Speaker 1: Here's something you wouldn't expect about Kim Jong il. He
Speaker 1: wasn't born on the divine slopes of Mount pet two.
Speaker 1: He wasn't even born in Korea. He spent the first
Speaker 1: four years of his life living in the eastern stretches
Speaker 1: of the Soviet Union, a logging camp in Siberia. To
Speaker 1: be exact. According to Russian birth records, Kim Jong Il's
Speaker 1: name is actually Yuri Irsinovich Kim it was the Korean
Speaker 1: Peninsula was occupied and controlled by Japan, and Kim's father,
Speaker 1: the future Supreme Leader, Kim Il sung, was a guerrilla
Speaker 1: freedom fighter, the leader of a rag tag platoon of
Speaker 1: communist soldiers fighting Japanese imperialists. But when World War Two erupted,
Speaker 1: Kim Il sung fled into the Soviet Union with a
Speaker 1: female soldier, a dogged fighter who had served as his bodyguard.
Speaker 1: Her name was Kim Changshuk. According to people who knew her,
Speaker 1: Chungsuk was a warm hearted, but rugged and fearless woman.
Speaker 1: When she was a teenager, her family had been murdered
Speaker 1: by Japanese settlers. She had sworn revenge, joined the Korean
Speaker 1: cause and met Kimio sung on the battlefield. She even
Speaker 1: saved the man's life from a deadly ambush, and it
Speaker 1: was during this time in the early forties, a Tongsuk
Speaker 1: and Kimilsung fell in love, became unofficially married and had
Speaker 1: two boys, Yuri Rsenovich, lovingly nicknamed Urah and his little
Speaker 1: brother Shoulda. In Russia, the children received endless attention and affection,
Speaker 1: but in when Korea was liberated from Japan, the Kim
Speaker 1: family returned home. Kim Il sung, who had ingratiated himself
Speaker 1: with Soviet leadership, was installed by Joseph Stalin as North
Speaker 1: Korea's chairman. For a young Kim Jong Il and his brother,
Speaker 1: leaving Russia was difficult. Their parents became busy and distant.
Speaker 1: Their dad was occupied trying to build a communist utopia,
Speaker 1: and their mother was often away traveling the country as
Speaker 1: his political representative. And then in September, tragedy struck. Kim
Speaker 1: Jong Zook was pregnant and Kim Jong Il, just eight
Speaker 1: years old, waited in the palace for his mom to
Speaker 1: bring home a baby sister. Hours later, a family member arrived,
Speaker 1: tears streaming down her cheeks. Kim Jong Ille was told
Speaker 1: to prepare instead for a funeral. The baby had been lost,
Speaker 1: and so too had his mother. Kim Jong Ill panicked,
Speaker 1: he sprinted out the door in the direction of the hospital.
Speaker 1: Guards swooped in and grabbed him. As an officer lugged
Speaker 1: him back into the house, the little boy began wailing uncontrollably,
Speaker 1: calling out for his mother. At the funeral, Kim Jong
Speaker 1: Il was inconsolable. He clung to his dead mother's body
Speaker 1: and wept in her arms. When a group of elders
Speaker 1: tried to lead the boy away, his father stopped them, saying,
Speaker 1: tomorrow you will have no mother anymore, and who's embraced
Speaker 1: to cry? Little did the boy know, but the supreme
Speaker 1: leader was already thinking about his wife's replacement. A grieving
Speaker 1: Kim Joang Ill would watch with jealousy as his father
Speaker 1: built a new family around a new woman, growing even
Speaker 1: more distant from his eldest on. That's the strange thing
Speaker 1: about the stories of Kim Jong Il and Kim Jong Nam.
Speaker 1: The two generations share an eerie parallel. Both, in one
Speaker 1: way or another, would lose their mothers and childhood, and
Speaker 1: both would spend the rest of their lives fighting these
Speaker 1: other new families for the love and attention of their father,
Speaker 1: the supreme leader. The result would be a series of
Speaker 1: cruel family games of manipulative in fighting that would do
Speaker 1: much more than alter the dynamic inside the gilded palaces
Speaker 1: of Kung Yang. It would change the course of world history.
Speaker 1: My name is even Lee, and in this episode, the
Speaker 1: tale of two generations of Kim's vying for power in
Speaker 1: a world of subterfuge, espionage and deceit, and the mistake
Speaker 1: that may have caused Kim jong Nam the crown and
Speaker 1: his life. She takes a gun away, and she says,
Speaker 1: you're not getting any stupid ideas. Be a man and
Speaker 1: go forth and lead your country in the East Asia.
Speaker 1: People around the court like to go on and on
Speaker 1: about which branch has what it takes to be the
Speaker 1: leading branch of the family. I think that it was
Speaker 1: due to the mothers that the succession decision was made.
Speaker 1: This is big brother. While Kim Jong Il's mother had
Speaker 1: died in childbirth, Kim Jong Nam's mother, you may remember,
Speaker 1: was still alive. She was exiled to a mental facility
Speaker 1: in Russia, leaving the young Kim Jong Nam effectively motherless
Speaker 1: and the states secret And then in nine a d
Speaker 1: When the boy was nine years old, his father agreed
Speaker 1: to send him to a boarding school abroad. Here's journalists
Speaker 1: and fifield. Kim Jong Nam was living this very abnormal life.
Speaker 1: You know, he didn't go to school in North Korea.
Speaker 1: He was confined to one of these palatial compounds. And
Speaker 1: his grandmother actually said, you know, this is no way
Speaker 1: for a kid to live. So they the first idea
Speaker 1: was to go off to the Soviet Union, to Moscow,
Speaker 1: but Kim Jong Nam was no fan of Russia. Like
Speaker 1: a true spoiled prince, he whined constantly. His biggest complaint
Speaker 1: how dirty the Soviet Union's toilets were. So. At the
Speaker 1: behest of his uncle Chang Song Tech, the boy was
Speaker 1: sent to Switzerland. Joan Song Tech had found out that
Speaker 1: lots of celebrities sent their children to the school in Geneva.
Speaker 1: A Taie Prince is Michael Douglas had all gone to
Speaker 1: the school in Geneva, so Kim Jong Nam moved to
Speaker 1: Switzerland to attend the International School of Geneva, one of
Speaker 1: the most diverse academies on the planet. The institution overflowed
Speaker 1: with the sons and daughters of wealthy dignitaries and diplomats
Speaker 1: from all over the world, and even boasted alumnis such
Speaker 1: as Indira Gandhi. Kim's cousin and playmate Enamo, came with him.
Speaker 1: The two received fake names and fake passports. They were
Speaker 1: given alibis and told everybody they were the children of
Speaker 1: diplomats to avoid bumping into nosey South Korean students who
Speaker 1: were usually enrolled in English speaking classes. The two cousins
Speaker 1: two courses in French. It's worth noting they did not
Speaker 1: speak French. One of those nosy South Korean students, by
Speaker 1: the way, happened to be doctors Hung Yun Lee, professor
Speaker 1: at Tufts Universe At many years ago. I enrolled at
Speaker 1: the International School of Geneva, Switzerland sometime in September. Not
Speaker 1: only did doctor Lee attend the same school, he attended
Speaker 1: at the same time as Kim Jong Nam. I enrolled
Speaker 1: on the very same day. Kim Jong Nam was three
Speaker 1: years younger than I, so we never were in the
Speaker 1: same classroom. Hardly ever cross path. But the South Korean
Speaker 1: ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva mistook Kim Jong
Speaker 1: Nam as a South Korean student and struck up a
Speaker 1: conversation with Kim jong Nam, and the North Korean princeling said,
Speaker 1: I'm actually from North Korea. To say the least, the
Speaker 1: regime would have its hands full keeping Kim jong Nam
Speaker 1: a secret. North Korea watched the potential successor closely. Even
Speaker 1: his cousin in Am enrolled in the same classes just
Speaker 1: to keep a protective eye on him. Even though she
Speaker 1: was five years older than him, she went to his class,
Speaker 1: she was denied a normal upbringing. She was always five
Speaker 1: years behind the with him. The regime even rented a
Speaker 1: fifth floor apartment across the street to monitor the princeling.
Speaker 1: But constant surveillance couldn't stop the fact that Kim jong
Speaker 1: Nam would be exposed to everything. Europe offered a mixed economy,
Speaker 1: a free press, and a vast expanse of art, culture
Speaker 1: and different ways of thinking. For years, this Western playground
Speaker 1: distracted him from the gossip of Kongyang, namely that his
Speaker 1: father was building a new family with a new step
Speaker 1: mom and two younger half brothers. Instead, Kim jong Nam
Speaker 1: spent his teenage years in blissful ignorance, and as he
Speaker 1: hobbed nobbed with the richest and most privileged children, in
Speaker 1: the world. He became something of a snotty playboy. At school,
Speaker 1: Kim jong Nam befriended the children of famous French thing ears.
Speaker 1: He went for joy rides and Mercedes benzes with moneyed
Speaker 1: Arab princes. He let loose on the Riviera with hotel
Speaker 1: heiresses and skied the Alps with kids who had their
Speaker 1: own Swiss bank accounts. He partied and snorted drugs. He
Speaker 1: bought booze with his fake I d and drained the
Speaker 1: bottles by night. He slept with women and lost count
Speaker 1: of how many, And then in it all came crashing
Speaker 1: to an end. Kim Jong Nam turned eighteen and his
Speaker 1: father demanded that he returned to kung Yang. When he arrived,
Speaker 1: Residence Number fifteen was boiling with gossip. Kim Jong Ill
Speaker 1: had children with another woman Uh, and then Kim Jong
Speaker 1: Ill's affections within show at upon that family. To put
Speaker 1: it lightly, the two branches of the family were not
Speaker 1: getting along. This is something that seems to have really
Speaker 1: emotionally Scott Kim jong Nam, and he felt cast aside.
Speaker 1: Residents number fifteen, according to Anna Fifield, seethed with rivalry.
Speaker 1: As she wrote in her book The Great successor quote.
Speaker 1: They were convinced that the other woman was a manipulative
Speaker 1: shrew who was poisoning Kim Jong Ill against them. They
Speaker 1: talked about whether the woman was fat and derided her
Speaker 1: as half jack. They even concocted vicious nicknames for the stepmother,
Speaker 1: calling her punct coal, a slur that means hammer nose,
Speaker 1: but with a twist referencing the gambling game pachinko to
Speaker 1: snipe at her Japanese roots. But insults couldn't heal the hurt.
Speaker 1: When Kim jong Nam was sent to Europe, his branch
Speaker 1: of the family had become an afterthought. Now they felt
Speaker 1: second class, neglected, and the implications were obvious. The situation
Speaker 1: harmed Kim Jong Nam's political future, But for those close
Speaker 1: to the Kim family, this drama wasn't anything unusual. It
Speaker 1: was just a ja vu because decades earlier, when Kim
Speaker 1: Jong Il was a little boy, similar complaints were swirling
Speaker 1: in the palace air. After the death of his mom.
Speaker 1: His dad had come home with a new mistress, and
Speaker 1: with this new woman in the picture, his political future
Speaker 1: had been at risk too. The story of how Kim
Speaker 1: Jong Ill clawed his way to the top when we return.
Speaker 1: Truth be told, Kim jong Il had a tenuous relationship
Speaker 1: with his father long before this other woman stepped in,
Speaker 1: and that's because of a traumatic event that took place
Speaker 1: when Kim jong Il men known as Udah, was just
Speaker 1: a little boy. It's Dah and his little brother Shouldah
Speaker 1: are playing alone near the edge of a pond. Udah
Speaker 1: is around six shouda four. The boys grapple and horseplay
Speaker 1: around the shallows, splashing and dunking each other's heads under
Speaker 1: the surface. Udah lifts himself out of the water, but
Speaker 1: when little Shuda tries to climb out, Udah, the bullying
Speaker 1: big brother, playfully pushes him back in. The boys laugh,
Speaker 1: and then Shouldah tries to get out a second time,
Speaker 1: but Udah shoves him right back into the murky lagoon.
Speaker 1: Udah teases his little brother and continues the cruel game
Speaker 1: again and again and again. Minutes later, the Supreme Leader
Speaker 1: rushes to the pond and finds a young Kim jong
Speaker 1: Il is standing awkwardly at the water's edge. What's the matter?
Speaker 1: What's the matter? He repeats the question over and over.
Speaker 1: The little Kim jong yellen speechless. I'm asking you what
Speaker 1: this is all about. Look at me, Look at me.
Speaker 1: Kim jong il just stands there, his face to the ground,
Speaker 1: arrowed in shame. What have you been doing? Just offshore,
Speaker 1: floating in the water is the lifeless body of his
Speaker 1: little brother. Kim Jong Il's official biography makes no mention
Speaker 1: of his dead brother, but documents captured by American soldiers
Speaker 1: after the Korean War show that Kim Il sung was
Speaker 1: so heartbroken that he invited Buddhist monks and a shaman
Speaker 1: to pray at the side of the drowning. According to Defect,
Speaker 1: they're close to the Kim family. Young Kim jong il
Speaker 1: would spend the following years a quote lonely and guilty child, quiet,
Speaker 1: depressed and fearful of what his father thought of him.
Speaker 1: The dual tragedy of losing his brother and mother would
Speaker 1: forever alter Kim Jong il's relationship with his father, who
Speaker 1: had already started a separate family with a new woman
Speaker 1: and new sons. And that's what sparked a competition that
Speaker 1: would reshape the politics of North Korea. You see, during
Speaker 1: the DPR case infancy, Kimo Song was more likely to
Speaker 1: pass power to a fellow comrade rather than his kids.
Speaker 1: The whole concept of hereditary succession was anathema to communist teaching.
Speaker 1: In fact, the North Korean Dictionary of Political Terminologies lambasted
Speaker 1: the practice quote hereditary succession is a reactionary custom of
Speaker 1: exploitative societies. Originally a product of slave societies, it was
Speaker 1: later adopted by feudal lords as a means to perpetuate
Speaker 1: dictatorial rule. But then at some point Kim il sung
Speaker 1: changed his mind. By the mid nineties sixties, the Supreme
Speaker 1: Leader made it clear that power would remain in the family.
Speaker 1: Kim Jong il, of course, was the first and eldest son.
Speaker 1: By Confucian tradition, the throne should have been his, but
Speaker 1: his spot wasn't guaranteed. Kim il sung clearly preferred his
Speaker 1: two youngest sons over his firstborn. Kim Jong Ille felt
Speaker 1: the odds were stacked against him, and since his brother
Speaker 1: and mother were dead, he didn't have many advocates in
Speaker 1: the regime, so he deployed a plan. At the time,
Speaker 1: there was no true single party rule, yet multiple communist
Speaker 1: groups were jockeying for influence. Lumble Over Kimilsung knew that
Speaker 1: the stability of the country and his pursuit of power
Speaker 1: depended on consolidating their support. He gave impassioned speeches like
Speaker 1: the one you're hearing now to rally groups behind his leadership.
Speaker 1: Here's Michael Madden Kim Il sung. When he first became
Speaker 1: leader in forty five, he had to contend with different
Speaker 1: factions of nationalist Koreans. Kim Il sung doesn't have ultimate power,
Speaker 1: so his whole pursuit from to nifty is basically to
Speaker 1: dominate the North Korean political system. Kim Il sung strategy
Speaker 1: centered on a combination of hard and soft power by
Speaker 1: both cracking skulls and poisoning minds. When he wasn't eliminating
Speaker 1: traitors through bloodshed, the leader was focusing his attention on
Speaker 1: winning people's trust. He enlisted advisor to boost his reputation
Speaker 1: as a person whose wisdom, knowledge, and power or unmatched.
Speaker 1: All of a sudden, peddling propaganda became a way to
Speaker 1: win favor with the leader. A palatial arms race ensued.
Speaker 1: Who could praise and idolize the supreme leader the most.
Speaker 1: This was Kim Jong Il's wheelhouse. As a lover of
Speaker 1: theater and movies, he was a master of artifice. He
Speaker 1: turned out films and news articles depicting his father not
Speaker 1: just as a wise and compassionate strong man, but as
Speaker 1: all knowing. Kim Jong Il, in other words, would help
Speaker 1: transform his father into a living god. As part of this,
Speaker 1: Kim Jong Ill made everybody in North Korea where lapel
Speaker 1: pins of his father's face. He built dozens of mansions
Speaker 1: for his dad, and funneled millions of dollars into erecting
Speaker 1: statues of his likeness. And so Kim Il Sung the
Speaker 1: man became Kim Il Sung, the legend, and the leader
Speaker 1: relished the attention. As more people praised him, the more
Speaker 1: the personality called grew into a cartoonish mythology. The history
Speaker 1: books literally changed. Kim Il Sung transformed from a meager
Speaker 1: guerrilla fighter to the beating heart of the resistance movement,
Speaker 1: the man who had singlehandedly liberated the country, and people
Speaker 1: believed it. In nine, journalist Bradley Martin visited North Korea
Speaker 1: for the World Table Tennis Championships. He realized that North
Speaker 1: Korea operated with a peculiar piety. When I first went there,
Speaker 1: it clearly was a religious state that the people worshiped
Speaker 1: Kimmel Song, and in his opinion, it was sincere the
Speaker 1: worship was not purely a matter of their submitting to government,
Speaker 1: but they wanted to worship him. They loved him, and
Speaker 1: I detected very little falsity in the expressions of praise,
Speaker 1: and it was very much a religious state. Kim Jong
Speaker 1: Il's propaganda efforts would change the face of North Korea,
Speaker 1: and they put him back in his father's good graces,
Speaker 1: but it still didn't guarantee that he'd inherit the throne.
Speaker 1: The one thing standing in Kim Jong Il's way was
Speaker 1: his new stepmother, who was positioning her firstborn son, named
Speaker 1: Kim Chang Ill as a successor. In East Asia, people
Speaker 1: around the court like to go on and on about
Speaker 1: which branch has what it takes to be the leading
Speaker 1: branch of the family. That was pretty much as it
Speaker 1: was with Kim Jong il and his brother Kim Young.
Speaker 1: Kim Kang yell was a terrifying opponent. He was the
Speaker 1: spitting image of their father. He had a much more
Speaker 1: affectionate relationship with him too, and no amount of flattering
Speaker 1: publicity could replace the fact that Kim Il sung spent
Speaker 1: his nights sleeping next to Kangiel's mother. Propaganda was no
Speaker 1: match for pillow talk. Kim Joang Ill realized that in
Speaker 1: order to become the front runner, he'd have to do
Speaker 1: more than boost his father into the image of a god.
Speaker 1: To destroy his little brother's prospects, he'd have to eliminate
Speaker 1: the power of the other woman. Two decades later, Kim
Speaker 1: jong Nam would face a similar challenge with his stepmother.
Speaker 1: When he returned from Europe. The dynamics of palace life
Speaker 1: had changed. His father once so loving hardly visited Residence
Speaker 1: Number fifteen anymore. It was as if the Chong Nam
Speaker 1: side of the family didn't exist. Kim Jong Il's other
Speaker 1: family included a five year old son, Kim Jong Un,
Speaker 1: and their father devoted all of his free time and
Speaker 1: energy to this little boy. But what really shocked and
Speaker 1: dismayed Kim jong Nam's branch of the family was how
Speaker 1: brazen his father's new mistress, Ko Yuan Ki was acting.
Speaker 1: Up until this point, Kim Jong Il's wives were to
Speaker 1: run the household. They were not to be involved in politics.
Speaker 1: He changes his mind about that with Koyeng Hui. As
Speaker 1: Michael Madden explains, Couse shamelessly inserted herself into politics. Kyeong
Speaker 1: Whui is allowed to talk to the political age that
Speaker 1: come by the house to brief Kim Jong Ill. That's
Speaker 1: where Koyonghui starts to attain a degree of political importance.
Speaker 1: She's a close steward a selection of Kim Jong Ill's
Speaker 1: top guys. The Kim jong Nam side of the family,
Speaker 1: koyeng He was just manipulating the man. She was nothing
Speaker 1: but a gold digger, an illegitimate concubine, unworthy of the
Speaker 1: title of wife, and she was part Japanese North Koreas
Speaker 1: sworn enemy. And so to Kim jong Nam's family, her
Speaker 1: kids weren't successors. They were illegitimate children and thus illegitimate heirs.
Speaker 1: But like the generation before him, Kim Jong Nam's mother
Speaker 1: was out of the picture. Kim Jong Nam's mother had
Speaker 1: basically had a mental breakdown and gone to Moscow and
Speaker 1: stayed abroad for almost the rest of her life, and
Speaker 1: so she was literally out of the inner circle. She
Speaker 1: was far away. She didn't have much influence. Koyeong He,
Speaker 1: on the other hand, Kim Jong UN's mother, she was
Speaker 1: very much an in a circle. She was at Kim
Speaker 1: Jong Il's side. She was making decisions, she was advising him,
Speaker 1: and she had been trying to position both of her
Speaker 1: sons as the heir apparent to Kim jong il, so
Speaker 1: she did things like making sure that they both got
Speaker 1: the military uniforms and were called little generals just like
Speaker 1: Kim jong nam was. She made sure that they went
Speaker 1: into like the North Korean equivalent of West Point, so
Speaker 1: that they had that military training and they could justify
Speaker 1: leading a country that had a military first policy. She
Speaker 1: was actively lobbying for them behind the scenes. I think
Speaker 1: that it was due to the mothers that this succession
Speaker 1: decision was made, and Koeng he knew a finger too
Speaker 1: about getting on the leaders good side. In fact, she
Speaker 1: became one of the most important people in the regime.
Speaker 1: At that point, Kim jong il had taken the reins
Speaker 1: of decision making, with his father remaining a mere figurehead.
Speaker 1: But one day, Kim jong il was riding a horse
Speaker 1: when he fell off and suffered a severe head injury.
Speaker 1: It was so bad that the regime flew in a
Speaker 1: neurologist from France. According to Michael Madden, with her husband incapacitated,
Speaker 1: Koyong he stepped in during that point. During that point,
Speaker 1: Young we basically starts helping him with paperwork that's coming
Speaker 1: into the house, and so for a whole year koyong
Speaker 1: He acts as Kim jong Il's top advisor. And then
Speaker 1: when Kim jong Il officially become supreme leader, she saves
Speaker 1: her husband's life a second time. Goes by a room
Speaker 1: in one of the houses and sees Kim jong Il
Speaker 1: cleaning his gun. Kim jong Il is going to shoot
Speaker 1: himself in the head and commit suicide. She takes a
Speaker 1: gun away, and she says, you're not getting any stupid ideas.
Speaker 1: Be a man and go forth and lead the country.
Speaker 1: So this is where Kim jong UN's mother is sort
Speaker 1: of endeared to the leader, where she becomes a political
Speaker 1: force and a political influence. This is where Kim jong
Speaker 1: Nam's path diverges from his father's. Kim Jong Il prevented
Speaker 1: his step family from stealing the successorship by well sucking
Speaker 1: up to his father. It was filial piety on steroids,
Speaker 1: But when Kim jong Nam's stepmother interfered, he rebelled. Rather
Speaker 1: than elevate his father's image, he escaped his royal compound
Speaker 1: and drank his way across kong Yang. There was a
Speaker 1: period of time when Kim jong nam was in his
Speaker 1: twenties and was essentially kind of locked in this gilded
Speaker 1: cage and Pyongyang. You know, he was this young guy
Speaker 1: wanting to be you know, socializing and having fun and things,
Speaker 1: and he wasn't able to do that in Pyongyang. So
Speaker 1: him and his cousin Nam Mock would go out in
Speaker 1: one of the regime mercedes, you know, at nighttime, go
Speaker 1: joy riding around the place and kind of burn off
Speaker 1: a little steam, and words spread fast. Keng Yang's elite
Speaker 1: complained that Kim jong nam was a belligerent and obnoxious drunk.
Speaker 1: He made people bow when he entered a room. One time,
Speaker 1: the drunken prince entered a hotel lobby, pulled out a pistol,
Speaker 1: and littered the ceiling with bullet holes, all because somebody
Speaker 1: had taken his parking space. Their speculation that these stories
Speaker 1: aren't actually true, but in kiang Yang that didn't matter.
Speaker 1: These rumors were circulating and they were making Kim Jong
Speaker 1: ill look bad. So when he found out he went dessert.
Speaker 1: Kim Jong Il's was extremely angry about this um and
Speaker 1: basically put them on the house arresed uh in their
Speaker 1: compound in Pyongyang. He denied food to them. They had
Speaker 1: to live on what they had, and you know, they
Speaker 1: were really cut off and punished as a result of this.
Speaker 1: Kim Jong Nam's father even threatened to send his son
Speaker 1: and extended family to a labor camp. But nobody in
Speaker 1: residence Number fifteen blamed the young prince. They blamed his stepmother.
Speaker 1: According to Chong Nam's cousin Enamo quote, the other woman's
Speaker 1: fingerprints were all over this. There is a suggestion, yeah
Speaker 1: that it was Kim Jong's mother who took off Kim
Speaker 1: jong Il and tried to make them look bad. Gossip
Speaker 1: spread that it was actually the stepmother who had snitched
Speaker 1: on Chong Nam. As Fifield writes in her book, Koyong
Speaker 1: he had quote encouraged Kim Jong Il to allow his
Speaker 1: oldest son more freedom, then rat it on the young
Speaker 1: man when he enjoyed that freedom. The family was convinced
Speaker 1: that this other woman would do anything to tarnish the
Speaker 1: reputation of the man competing with her sons. In his
Speaker 1: mid twenties, Kim jong Nam did clean up his act
Speaker 1: and began joining his father on official summits, even accompanying
Speaker 1: him on a trip to Mount pet two. He began
Speaker 1: studying economics, a sign that he was destined for big
Speaker 1: things and was given a military post. Here's Bradley Martin.
Speaker 1: When Kim jong Nam was twenty four, his father presented
Speaker 1: him the general's uniform. Everybody started calling him general. That
Speaker 1: seems to me a pretty good indication that he was
Speaker 1: at least being thought of as the successor. And at
Speaker 1: the same time, Kim jong Nam was awarded the freedom
Speaker 1: to travel beyond the palace walls. He adventured to Japan
Speaker 1: and Beijing, where some suggests he indulged in women and
Speaker 1: illicit activities as well as official business. Everywhere he went,
Speaker 1: he traveled with a fake passport under a fake name.
Speaker 1: Things were looking up. Kim jong Nam was elected as
Speaker 1: a delegate to North Korea's legislature. He even got to
Speaker 1: flex his muscles as a computer was He was active
Speaker 1: in getting the Korean Computer Center started up and in
Speaker 1: the import of computers, and he had a position which
Speaker 1: is now called the Ministry of Social Security. Those are
Speaker 1: pretty high end positions as far as the North Korean
Speaker 1: regime of that day. This latter position at the State
Speaker 1: Security Ministry was an important one. Kim jong Nam had
Speaker 1: the tough job of handling defectors and refugees, and it
Speaker 1: gave him an opportunity to show his soft side. There
Speaker 1: there was an incident around where hundreds of North Koreans
Speaker 1: had fled into China to try to find food, which
Speaker 1: was highly legal. These people were all detained and then
Speaker 1: one day they're all turned loose. They all got pardoned,
Speaker 1: and they were told to thank Comrade Kim jong Nam
Speaker 1: because Comrade Kim jong Nam had exercised his benevolence on
Speaker 1: their behalf and forgiven these hungry people. In the words
Speaker 1: of a human rights activists, the official party line was
Speaker 1: you owe all of this to Kim jong Nam. By
Speaker 1: the millennium, it seemed that Kim jong Nam had survived
Speaker 1: his roaring twenties, had survived the manipulations of his stepmother.
Speaker 1: He was building a name for himself in the regime.
Speaker 1: And then in two thousand and one this happened Tokyo Disneyland, Disneyland,
Speaker 1: taking his sons to Disneyland. Kim jong Nam got caught
Speaker 1: going to Disneyland. Y we'll get back to Mickey Mouse later.
Speaker 1: The very fact that Kim jong Nam's political prospects ever
Speaker 1: survived the nineties, despite his gun coding beer guzzling, sex
Speaker 1: loving reputation is remarkable because that's exactly what helped bring
Speaker 1: down Kim Jong Il's half brother, Kim Kangyell. Remember that rivalry.
Speaker 1: In the nineteen seventies, Kan Yell was steadily climbing the ladder.
Speaker 1: He entered the bodyguard division of the Supreme Guard Command,
Speaker 1: graduated from Kim Millsung University, was promoted to colonel and
Speaker 1: named vice head of the Strategic Department of Bodyguards. All
Speaker 1: signs pointed to Kim kangy Ill as a Supreme Leader's favorite.
Speaker 1: It helped that his mother was all around to whisper
Speaker 1: encouraging words into Kim Il Sung's ear. But there was
Speaker 1: one problem. Kim Kang Ill was the life of the party.
Speaker 1: He drank, danced, and caroused with officers in the State
Speaker 1: Security Department and with big wigs in the bodyguard units.
Speaker 1: He lived for elaborate gifts, engraved watches, and free drinks.
Speaker 1: Little did he know Big Father Kim Jong Il was
Speaker 1: spying on him. One day at a party, a group
Speaker 1: of bodyguards started drunkenly praising the young potential air chanting
Speaker 1: live man. This was a dumb mistake in a country
Speaker 1: where Kim il sung was a living god. Only one
Speaker 1: person deserved a live long chant. This was pure, unadulterated blasphemy.
Speaker 1: Words soon reached Kim jong Il as the state propaganda master.
Speaker 1: He knew these chants sounded like somebody trying to chip
Speaker 1: away at the supreme leaders allegiances. Kim Jong Il was
Speaker 1: a better in fighter than Kim kyong yo, so he
Speaker 1: got some dirt on Kim kyong yo and got the
Speaker 1: word through his father that Kim Yongyo was arrating around
Speaker 1: as if he were the successor designate, as if he
Speaker 1: were a big shot. Kim il Sung was outraged. Kyongyo
Speaker 1: was quickly demoted. He went off and became a diplomat
Speaker 1: in Europe for his old career, and so Kim kang
Speaker 1: Ill was shipped off an embassy overseas. For a member
Speaker 1: of the royal family, it was like being put out
Speaker 1: to pasture. Kim kang Ill would spend the rest of
Speaker 1: his life living under constant surveillance. Kim Jong Ille was
Speaker 1: happy to have his half brother out of the picture,
Speaker 1: but al staying matt nuisance wasn't enough. He was hell
Speaker 1: bent on weakening his stepmother's power too. Just to be safe,
Speaker 1: so he exploited one of his father's greatest weaknesses. The
Speaker 1: Supreme Leader was a notorious flirt, and his son knew
Speaker 1: he could drive a wedge into their relationship by simply
Speaker 1: introducing his dad to new women, ladies who could shower
Speaker 1: him with attention and pleasure. The scheme weren't. The marriage
Speaker 1: between his father and his stepmother frosted over. With Kim
Speaker 1: Il sung's attention elsewhere, the woman's influence waned. Kim Jong
Speaker 1: Ille won a battle of attrition. Soon he was announced
Speaker 1: the successor. He celebrated by sticking his stepmother's nose in
Speaker 1: it In she was forced to publicly read an embarrassing
Speaker 1: speech praising Kim Jong Il's dead mother. The stepmom was
Speaker 1: compelled to call her quote an imperishable communist revolutionary fighter
Speaker 1: and outstanding woman activists. She also had to call her
Speaker 1: one of the three generals of Mount Peto and the
Speaker 1: biggest insult the mother of the nation. Soon, the stepmother's
Speaker 1: relationship with Kim Il Song completely dissolved. Six years later,
Speaker 1: she was placed under house arrest. By the late nineteen eighties,
Speaker 1: as Kim Jong il amassed more power, the woman who
Speaker 1: had tried to cut him down was nowhere to be seen,
Speaker 1: but the same could not be said for Kim jong
Speaker 1: nam stepmother. On May one, two thousand and one, a
Speaker 1: plane flying out of Singapore touchdown at Nadita International Airport
Speaker 1: outside of Tokyo, Japan. Kim jong Nam, then just nine
Speaker 1: years old, arguably near the height of his political cloud,
Speaker 1: stepped off the plane with his family, two women and
Speaker 1: a little four year old boy. As the family stood
Speaker 1: in line for immigration, security officials approached, they asked to
Speaker 1: inspect Kim jong Nam's passport. Like the rest of the
Speaker 1: royal family, the document was fake. It said he was
Speaker 1: from the Dominican Republic and listed his name as Pang
Speaker 1: Yung Chinese for fat Bear. Officials led Kim jong Nam
Speaker 1: into a room for questioning. At first, Chong Nam stonewalled
Speaker 1: the investigators, speaking a mix of Japanese and English. An
Speaker 1: hour past before he dropped the bombshell that he was
Speaker 1: the son of North Korea's dictator, thought Kim Joda. He
Speaker 1: explained that he had come to take his young son
Speaker 1: to Tokyo Disneyland. He showed them his passport, again, displaying
Speaker 1: stamps proving that he had entered Japan multiple times without trouble,
Speaker 1: but the questioning continued. Over the next seventy two hours.
Speaker 1: Kim jong nam and his family would be kept at
Speaker 1: an immigration detention center. Word got out fast and journalists
Speaker 1: flocked to the airport. Meanwhile, and Kongyang official scramble to
Speaker 1: deny the news. The regime, according to Hongyun Lee, was
Speaker 1: growing embarrassed. Why is that embarrassing because North Korea rails
Speaker 1: against the evils of capitalism, materialism, Western pop culture and
Speaker 1: Disneyland nicely and captures all of those quality. After three days,
Speaker 1: Kim jong nam and his family were deported, but not
Speaker 1: before journalists snapped photos of North Korean royalty making the
Speaker 1: walk of shame onto an airplane. When Kim Jong Nam
Speaker 1: returned home, his father was outraged. He disinvited his son
Speaker 1: from attending a special economics meeting with the Chinese, and
Speaker 1: he'd never be invited to a high level event again.
Speaker 1: Two years later, the North Korean People's Army Publishing Company
Speaker 1: released an article entitled The Respected Mother is the most
Speaker 1: faithful and loyal subject to the Dear Leader, Comrade Supreme Commander.
Speaker 1: The story was designed to deify the mother of the
Speaker 1: future successor in the same way that Kim jong il's
Speaker 1: late mother had been celebrated. But the subject of the
Speaker 1: article was not Kim jong nam's mother. It was Koyong he,
Speaker 1: the mother of Kim jong Un. To this day, rumors
Speaker 1: swirl that Kim jong un was, in fact just the
Speaker 1: beneficiary of his mother's dirty tricks. There was South Korean
Speaker 1: chitta chatta that it was actually Kim jong UN's mother
Speaker 1: who leaked the details about the Disneyland Tokyo trip to
Speaker 1: the Japanese press in an effort to actively embarrass Kim
Speaker 1: jong nam. Did Kim jong UN's mother tip off the
Speaker 1: Japanese about Kim jong Nam's travel plans to Tokyo, nobody
Speaker 1: is certain, but with Kim jong Nam disgraced an international
Speaker 1: laughing stock, the events certainly helped push her sons to
Speaker 1: the front of the line. I came away with the
Speaker 1: impression that it was because of her efforts to promote
Speaker 1: her sons that Kim jong Un had risen to the top.
Speaker 1: Kim jong Il won the battle against his stepmother, Kim
Speaker 1: jong Nam did not next time on big brother. Kim
Speaker 1: jong Nam walk a tight rope with his father's favor
Speaker 1: After putting the regimes carefully protected image in peril. Big
Speaker 1: Brother is a production of School of Humans and I
Speaker 1: Heart Radio and hosted by me Eden Lane. Lucas. Riley
Speaker 1: is our writer, co director and associate producer. Amelia Brock
Speaker 1: is our senior producer, co director and editor. Executive producers
Speaker 1: are Virginia Prescott, Brandon Barr, L. C. Crowley, and Jason English.
Speaker 1: Our fact checker is Aaron Blakemore Music composed by Jason
Speaker 1: Todd Shannon and Tunewalders. Original score mixed by Vic Stafford.
Speaker 1: Our opening song is Walt's Number two from the Second
Speaker 1: Suite for Jazz Orchestra by Dmitri Shostakovich, as performed by
Speaker 1: the Ukraine National Symphony Orchestra, licensed from Naxos Records and G. Shermer, Inc.
Speaker 1: The North Korean National Anthem is licensed from Warner Chapel Production.
Speaker 1: Muse Sick audio editing by Jesse nice Swanger sound design
Speaker 1: and mixed by Harper W. Harris. Special sound credit to
Speaker 1: Kuama to a Free Sound dot Org. Audio correction by
Speaker 1: Josh Fisher. Voice acting by Mark Chung, June Yune, Mike Coscarelli,
Speaker 1: Sean McKee, Daniel Kim, Udy Nam and Judy Alice Lee.
Speaker 1: Special thanks to Notic Kazu and Hanako Goto, Ryan Murdoch
Speaker 1: and Will Pearson. Sound licensed from Critical Past. If you're
Speaker 1: enjoying the podcast, help us get the word out by
Speaker 1: leaving a rating in your favorite podcast app. Until next time,
Speaker 1: I'm Even Lee School of Humans