Online searches for “Kim Ju Ae” spiked after Rodong Sinmun, North Korea’s most prominent newspaper, recently published an article about North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attending the commissioning ceremony of a greenhouse farm in Pyongyang with his daughter.
The article had a photo showing that he was accompanied by his daughter Kim Ju Ae. Although the article did not explicitly mention her name, Kim Jong Un and Kim Ju Ae were referred to as “great persons of guidance” as they toured the farm. The article stated, “The great persons of guidance, together with cadres of the Party, the government and the military, went round the farm.”
This marks the first time that Kim Ju Ae was referred to with such special honorifics, further fueling speculations that she may be the heir apparent to the North Korean throne.
The latest news about Kim Ju Ae has sparked interest online. A basic Google Trends search showed that worldwide searches on Kim Ju Ae spiked on Mar. 16 after the news came out.
Searches on Kim Ju Ae from South Korea also spiked on Mar. 16 and 17 with South Korean media releasing articles about this latest development.
Google Trends analyzes the popularity of various search queries in Google Search. This free tool also allows any user to compare search volumes of any keyword over time. It is commonly used by digital marketing practitioners and web content writers.
On a monthly basis, the keyword “Kim Ju Ae” gets as many as 30,000 searches worldwide. This number is based on data from different SEO online checkers, such as Singapore-based startup Ahrefs and Denmark-based SEO company SearchVolume.
Since the first public appearance of Kim Ju Ae in November 2022, speculations have abounded about her possible future role in the North Korean leadership. She has been seen accompanying her father to missile launches and other military-related events.
Edited by Robert Lauler.
