Kim Jong Il’s Servant, Why So Emphasized?

[imText1]Asia Pacific Peace Committee of North Korea, which has a contract with Hyundai’s monopoly of Keumkang Mountain tour, gave a long statement on October 20 saying that it will reevaluate the entire contract with Hyundai.

Hyundai invested nearly one billion dollars in North Korea. North Korea’s sudden change in attitude drove North Korea fall into deeper agony. North Korea intruded in Hyundai’s internal personnel change problem and its attitude toward Hyundai is incomprehensible to South Koreans.

Reception Holder’s Manner, to North-Koreanize South Korea

North Korea said, “disposition of Kim Yun Kyu, Hyundai’s vice-CEO is an act of destroying trust between Hyundai and North Korea and uneducated insult to the North Korean National Defense Commission Chairman, Kim Jong Il.” Kim Yun Kyu, who accompanied Hyun Jung Eun, CEO of Hyundai Asan to visit Kim Jong Il on July 16, had been known as the “servant” of Kim Jong Il for the business with North Korea. (Direct translation of servant from North Korean terms in English is “reception holder.”)

Presently, Kim Jong Il is trying to do “whatever he wants to do” to South Korea just as he is in North Korea, especially regarding the person who serves him. Although it is a company rather than a person this time, if Hyundai gives in, there is no doubt that North Korea will intrude in all the little internal matters in terms of inter-Korean relations in the future, especially regarding personnel. It is an attempt to North-Koreanize South Korea.

In North Korea, anyone who gets to meet Kim Jong Il is honored for life. This is why the person who meets Kim Jong Il tries all ways possible to take a picture with him, under Kim Jong Il’s permission. Worth of the picture also varies according to how many take are in the picture. Fewer the people, more valuable the picture.

Kim Jong Il had a policy of having “servants” ever since Kim Il Sung was still alive. When Kim Jong Il asked, “what do you want to be?” and the person answered, “I want to be a pilot” then he became a pilot. A rural countryman fortunately met Kim Jong Il one day, then he was on all the newspapers and TV the next day. He becomes a hero. All “those who serve Kim Jong Il” received the best treatments possible. This is to idolize Suryeong and induce more loyalty.

Servant Kim Yun Kyu Met Kim Jong Il Several Times

The kind of tradition still prevails in North Korea. It was prevailing under Kim Il Sung too but it is much worse under Kim Jong Il. At least Kim Il Sung let photographers take pictures but Kim Jong Il is rather stingy to appear on the pictures.

Kim Jong Il visited Computer Development Research Center of Pyongsung Science Institute in 1997 and when the scientists requested to take a picture of him, he replied, “What have they done to take a picture with me?” Kim Jong Il left without taking picture with them, and the scientists were very disappointed.

Kim Jong Il thinks taking a picture with him or speaking to someone is a great gift for that person. Kim Jong Il’s voice may have been heard by South Koreans more than North Koreans. In fact, North Korean people may have never heard of Kim Jong Il’s voice except for the 60th Anniversary of the North Korean People’s Party Army Establishment on April 25, 1992, when he said, “Let the honorable soldiers of the North Korean People’s Army glorified.”

However, Kim Yun Kyu met Kim Jong Il many times and talked him, which proves that he earned so much trust from Kim Jong Il. Probably in the thought of the flatterers, it was natural to get furious about Hyundai’s decision about disposition of Kim Yun Kyu, at least to show off their loyalty towards Kim Jong Il.

It is not that North Korea does not know that the same kind of idolization and totalitarianism would not work in a free democratic state such as South Korea. For the company, in principle, it is not possible to reposition a person who secretly manipulated company’s fund.

It seems as though North Korea emphasized “Kim Jong Il’s power and trust” and “uneducated rudeness” in order to “educate” Hyundai and other companies to follow the North Korean tradition.