Anyone else feeling oddly interested in the stories coming out of North Korea regarding the succession of Kim Jong-un? I normally don’t follow news from this part of the world very closely, but I was stuck on a slow El train and began to read about the succession and how it would work. I was blown away: it was like something out of Shakespeare.
Kim Jong-un’s exact position in a system of primogeniture is unclear, but his father Kim Jong-il promoted him to Heir Apparent status just a few years ago over children by his two wives and older children of his mother, probably not one of Jung-il’s wives, but a “consort.” Just as in Shakespeare’s history plays, you need a chart to figure out who’s who, who’s related to whom, and how. Kim Jung-un’s full and half-siblings have to tread carefully to avoid death or exile. His father’s aunts and uncles, who helped Kim Jong-il consolidate his power when the grandfather/founder of the dynasty, Kim Sung-il, died, will play a role in the succession. Various generals and other powers have to be placated or put out of the picture. The nearby first-cousin foreign rival has to be intimidated lest it interfere with or try to take advantage of the shift in power. Military might must be displayed to cow enemies near and far.
Change some of the names from Kims and Jangs to York and Lancaster or Tudor and Stuart, change the rivals from South Korea and Japan and the U. S. and China to France and Scotland and Spain, and you’ve got Shakespeare. With nukes. I will be paying more attention to this part of the world. . . .
The stories, in roughly chronological order.
And let’s hope he’s as good as his dad was at sports. Sports can distract a guy from nuking things.
I had no idea it was that interesting. I do wish, though, that people (including you, Chicago Fan) would quit using that old and offensive convention of saying that a man has children “by” a woman rather than “with” a woman. For some reason it just sounds so dismissive.
But hey, that’s me.
North Korea has cow enemies?
What it reminds me of is the Soviet Union. The fun old days of guessing who’s been naughty or nice in the power struggle by where they are standing in the official photos, that sort of thing. “General Cha Song-Hyok is wearing the large rosette on his RIGHT lapel, which some observers believe indicates a possible alliance with the faction of Ri Yong-Chol, who was standing only two away from Kim Jong-Il at his last known appearance after having been missing entirely from the group when they visited the power plant in February”. Pyongyangology.
Another fun Kim Jong-Il fact I just learned: he gave “regular tactical advice during matches” to the North Korean football team during the 2010 World Cup “using mobile phones that are not visible to the naked eye” that he himself developed. Hard act to follow, that.
http://abcnews.go.com/International/worl…
@ 1 No, “by” is the appropriate word here, given the situation. She was just there to provide an heir.
@Fnarf, c’mon man, “cow” is one of my favorite verbs. Intimidate seemed. . . not Shakespearean enough.
@4, I know. I just thought “cow enemies” was funny. Not as funny as “cow orkers”, but hey.
God, so much to read now. Juicy! Thank you.
@4: Just because that’s North Korea’s attitude about those women doesn’t mean you have to reflect the same prejudice.
Yuri? That’s his real name?
And I love this little tidbit:
It cited Chinese sources which claimed that one cause for the stroke could have been stress brought about by the United States delay to remove North Korea from its list of state sponsors of terrorism.
Of course it was our fault.
If you hadn’t posted this, I probably wouldn’t have read any of it either, CF. Thanks for the article and links.
By is appropriate when referring to chattel, so what’s the problem?
It’s Kim Il-sung, not Kim Sung-il