{"id":4020,"date":"2019-01-07T15:38:36","date_gmt":"2019-01-07T06:38:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.01.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/?p=4020"},"modified":"2019-01-18T14:20:45","modified_gmt":"2019-01-18T05:20:45","slug":"kim-jong-il-commemorations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.02.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/2019\/01\/recommendations\/kim-jong-il-commemorations\/","title":{"rendered":"\uff1cInside N. Korea\uff1e Memory Fades: 7 years after his death, N. Korea scales back Kim Jong-il commemorations"},"content":{"rendered":"
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(Picture)Captured in summer of 2013, a political rally to celebrate the greatness of Kim Jong-il. Photographed by ASIAPRESS.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u25c6 Purposely evoking the image of Kim Jong-il<\/h2>\n

December 17th marked the 7th anniversary of the day Kim Jong-il\u2019s death. When Kim Jong-il suddenly died 7 years ago, Kim Jong-un was thrust into the limelight as North Korea\u2019s new leader at the tender age of 20. With little in the way of personal achievement or qualifications, Kim Jong-un had no choice but to rely on the nation\u2019s belief in his father and grandfather in order to establish his own authority.<\/p>\n

A partner living in a large Northern city reported on this year\u2019s events to mark the anniversary. The partner said, \u201cThe nation\u2019s media published propaganda with the phrase \u2018Comrade Kim Jong-un resembles General Kim Jong-il\u2019. The greatness of Kim Jong-il is being exaggerated even more than it was during his reign. Kim Jong-un, in turn, is being portrayed as the only natural successor to carry on Kim Jong-il\u2019s great legacy. This is designed to confer Kim Jong-il\u2019s authority to the young and inexperienced Kim Jong-un. Politically speaking, the December 17 anniversary of Kim Jong-il\u2019s death had been a very important event.\u201d<\/p>\n

Events to mark this year\u2019s anniversary, however, were unusually scaled-down. Speaking on December 18, just a day after the anniversary, our partner reported that, \u201cOn the morning of the 17, workers from each local organization and business gathered to lay flowers at a local statue of Kim Jong-il. As in years previous, neighborhood political units gathered ordinary citizens to pay tribute at the statue. But, this year, that was all that happened to mark the anniversary. It was very flat. I don\u2019t know how it was in Pyongyang but it was the first time that celebrations here were so low-key.\u201d<\/p>\n

Until 2017, citizens were not even granted permission to travel in the month of December. It was illegal to leave one\u2019s hometown to go to another region in the run-up to the commemoration events and travel permits were not issued. Memorial services for Kim Jong-il would go on for several days and the police would do checks to make sure that no one was absent. Those who were seen drinking alcohol in the run-up to the anniversary or soon after, would receive criticism for their ideological shortcomings.<\/p>\n

Kim Jong-il was extremely unpopular in the 1990\u2019s following the devastating effects of mass starvation. The population\u2019s resentful feelings for Kim Jong-il, though, did not end with his death. Among North Koreans, respect for Kim Jong-il has waned each year, as seen through the decreasing popularity of the commemorations. In fact, according to one Pyongyang businessman, \"these days, people don\u2019t even utter Kim Jong-il's name.\" (Kang Ji-won)<\/p>\n

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