Kate Leaver
TonyKHush Hush: North Korean Leader-To-Be Announced, With Little Fanfare
January 17th 2009 02:35
You may remember Kim Jong-Il from such satirical cartoons as 'Team America' and such news coverage as 'Nuclear Fears in North Korea'. He is the leader of somewhat ironically named Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and he has just announced his successor.
Kim Jong-Il has dismissed his eldest son as heir, presumably because he once tried to enter te country with a fake passport. Apparently Jong-Il thinks his Sushi-Chef second son is not masculine or aggressive enough. So the great honour and burden of North Korean leadership will be bestowed upon Kim Jong-Il's third son, Kim Jong-Un.
This decision is pretty big news. Especially considering the delicate yet abrasive nature of North Korea, given its ominous nuclear armiment and simultaneous dire poverty. Kim Jong-Un stands to inherit a hefty responsibility... and given Kim Jong-Il's notoreity one would imagine this would send Korea political analysts into a spin.
Here in South Korea, where I am working in news, analysts are eerily quiet. The Australian press have picked up on the story, referring to theories and speculation over the choice, there are murmurs from foreigners here who are more than happy to share their perspective... but there is not an influx of columns, opinion pieces and articles on this monumental move made by Kim Jong-Il. Instead there is a still calm on the news front here, which makes me uneasy.
Korean media is extremely conservative. It is deeply imbued with confucian values and implicity trusted by its people. The reluctance to speak out on this issue of Korean leadership indicates something, I just don't know what. Is it that Kim Jong-Il has stretched out his nimble coercive powers to quieten any speculation or criticism of his decision in the media? Is it because South Korean journalists will not risk speaking out against, or even in favour, of Kim Jong-Il's actions? Have foreign journalists been denied the right to comment on something that is perhaps regarded as Korea's business?
All I know is that two days ago Kim Jong-Il announced who would take over from him when he finally succumbs to ill health (which he may be anxious about now, and not feeling too well) and the very next day very little was said about it in local media. This is odd and it's set my conspiracy radar a-ticking. Keep an eye out on the JoongAng Daily, Korea Herald or Korea Times to see if this enormous political decision is ever met with the analystical reaction one would expect.
And let's hope that, hype or no hype, 24-year-old Kim Jong-Un has some plans for peace.
Kim Jong-Il has dismissed his eldest son as heir, presumably because he once tried to enter te country with a fake passport. Apparently Jong-Il thinks his Sushi-Chef second son is not masculine or aggressive enough. So the great honour and burden of North Korean leadership will be bestowed upon Kim Jong-Il's third son, Kim Jong-Un.
This decision is pretty big news. Especially considering the delicate yet abrasive nature of North Korea, given its ominous nuclear armiment and simultaneous dire poverty. Kim Jong-Un stands to inherit a hefty responsibility... and given Kim Jong-Il's notoreity one would imagine this would send Korea political analysts into a spin.
Here in South Korea, where I am working in news, analysts are eerily quiet. The Australian press have picked up on the story, referring to theories and speculation over the choice, there are murmurs from foreigners here who are more than happy to share their perspective... but there is not an influx of columns, opinion pieces and articles on this monumental move made by Kim Jong-Il. Instead there is a still calm on the news front here, which makes me uneasy.
Korean media is extremely conservative. It is deeply imbued with confucian values and implicity trusted by its people. The reluctance to speak out on this issue of Korean leadership indicates something, I just don't know what. Is it that Kim Jong-Il has stretched out his nimble coercive powers to quieten any speculation or criticism of his decision in the media? Is it because South Korean journalists will not risk speaking out against, or even in favour, of Kim Jong-Il's actions? Have foreign journalists been denied the right to comment on something that is perhaps regarded as Korea's business?
All I know is that two days ago Kim Jong-Il announced who would take over from him when he finally succumbs to ill health (which he may be anxious about now, and not feeling too well) and the very next day very little was said about it in local media. This is odd and it's set my conspiracy radar a-ticking. Keep an eye out on the JoongAng Daily, Korea Herald or Korea Times to see if this enormous political decision is ever met with the analystical reaction one would expect.
And let's hope that, hype or no hype, 24-year-old Kim Jong-Un has some plans for peace.
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