{"id":85851,"date":"2024-07-02T10:41:04","date_gmt":"2024-07-02T10:41:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/07\/02\/north-koreas-new-must-have-accessory-the-kim-jong-un-pin\/"},"modified":"2024-07-02T10:41:04","modified_gmt":"2024-07-02T10:41:04","slug":"north-koreas-new-must-have-accessory-the-kim-jong-un-pin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/07\/02\/north-koreas-new-must-have-accessory-the-kim-jong-un-pin\/","title":{"rendered":"North Korea\u2019s New Must-Have Accessory: The Kim Jong-un Pin"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align:center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1050\" height=\"550\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/07\/02\/multimedia\/02nkorea-pin-01-tbjh\/02nkorea-pin-01-tbjh-facebookJumbo.jpg?resize=1050,550&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"North Korea\u2019s New Must-Have Accessory: The Kim Jong-un Pin\" title=\"North Korea\u2019s New Must-Have Accessory: The Kim Jong-un Pin\" \/><\/div><p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">When North Korea\u2019s leader, Kim Jong-un, met with his ruling Workers\u2019 Party in the past week, he had some good news. The country, which has long struggled with <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/06\/16\/world\/asia\/north-korea-food-shortage.html\" title=\"\">hunger<\/a>, was expecting a \u201cfairly good\u201d harvest this year, he reported, and had recently signed <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/06\/19\/world\/asia\/putin-meets-kim-north-korea.html\" title=\"\">a mutual defense treaty<\/a> with Russia.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The bigger news, though, might be what officials were wearing at the meeting in Pyongyang, the capital: <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/en.yna.co.kr\/view\/PYH20240701006500315?section=image\/nk\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">chest pins bearing Mr. Kim\u2019s image,<\/a> according to photos released through state media.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Kim\u2019s family has led North Korea since its founding in 1948 and has long indoctrinated its people to worship the Kims like godlike figures. Every home and office building has portraits of Mr. Kim\u2019s grandfather, Kim Il-sung, and his father, Kim Jong-il, hanging on walls. Every North Korean is required to wear <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Kim_Il_Sung_and_Kim_Jong_Il_badges\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">a pin bearing the image of either of the two senior Kims<\/a> or <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ebay.co.uk\/itm\/226220465455?_trkparms=amclksrc%3DITM%26aid%3D1110006%26algo%3DHOMESPLICE.SIM%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D267024%26meid%3D82d120c06d9549f4a1090703d03da62b%26pid%3D101224%26rk%3D2%26rkt%3D5%26sd%3D226147533347%26itm%3D226220465455%26pmt%3D0%26noa%3D1%26pg%3D4429486%26algv%3DDefaultOrganicWebV9BertRefreshRanker&amp;_trksid=p4429486.c101224.m-1\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">a double-image badge<\/a> on their chest.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">By introducing a pin of his own image, Mr. Kim is elevating his idolization and the personality cult surrounding him to match the level reserved, until now, only for his grandfather, who ruled from 1948 until his death in 1994, and his father, who succeeded him and ruled until 2011, according to South Korean officials and analysts. Its introduction means that North Koreans now have three pins and images to choose from for wearing.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">If tradition follows, the image of the latest leader \u2014 now Kim Jong-un\u2019s \u2014 will eventually become the most common choice.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cThis is part of Kim Jong-un\u2019s efforts to establish his own independent image as leader,\u201d Kim Inae, a deputy spokeswoman for the South Korean government\u2019s Unification Ministry, said on Monday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">North Korea introduced the Kim Il-sung badges in 1970 after the country\u2019s founder purged all his domestic competitors to establish a monolithic rule. Kim Il-sung then was 58 years old. Kim Jong-il\u2019s pin was introduced in 1992, when he was 50. By then, he had cemented his status as heir and was running the country together with his ailing father.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The lapel badges have since become the most recognizable feature of the personality cult. But they <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.rfa.org\/english\/news\/korea\/badge-12092022161144.html\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">began losing their appeal<\/a> among ordinary North Koreans, especially after a famine in the 1990s that killed millions. Once treated like a sacred object by North Koreans, they were smuggled out to China and sold as cheap tourist souvenirs near the border with North Korea. Defectors from North Korea called them \u201cbadges of slavery.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Ms. Kim, of the Unification Ministry, linked the introduction of the new Kim Jong-un pin to Mr. Kim\u2019s efforts to unify the country around his leadership as it faces <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2020\/08\/19\/world\/asia\/north-korea-economy-coronavirus.html\" title=\"\">economic difficulties<\/a> and <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/06\/11\/world\/asia\/kim-jong-un-k-pop.html\" title=\"\">the perceived threat of outside influence<\/a>s, including K-pop entertainment from its rival, South Korea.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">When he came to power after the death of his father in 2011, Mr. Kim moved to quickly establish a totalitarian leadership through what South Korean officials and analysts have called <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2015\/05\/16\/world\/asia\/park-guen-hye-south-korea-kim-jong-un-north-korea.html\" title=\"\">a \u201creign of terror.\u201d<\/a> Anyone who was seen as posing a challenge to his authority disappeared or was <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2016\/03\/13\/world\/asia\/north-korea-executions-jang-song-thaek.html\" title=\"\">executed<\/a> or <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2017\/02\/15\/world\/asia\/kim-jong-nam-assassination-north-korea.html\" title=\"\">assassinated<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But he has struggled to deliver on his family\u2019s promise to North Korea\u2019s long-suffering people: to build a \u201cstrong and prosperous country\u201d where people would no longer have to tighten their belts because of food shortages or fear an invasion from the United States.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Kim has struggled on the economic front, unable to persuade Washington to lift sanctions imposed on his country for its nuclear weapons development. His credentials among his people <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2017\/08\/10\/world\/asia\/kim-jong-un-north-korea-nuclear.html\" title=\"\">rested largely on his carefully choreographed image<\/a> as a leader who has finally made North Korea a nuclear weapons state.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Under Mr. Kim, North Korea has conducted four underground nuclear tests and developed a fleet of missiles, including long-range rockets able to reach the continental United States. On Monday, the last day of the Workers\u2019 Party meeting, the country said it tested <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/07\/02\/world\/asia\/north-korea-missile-test.html\" title=\"\">a new ballistic missile<\/a> capable of carrying a \u201csuper-large warhead.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Despite such military achievements, Mr. Kim\u2019s hold on power has depended on reinvigorating the personality cult and in keeping North Koreans away <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/card\/2024\/06\/29\/world\/asia\/balloon-south-korea?pvid=s2uR8EmF4LupF7jNxRwVYRgp&amp;smid=url-share\" title=\"\">from outside news.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Kim has tried to reinvent his family\u2019s rule, casting himself as a young, energetic and even transformative leader. He has emphasized his family lineage by dressing like his grandfather, but has also appeared to distance himself from his forebears in an effort to move out of their long shadows and show that he is a worthy leader in his own right.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">This year, he abandoned <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/01\/16\/world\/asia\/north-korea-reunification-policy.html\" title=\"\">a longtime goal<\/a>, set by his grandfather, of reunifying with the South and called Seoul an enemy that must be subjugated, if necessary, through a nuclear war. North Korea did not highlight Kim Il-sung\u2019s April 15 birthday this year as much as it used to. State propagandists have begun praising Mr. Kim the way they used to eulogize his father and grandfather, calling him \u201cthe Sun\u201d of the Korean people and the \u201cfather\u201d of all Koreans, and have begun distributing portraits of him to be hung in government buildings and homes.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The distribution of the lapel pin reflected Mr. Kim\u2019s growing confidence in his one-man dictatorship, analysts said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cIt makes it official that he is now on the same echelon with his forebears, Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il,\u201d said Yang Moo-jin, president of the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/07\/02\/world\/asia\/north-korea-kim-jong-un-pin.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When North Korea\u2019s leader, Kim Jong-un, met with his ruling Workers\u2019 Party in the past week, he had some good news. The country, which has long struggled with hunger, was expecting a \u201cfairly good\u201d harvest this year, he reported, and had recently signed a mutual defense treaty with Russia. The bigger news, though, might be [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":85852,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/07\/02\/multimedia\/02nkorea-pin-01-tbjh\/02nkorea-pin-01-tbjh-facebookJumbo.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[75047,69043,34108,17318,75046,1358,14603],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85851"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=85851"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85851\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":85853,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85851\/revisions\/85853"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/85852"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=85851"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=85851"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=85851"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}