South China Morning Post

KIM MAY BE DROPPING WORSHIP OF ANCESTORS

Events that lionised his grandfathe­r and father are now being played down, a move that could be intended to put focus on his own achievemen­ts

- Park Chan-kyong

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un appears to be orchestrat­ing a departure from the long-standing personalit­y cult of his ancestors as he forges a distinct ideologica­l path that would place the focus on himself and be unfettered by blood ties with the South, according to observers.

This shift is perceived to be marked by the subtle rebranding of significan­t holidays commemorat­ing his grandfathe­r and father and a reduction of overt displays of reverence for them, as reported by the South’s Unificatio­n Ministry.

Hong Min, a senior researcher at the Korea Institute for National Unificatio­n, said the changes could signify Kim Jong-un wanting his era and achievemen­ts to look equally illustriou­s, if not more so, as those under his ancestors.

“He wants his people to focus on his achievemen­ts rather than his ancestors’ feats,” Hong told the Post.

The North’s propaganda mills have largely replaced the Day of the Sun, an idolatrous term referring to the April 15 birthday of founder Kim Il-sung, with neutral appellatio­ns, 4.15 and the April holiday, a South Korean Unificatio­n Ministry official was quoted anonymousl­y as saying by Yonhap news agency on Tuesday.

“This seems to be a calculated move to disengage from the mythologis­ing of his forebears,” the official added.

On July 8, 1997, at the end of a three-year mourning period for Kim Il-sung, North Korea announced it would use its calendar, designatin­g the founding father’s birth year 1912 as the first Juche year. It also started celebratin­g his birthday, which used to be called “the 4.15 holiday”, as “the Day of the Sun”.

Another adulatory term, “the Day of the Morning Star”, that referred to the February 16 birthday of Kim Jong-il – Kim Jong-un’s father – had also largely disappeare­d from North Korean media, the official said.

Kim Jong-un has also omitted visits to his grandfathe­r’s mausoleum in Pyongyang since 2022. His conspicuou­s absence from the mausoleum and the fading prominence of adulatory terms may indicate a deliberate distancing from past ancestor veneration, according to observers.

“These changes might be related to the North’s move to avoid mythologis­ing excessivel­y” the leader’s grandfathe­r and father after Kim Jong-un in 2019 warned against such moves that would “shadow the truth”, the ministry official said.

“This is possibly part of Jongun’s move to wean away from his reliance on his ancestors [to secure legitimacy] or for the North to refrain from evoking idolatrous terms in line with its efforts to project an image of a normal socialist state.”

Some observers said the younger Kim might have decided that propaganda and demagoguer­y that unrealisti­cally idolised ancestors would not resonate with the population amid economic hardship.

Hong said: “Kim has also displayed his will through policies that he would not blindly follow whatever policy directions his ancestors had put in place, and he would cut them off if necessary to pursue his policies.”

Kim’s shift in his strategy towards the South may also be related to the decrease in the use of deifying terms for the ancestors, according to analysts. The previous generation­s’ United Front unificatio­n principle defines the South as an alienated half of the Korean nation that should be liberated from US imperialis­t rule.

This view contradict­s Kim Jong-un’s declaratio­n late last year that characteri­sed inter-Korean ties as those of two separate and hostile countries. He also ordered the three principles for national reunificat­ion, calling for national unity and peace, to be struck off the constituti­on and a monument dedicated to Kim Il-sung’s wish for reunificat­ion in Pyongyang to be dismantled.

This change comes as the nation’s leader, emboldened by his consolidat­ion of power since his father’s death in 2011, charts a course based on nuclear deterrence and stronger ties with China and Russia, according to Yang Moo-jin, professor of political science at the University of North Korean Studies.

“This is an expression of his confidence that the party, the administra­tion and the military are all in his hands,” Yang said.

Kim Jong-un, educated in Switzerlan­d, and who enjoyed direct access to internatio­nal news directly without help from his aides, was keenly aware that hero worship was waning globally, he added.

However, Koh Yu-hwan, emeritus political science professor at Dongguk University, warned against “reading too much” into the decrease in use of terms lionising the two ancestors, noting Kim Jong-un’s legitimacy was underpinne­d by the narratives surroundin­g his forebears.

“Jong-un can’t claim legitimacy without the halo inherited from his father and grandfathe­r, and it’s hard to believe he can survive without their legacies. Dismissing his ancestors amounts to his own dismissal,” Koh said.

The North had to abandon its United Front tactic, under which it pursued reunificat­ion through exchanges and the absorption of a weakened South, as it was now concerned about dominating cultural influences that would intensify through exchanges with the South, Koh said.

Attempts to mend fences with the US and Japan through mediatory efforts by the South all failed.

“The North is now seeking to go it alone, groping ways to come to the dialogue table with the United States and Japan without being weighed down by the existence of the South,” he said.

This seems to be a calculated move to disengage from the mythologis­ing of his forebears A SOUTH KOREAN OFFICIAL

 ?? Photo: EPA ?? Kim Jong-un inspects troops belonging to armoured divisions at an undisclose­d location in North Korea last month.
Photo: EPA Kim Jong-un inspects troops belonging to armoured divisions at an undisclose­d location in North Korea last month.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from China