[imText1]Racing model Kim Nana is finding it hard to shake the nickname ‘Patriot Girl’. It’s not surprising, though, since it’s a nickname she got handed for blogging about security issues and North Korean human rights. That’s not so common for people in her profession.
Naturally, when the Daily NK met with Kim at a café in Gangnam on Wednesday, we asked her straight off the bat whether she dislikes the nickname. She took the question in her stride.
“I think every citizen should be a patriot,” she says, “the problem is that people are singling me out for praise.”
“I’m just a racing model and a Seoul citizen. It seems like nowadays a lot of people undervalue patriotism; maybe that’s why they call me the ‘Patriot Girl’.”
Kim scoffs at the suggestion she talks about social issues because she wants to become famous.
“No, nothing like that. I’ve always been like this. And which part of what I have said is conservative? Security and human rights in North Korea are subjects that every Korean should take an interest in. All I’ve done is express my thoughts on the issues.”
The reason Kim has become the subject of such intense interest in recent times has a lot to do with the influence of social networking. She has been making her views known via Twitter and Facebook for a year, and she isn’t one to hide her true feelings; in South Korea, one of her more famous tweets was particularly forthright; “It would be nice if I could compress all the Kim Jong Il sympathizers into a zip file and send them as a messenger attachment to North Korea.”
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To the notoriously unforgiving ‘netizens’ of South Korea, Kim is a bit too unusual to take in their stride. Some of her other nicknames, such as ‘The Conservative Goddess’, ‘The Valkyrie of South Korea’ and ‘Lady of the Freedom Camp’, show just how much attention she is getting here.
“Whenever there is an incident like what happened with the Cheonan there are a lot of people who talk about conspiracy theories and side with North Korea. I think this is because people are numb to the importance of security. All I have done is talk about my personal values,” she says.
Still curious, The Daily NK presses on to ask what made her take an interest in national security and human rights issues in the first place, although it quickly seems as though that was a bad idea. Her answer, not for the first time: “Why is it so unusual for me to take an interest in security?”
Thereafter softening to the question a little, Kim explains that she is tired of being asked that same question at every interview. It turns out that her interest is a natural continuation of the debates she used to have with her father as a child about relevant issues of the time. “There are some guys who like knitting or collecting dolls. Maybe it would be easier to take me in that context,” she suggests with a wry smile.
“My interest in North Korean human rights was sparked by social networking. I came across many articles reporting on the kinds of human rights abuses that North Korean people suffer. That was how I found out that there are also a lot of people who praise the North Korean system or take its side, and I felt that was a serious issue.”
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Showing the depth of her interest, Kim now whips out a business card. It says ‘Blue Eyes’. Nothing to do with racing models, it’s a “community that investigates groups who threaten our national security.”
“It has no political alignments,” she notes reassuringly. “It is a group made up of people who volunteer their time for our country’s security. The group even has experience unearthing remains from the Korean War.”
It’s time to demand answers. The question: Do you want to become an icon of conservatism, like so many people on the left?
“I would be lying if I said that I didn’t feel that the online public was desperate for a conservative public icon,” she concedes. “But being an icon of conservatism; that sounds like a big task! Although, if it’s anything to do with North Korean human rights or national security then I’ll be at the front of the charge, making my voice heard and doing my best.”
