedes benzes with moneyed
Arab princes. He let loose on the Riviera with hotel
heiresses and skied the Alps with kids who had their
(10:10):
own Swiss bank accounts. He partied and snorted drugs. He
bought booze with his fake I d and drained the
bottles by night. He slept with women and lost count
of how many, And then in it all came crashing
to an end. Kim Jong Nam turned eighteen and his
(10:35):
father demanded that he returned to kung Yang. When he arrived,
Residence Number fifteen was boiling with gossip. Kim Jong Ill
had children with another woman Uh, and then Kim Jong
Ill's affections within show at upon that family. To put
(10:55):
it lightly, the two branches of the family were not
getting along. This is something that seems to have really
emotionally Scott Kim jong Nam, and he felt cast aside.
Residents number fifteen, according to Anna Fifield, seethed with rivalry.
As she wrote in her book The Great successor quote.
(11:16):
They were convinced that the other woman was a manipulative
shrew who was poisoning Kim Jong Ill against them. They
talked about whether the woman was fat and derided her
as half jack. They even concocted vicious nicknames for the stepmother,
calling her punct coal, a slur that means hammer nose,
but with a twist referencing the gambling game pachinko to
(11:40):
snipe at her Japanese roots. But insults couldn't heal the hurt.
When Kim jong Nam was sent to Europe, his branch
of the family had become an afterthought. Now they felt
second class, neglected, and the implications were obvious. The situation
(12:00):
harmed Kim Jong Nam's political future, But for those close
to the Kim family, this drama wasn't anything unusual. It
was just a ja vu because decades earlier, when Kim
Jong Il was a little boy, similar complaints were swirling
in the palace air. After the death of his mom.
(12:23):
His dad had come home with a new mistress, and
with this new woman in the picture, his political future
had been at risk too. The story of how Kim
Jong Ill clawed his way to the top when we return.
(12:55):
Truth be told, Kim jong Il had a tenuous relationship
with his father long before this other woman stepped in,
and that's because of a traumatic event that took place
when Kim jong Il men known as Udah, was just
a little boy. It's Dah and his little brother Shouldah
(13:20):
are playing alone near the edge of a pond. Udah
is around six shouda four. The boys grapple and horseplay
around the shallows, splashing and dunking each other's heads under
the surface. Udah lifts himself out of the water, but
when little Shuda tries to climb out, Udah, the bullying
(13:40):
big brother, playfully pushes him back in. The boys laugh,
and then Shouldah tries to get out a second time,
but Udah shoves him right back into the murky lagoon.
Udah teases his little brother and continues the cruel game
again and again and again. Minutes later, the Supreme Leader
(14:04):
rushes to the pond and finds a young Kim jong
Il is standing awkwardly at the water's edge. What's the matter?
What's the matter? He repeats the question over and over.
The little Kim jong yellen speechless. I'm asking you what
this is all about. Look at me, Look at me.
Kim jong il just stands there, his face to the ground,
(14:27):
arrowed in shame. What have you been doing? Just offshore,
floating in the water is the lifeless body of his
little brother. Kim Jong Il's official biography makes no mention
of his dead brother, but documents captured by American soldiers
(14:49):
after the Korean War show that Kim Il sung was
so heartbroken that he invited Buddhist monks and a shaman
to pray at the side of the drowning. According to Defect,
they're close to the Kim family. Young Kim jong il
would spend the following years a quote lonely and guilty child, quiet,
depressed and fearful of what his father thought of him.
(15:14):
The dual tragedy of losing his brother and mother would
forever alter Kim Jong il's relationship with his father, who
had already started a separate family with a new woman
and new sons. And that's what sparked a competition that
would reshape the politics of North Korea. You see, during
(15:35):
the DPR case infancy, Kimo Song was more likely to
pass power to a fellow comrade rather than his kids.
The whole concept of hereditary succession was anathema to communist teaching.
In fact, the North Korean Dictionary of Political Terminologies lambasted
the practice quote hereditary succession is a reactionary custom of
(15:57):
exploitative societies. Originally a product of slave societies, it was
later adopted by feudal lords as a means to perpetuate
dictatorial rule. But then at some point Kim il sung
changed his mind. By the mid nineties sixties, the Supreme
Leader made it clear that power would remain in the family.
(16:20):
Kim Jong il, of course, was the first and eldest son.
By Confucian tradition, the throne should have been his, but
his spot wasn't guaranteed. Kim il sung clearly preferred his
two youngest sons over his firstborn. Kim Jong Ille felt
the odds were stacked against him, and since his brother
(16:42):
and mother were dead, he didn't have many advocates in
the regime, so he deployed a plan. At the time,
there was no true single party rule, yet multiple communist
groups were jockeying for influence. Lumble Over Kimilsung knew that
(17:04):
the stability of the country and his pursuit of power
depended on consolidating their support. He gave impassioned speeches like
the one you're hearing now to rally groups behind his leadership.
Here's Michael Madden Kim Il sung. When he first became
(17:25):
leader in forty five, he had to contend with different
factions of nationalist Koreans. Kim Il sung doesn't have ultimate power,
so his whole pursuit from to nifty is basically to
dominate the North Korean political system. Kim Il sung strategy
centered on a combination of hard and soft power by
(17:46):
both cracking skulls and poisoning minds. When he wasn't eliminating
traitors through bloodshed, the leader was focusing his attention on
winning people's trust. He enlisted advisor to boost his reputation
as a person whose wisdom, knowledge, and power or unmatched.
(18:07):
All of a sudden, peddling propaganda became a way to
win favor with the leader. A palatial arms race ensued.
Who could praise and idolize the supreme leader the most.
This was Kim Jong Il's wheelhouse. As a lover of
theater and movies, he was a master of artifice. He
(18:29):
turned out films and news articles depicting his father not
just as a wise and compassionate strong man, but as
all knowing. Kim Jong Il, in other words, would help
transform his father into a living god. As part of this,
Kim Jong Ill made everybody in North Korea where lapel
(18:50):
pins of his father's face. He built dozens of mansions
for his dad, and funneled millions of dollars into erecting
statues of his likeness. And so Kim Il Sung the
man became Kim Il Sung, the legend, and the leader
relished the attention. As more people praised him, the more
(19:16):
the personality called grew into a cartoonish mythology. The history
books literally changed. Kim Il Sung transformed from a meager
guerrilla fighter to the beating heart of the resistance movement,
the man who had singlehandedly liberated the country, and people
believed it. In nine, journalist Bradley Martin visited North Korea
(19:41):
for the World Table Tennis Championships. He realized that North
Korea operated with a peculiar piety. When I first went there,
it clearly was a religious state that the people worshiped
Kimmel Song, and in his opinion, it was sincere the
worship was not purely a matter of their submitting to government,
(20:05):
but they wanted to worship him. They loved him, and
I detected very little falsity in the expressions of praise,
and it was very much a religious state. Kim Jong
Il's propaganda efforts would change the face of North Korea,
and they put him back in his father's good graces,
(20:28):
but it still didn't guarantee that he'd inherit the throne.
The one thing standing in Kim Jong Il's way was
his new stepmother, who was positioning her firstborn son, named
Kim Chang Ill as a successor. In East Asia, people
around the court like to go on and on about
which branch has what it takes to be the leading
(20:51):
branch of the family. That was pretty much as it
was with Kim Jong il and his brother Kim Young.
Kim Kang yell was a terrifying opponent. He was the
spitting image of their father. He had a much more
affectionate relationship with him too, and no amount of flattering
(21:14):
publicity could replace the fact that Kim Il sung spent
his nights sleeping next to Kangiel's mother. Propaganda was no
match for pillow talk. Kim Joang Ill realized that in
order to become the front runner, he'd have to do
more than boost his father into the image of a god.
(21:35):
To destroy his little brother's prospects, he'd have to eliminate
the power of the other woman. Two decades later, Kim
jong Nam would face a similar challenge with his stepmother.
(21:57):
When he returned from Europe. The dynamics of palace life
had changed. His father once so loving hardly visited Residence
Number fifteen anymore. It was as if the Chong Nam
side of the family didn't exist. Kim Jong Il's other
family included a five year old son, Kim Jong Un,
(22:21):
and their father devoted all of his free time and
energy to this little boy. But what really shocked and
dismayed Kim jong Nam's branch of the family was how
brazen his father's new mistress, Ko Yuan Ki was acting.
Up until this point, Kim Jong Il's wives were to
run the household. They were not to be involved in politics.
(22:43):
He changes his mind about that with Koyeng Hui. As
Michael Madden explains, Couse shamelessly inserted herself into politics. Kyeong
Whui is allowed to talk to the political age that
come by the house to brief Kim Jong Ill. That's
where Koyonghui starts to attain a degree of political importance.
She's a close steward a selection of Kim Jong Ill's
(23:06):
top guys. The Kim jong Nam side of the family,
koyeng He was just manipulating the man. She was nothing
but a gold digger, an illegitimate concubine, unworthy of the
title of wife, and she was part Japanese North Koreas
sworn enemy. And so to Kim jong Nam's family, her
(23:27):
kids weren't successors. They were illegitimate children and thus illegitimate heirs.
But like the generation before him, Kim Jong Nam's mother
was out of the picture. Kim Jong Nam's mother had
basically had a mental breakdown and gone to Moscow and
stayed abroad for almost the rest of her life, and
(23:49):
so she was literally out of the inner circle. She
was far away. She didn't have much influence. Koyeong He,
on the other hand, Kim Jong UN's mother, she was
very much an in a circle. She was at Kim
Jong Il's side. She was making decisions, she was advising him,
(24:11):
and she had been trying to position both of her
sons as the heir apparent to Kim jong il, so
she did things like making sure that they both got
the military uniforms and were called little generals just like
Kim jong nam was. She made sure that they went
into like the North Korean equivalent of West Point, so
(24:35):
that they had that military training and they could justify
leading a country that had a military first policy. She
was actively lobbying for them behind the scenes. I think
that it was due to the mothers that this succession
decision was made, and Koeng he knew a finger too
(24:58):
about getting on the leaders good side. In fact, she
became one of the most important people in the regime.
At that point, Kim jong il had taken the reins
of decision making, with his father remaining a mere figurehead.
But one day, Kim jong il was riding a horse
(25:19):
when he fell off and suffered a severe head injury.
It was so bad that the regime flew in a
neurologist from France. According to Michael Madden, with her husband incapacitated,
Koyong he stepped in during that point. During that point,
Young we basically starts helping him with paperwork that's coming
into the house, and so for a whole year koyong
(25:43):
He acts as Kim jong Il's top advisor. And then
when Kim jong Il officially become supreme leader, she saves
her husband's life a second time. Goes by a room
in one of the houses and sees Kim jong Il
cleaning his gun. Kim jong Il is going to shoot
himself in the head and commit suicide. She takes a
(26:05):
gun away, and she says, you're not getting any stupid ideas.
Be a man and go forth and lead the country.
So this is where Kim jong UN's mother is sort
of endeared to the leader, where she becomes a political
force and a political influence. This is where Kim jong
Nam's path diverges from his father's. Kim Jong Il prevented
(26:26):
his step family from stealing the successorship by well sucking
up to his father. It was filial piety on steroids,
But when Kim jong Nam's stepmother interfered, he rebelled. Rather
than elevate his father's image, he escaped his royal compound
and drank his way across kong Yang. There was a
(26:49):
period of time when Kim jong nam was in his
twenties and was essentially kind of locked in this gilded
cage and Pyongyang. You know, he was this young guy
wanting to be you know, socializing and having fun and things,
and he wasn't able to do that in Pyongyang. So
him and his cousin Nam Mock would go out in
(27:10):
one of the regime mercedes, you know, at nighttime, go
joy riding around the place and kind of burn off
a little steam, and words spread fast. Keng Yang's elite
complained that Kim jong nam was a belligerent and obnoxious drunk.
He made people bow when he entered a room. One time,
the drunken prince entered a hotel lobby, pulled out a pistol,
(27:33):
and littered the ceiling with bullet holes, all because somebody
had taken his parking space. Their speculation that these stories
aren't actually true, but in kiang Yang that didn't matter.
These rumors were circulating and they were making Kim Jong
ill look bad. So when he found out he went dessert.
(27:56):
Kim Jong Il's was extremely angry about this um and
basically put them on the house arresed uh in their
compound in Pyongyang. He denied food to them. They had
to live on what they had, and you know, they
were really cut off and punished as a result of this.
Kim Jong Nam's father even threatened to send his son
and extended family to a labor camp. But nobody in
(28:20):
residence Number fifteen blamed the young prince. They blamed his stepmother.
According to Chong Nam's cousin Enamo quote, the other woman's
fingerprints were all over this. There is a suggestion, yeah
that it was Kim Jong's mother who took off Kim
jong Il and tried to make them look bad. Gossip
(28:41):
spread that it was actually the stepmother who had snitched
on Chong Nam. As Fifield writes in her book, Koyong
he had quote encouraged Kim Jong Il to allow his
oldest son more freedom, then rat it on the young
man when he enjoyed that freedom. The family was convinced
that this other woman would do anything to tarnish the
(29:04):
reputation of the man competing with her sons. In his
mid twenties, Kim jong Nam did clean up his act
and began joining his father on official summits, even accompanying
him on a trip to Mount pet two. He began
studying economics, a sign that he was destined for big
(29:26):
things and was given a military post. Here's Bradley Martin.
When Kim jong Nam was twenty four, his father presented
him the general's uniform. Everybody started calling him general. That
seems to me a pretty good indication that he was
at least being thought of as the successor. And at
(29:49):
the same time, Kim jong Nam was awarded the freedom
to travel beyond the palace walls. He adventured to Japan
and Beijing, where some suggests he indulged in women and
illicit activities as well as official business. Everywhere he went,
he traveled with a fake passport under a fake name.
(30:13):
Things were looking up. Kim jong Nam was elected as
a delegate to North Korea's legislature. He even got to
flex his muscles as a computer was He was active
in getting the Korean Computer Center started up and in
the import of computers, and he had a position which
is now called the Ministry of Social Security. Those are
(30:33):
pretty high end positions as far as the North Korean
regime of that day. This latter position at the State
Security Ministry was an important one. Kim jong Nam had
the tough job of handling defectors and refugees, and it
gave him an opportunity to show his soft side. There
there was an incident around where hundreds of North Koreans
(30:56):
had fled into China to try to find food, which
was highly legal. These people were all detained and then
one day they're all turned loose. They all got pardoned,
and they were told to thank Comrade Kim jong Nam
because Comrade Kim jong Nam had exercised his benevolence on
their behalf and forgiven these hungry people. In the words
(31:18):
of a human rights activists, the official party line was
you owe all of this to Kim jong Nam. By
the millennium, it seemed that Kim jong Nam had survived
his roaring twenties, had survived the manipulations of his stepmother.
He was building a name for himself in the regime.
(31:40):
And then in two thousand and one this happened Tokyo Disneyland, Disneyland,
taking his sons to Disneyland. Kim jong Nam got caught
going to Disneyland. Y we'll get back to Mickey Mouse later.
(32:16):
The very fact that Kim jong Nam's political prospects ever
survived the nineties, despite his gun coding beer guzzling, sex
loving reputation is remarkable because that's exactly what helped bring
down Kim Jong Il's half brother, Kim Kangyell. Remember that rivalry.
In the nineteen seventies, Kan Yell was steadily climbing the ladder.
(32:40):
He entered the bodyguard division of the Supreme Guard Command,
graduated from Kim Millsung University, was promoted to colonel and
named vice head of the Strategic Department of Bodyguards. All
signs pointed to Kim kangy Ill as a Supreme Leader's favorite.
It helped that his mother was all around to whisper
(33:01):
encouraging words into Kim Il Sung's ear. But there was
one problem. Kim Kang Ill was the life of the party.
He drank, danced, and caroused with officers in the State
Security Department and with big wigs in the bodyguard units.
He lived for elaborate gifts, engraved watches, and free drinks.
(33:26):
Little did he know Big Father Kim Jong Il was
spying on him. One day at a party, a group
of bodyguards started drunkenly praising the young potential air chanting
live man. This was a dumb mistake in a country
(33:53):
where Kim il sung was a living god. Only one
person deserved a live long chant. This was pure, unadulterated blasphemy.
Words soon reached Kim jong Il as the state propaganda master.
He knew these chants sounded like somebody trying to chip
away at the supreme leaders allegiances. Kim Jong Il was
(34:16):
a better in fighter than Kim kyong yo, so he
got some dirt on Kim kyong yo and got the
word through his father that Kim Yongyo was arrating around
as if he were the successor designate, as if he
were a big shot. Kim il Sung was outraged. Kyongyo
(34:39):
was quickly demoted. He went off and became a diplomat
in Europe for his old career, and so Kim kang
Ill was shipped off an embassy overseas. For a member
of the royal family, it was like being put out
to pasture. Kim kang Ill would spend the rest of
his life living under constant surveillance. Kim Jong Ille was
(35:02):
happy to have his half brother out of the picture,
but al staying matt nuisance wasn't enough. He was hell
bent on weakening his stepmother's power too. Just to be safe,
so he exploited one of his father's greatest weaknesses. The
Supreme Leader was a notorious flirt, and his son knew
(35:25):
he could drive a wedge into their relationship by simply
introducing his dad to new women, ladies who could shower
him with attention and pleasure. The scheme weren't. The marriage
between his father and his stepmother frosted over. With Kim
Il sung's attention elsewhere, the woman's influence waned. Kim Jong
(35:48):
Ille won a battle of attrition. Soon he was announced
the successor. He celebrated by sticking his stepmother's nose in
it In she was forced to publicly read an embarrassing
speech praising Kim Jong Il's dead mother. The stepmom was
(36:09):
compelled to call her quote an imperishable communist revolutionary fighter
and outstanding woman activists. She also had to call her
one of the three generals of Mount Peto and the
biggest insult the mother of the nation. Soon, the stepmother's
(36:29):
relationship with Kim Il Song completely dissolved. Six years later,
she was placed under house arrest. By the late nineteen eighties,
as Kim Jong il amassed more power, the woman who
had tried to cut him down was nowhere to be seen,
(36:50):
but the same could not be said for Kim jong
nam stepmother. On May one, two thousand and one, a
plane flying out of Singapore touchdown at Nadita International Airport
outside of Tokyo, Japan. Kim jong Nam, then just nine
(37:14):
years old, arguably near the height of his political cloud,
stepped off the plane with his family, two women and
a little four year old boy. As the family stood
in line for immigration, security officials approached, they asked to
inspect Kim jong Nam's passport. Like the rest of the
(37:35):
royal family, the document was fake. It said he was
from the Dominican Republic and listed his name as Pang
Yung Chinese for fat Bear. Officials led Kim jong Nam
into a room for questioning. At first, Chong Nam stonewalled
the investigators, speaking a mix of Japanese and English. An
(37:57):
hour past before he dropped the bombshell that he was
the son of North Korea's dictator, thought Kim Joda. He
explained that he had come to take his young son
to Tokyo Disneyland. He showed them his passport, again, displaying
stamps proving that he had entered Japan multiple times without trouble,
(38:18):
but the questioning continued. Over the next seventy two hours.
Kim jong nam and his family would be kept at
an immigration detention center. Word got out fast and journalists
flocked to the airport. Meanwhile, and Kongyang official scramble to
(38:38):
deny the news. The regime, according to Hongyun Lee, was
growing embarrassed. Why is that embarrassing because North Korea rails
against the evils of capitalism, materialism, Western pop culture and
Disneyland nicely and captures all of those quality. After three days,
(39:02):
Kim jong nam and his family were deported, but not
before journalists snapped photos of North Korean royalty making the
walk of shame onto an airplane. When Kim Jong Nam
returned home, his father was outraged. He disinvited his son
from attending a special economics meeting with the Chinese, and
(39:22):
he'd never be invited to a high level event again.
Two years later, the North Korean People's Army Publishing Company
released an article entitled The Respected Mother is the most
faithful and loyal subject to the Dear Leader, Comrade Supreme Commander.
The story was designed to deify the mother of the
(39:43):
future successor in the same way that Kim jong il's
late mother had been celebrated. But the subject of the
article was not Kim jong nam's mother. It was Koyong he,
the mother of Kim jong Un. To this day, rumors
swirl that Kim jong un was, in fact just the
(40:04):
beneficiary of his mother's dirty tricks. There was South Korean
chitta chatta that it was actually Kim jong UN's mother
who leaked the details about the Disneyland Tokyo trip to
the Japanese press in an effort to actively embarrass Kim
jong nam. Did Kim jong UN's mother tip off the
Japanese about Kim jong Nam's travel plans to Tokyo, nobody
(40:27):
is certain, but with Kim jong Nam disgraced an international
laughing stock, the events certainly helped push her sons to
the front of the line. I came away with the
impression that it was because of her efforts to promote
her sons that Kim jong Un had risen to the top.
Kim jong Il won the battle against his stepmother, Kim
(40:50):
jong Nam did not next time on big brother. Kim
jong Nam walk a tight rope with his father's favor
After putting the regimes carefully protected image in peril. Big
(41:12):
Brother is a production of School of Humans and I
Heart Radio and hosted by me Eden Lane. Lucas. Riley
is our writer, co director and associate producer. Amelia Brock
is our senior producer, co director and editor. Executive producers
are Virginia Prescott, Brandon Barr, L. C. Crowley, and Jason English.
(41:33):
Our fact checker is Aaron Blakemore Music composed by Jason
Todd Shannon and Tunewalders. Original score mixed by Vic Stafford.
Our opening song is Walt's Number two from the Second
Suite for Jazz Orchestra by Dmitri Shostakovich, as performed by
the Ukraine National Symphony Orchestra, licensed from Naxos Records and G. Shermer, Inc.
(41:56):
The North Korean National Anthem is licensed from Warner Chapel Production.
Muse Sick audio editing by Jesse nice Swanger sound design
and mixed by Harper W. Harris. Special sound credit to
Kuama to a Free Sound dot Org. Audio correction by
Josh Fisher. Voice acting by Mark Chung, June Yune, Mike Coscarelli,
(42:17):
Sean McKee, Daniel Kim, Udy Nam and Judy Alice Lee.
Special thanks to Notic Kazu and Hanako Goto, Ryan Murdoch
and Will Pearson. Sound licensed from Critical Past. If you're
enjoying the podcast, help us get the word out by
leaving a rating in your favorite podcast app. Until next time,
(42:38):
I'm Even Lee School of Humans
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