What a year it's been for the world's madmen! First, Osama Bin Laden was killed, then Moammar Gadhafi and finally Kim Jong-Il died from a heart attack. In North Korea, Kim Jong-Il was known as the "Dear Leader" but he was anything but that. He consolidated his power by stressing the military first, feeding his people second and stimulating the economy last.
However, I didn't know that he died until I got on Facebook. I wasn't sure what to expect from South Koreans but by all accounts it was just another normal day. There was, and has not been, any celebrating. It is all over the news but I get the feeling most South Koreans are to busy living their lives to care about him. Now, there are three reasons why they might not be making a big fuss about it here in Southern Korea. First, people were expecting him to die sooner than later. Second, I live in Gwangju, not Seoul, so people aren't worried about a military threat. Lastly, I'm a foreigner and might not really know what people are thinking. It's probably a combination of the three with the latter taking the lead.
I've included some links covering North Korea but the one you must read is the first one. It's about the journey North Koreans travelled on to escape from Kim Jong-Il's rule.
North Korean defectors:
http://matadornetwork.com/abroad/north-korean-defectors-kim-jong-ii/
http://matadornetwork.com/abroad/north-korean-defectors-kim-jong-ii/
Korean Herald, English newspaper based in Seoul: http://www.koreaherald.com/
Video released by North Korean media:
Story about Kim Jong-Il's successor, his third son: http://old.news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111219/ap_on_re_as/as_nkorea_kim_jong_un_profile
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