The Great Successor The Divinely Perfect Destiny of Brilliant Comrade Kim Jong Un

It's like I am shocked at how good it is and how much she figured out about Kim Jong Un that I'd never seen reported before.

So like tough guy to cover, you know?

Great book.

It's by a reporter named Anna Fifield, who covered the administration for us. It's like I am shocked at how good it is and how much she figured out about Kim Jong Un that I'd never seen reported before.

I'm Anna Fifield. I am a journalist and I wrote a book called The Great Successor. The Divinely Perfect Destiny of Brilliant Comrade Kim Jong-un.

Anna Fifield. Her book is called The Great Successor, The Divinely Perfect Destiny of Brilliant Comrade Kim Jong-un.

And it's a book mostly about Kim Jong-un

And Feifield what impresses me about her is Number one she's traveled to North Korea A lot of times Over the course of more than a decade But she also, to write this book, traveled all around The world and talked directly with People who raised Kim Jong-un when he was a kid People who went to school with him People who knew him as he was growing up

And so as far as like a verifiable History of this guy I think she's done the best job that I've Come across and like that's part of why I was able to do this episode Is I found her book And finally felt like I had something Solid to grab onto and knew that I wasn't Going to be taken in by a bunch of Satirical Chinese Comedy articles that got misinterpreted As real

The 1970 edition of North Korea's dictionary of political terminology stated that hereditary secession is a reactionary custom of exploitative societies That was quietly dropped from future publications state media started referring to the party center a phrase used to obliquely refer to Kim Jong-il's activities without explicitly stating his name And Kim Jong-il began to be promoted up the workers party hierarchy the North's allies picked up on Kim Il-sung's plans early on The East German ambassador to Pyongyang cabled the foreign ministry in 1974 to say that North Koreans were being asked to swear loyalty to Kim Jong-il at workers party meetings across the country In case something grave might happen to Kim Il-sung

To bolster the case for hereditary succession in these challenging circumstances The regime created a fantastical story about Kim Jong-il's provenance that borrowed heavily from both Korean mythology and Christianity He would be leader not simply because he had been appointed by his father but because he had some divine right His birthplace became not a guerrilla camp but Mount Paektu, the volcano on North Korea's border with China that has legendary status in Korean culture It is said to be the birthplace of Taeng-gun, the mythical half-bear, half-deity father of the Korean people The creature conferred a heavenly origin on the Korean people and thanks to the story Kim Jong-il appeared to come from heaven too North Korea's propagandists didn't stop there They said that Kim Jong-il was born in a wooden cabin and that a single bright star is shown in the sky at his birth They stopped short of making the building a manger or his mother a virgin But for good measure they added a double rainbow spontaneously appearing over the mountain The myth of the Holy Paektu bloodline was created

And it's a book mostly about Kim Jong-un

And Feifield what impresses me about her is Number one she's traveled to North Korea A lot of times Over the course of more than a decade But she also, to write this book, traveled all around The world and talked directly with People who raised Kim Jong-un when he was a kid People who went to school with him People who knew him as he was growing up

So as far as like a verifiable History of this guy I think she's done the best job that I've Come across and like that's part of why I was able to do this episode Is I found her book And finally felt like I had something Solid to grab onto and knew that I wasn't Going to be taken in by a bunch of Satirical Chinese Comedy articles that got misinterpreted As real, yeah

The 1970 edition of North Korea's dictionary of political terminology stated that hereditary secession is a reactionary custom of exploitative societies That was quietly dropped from future publications state media started referring to the party center a phrase used to obliquely refer to Kim Jong-il's activities without explicitly stating his name And Kim Jong-il began to be promoted up the workers party hierarchy the North's allies picked up on Kim Il-sung's plans early on The East German ambassador to Pyongyang cabled the foreign ministry in 1974 to say that North Koreans were being asked to swear loyalty to Kim Jong-il at workers party meetings across the country In case something grave might happen to Kim Il-sung

To bolster the case for hereditary succession in these challenging circumstances The regime created a fantastical story about Kim Jong-il's provenance that borrowed heavily from both Korean mythology and Christianity He would be leader not simply because he had been appointed by his father but because he had some divine right His birthplace became not a guerrilla camp but Mount Paektu, the volcano on North Korea's border with China that has legendary status in Korean culture It is said to be the birthplace of Taeng-gun, the mythical half-bear, half-deity father of the Korean people The creature conferred a heavenly origin on the Korean people and thanks to the story Kim Jong-il appeared to come from heaven too North Korea's propagandists didn't stop there They said that Kim Jong-il was born in a wooden cabin and that a single bright star is shown in the sky at his birth They stopped short of making the building a manger or his mother a virgin But for good measure they added a double rainbow spontaneously appearing over the mountain The myth of the Holy Paektu bloodline was created

The 1970 edition of North Korea's dictionary of political terminology stated that hereditary secession is a reactionary custom of exploitative societies... that was quietly dropped from future publications... state media started referring to the party center, a phrase used to obliquely refer to Kim Jong-il's activities without explicitly stating his name... and Kim Jong-il began to be promoted up the workers party hierarchy... the North's allies picked up on Kim Il-sung's plans early on.

To bolster the case for hereditary succession in these challenging circumstances, the regime created a fantastical story about Kim Jong-il's provenance that borrowed heavily from both Korean mythology and Christianity.

He would be leader not simply because he had been appointed by his father but because he had some divine right... His birthplace became not a guerrilla camp but Mount Paektu, the volcano on North Korea's border with China that has legendary status in Korean culture... It is said to be the birthplace of Taeng-gun, the mythical half-bear, half-deity father of the Korean people... The creature conferred a heavenly origin on the Korean people and thanks to the story, Kim Jong-il appeared to come from heaven too.

They said that Kim Jong-il was born in a wooden cabin and that a single bright star shown in the sky at his birth... They stopped short of making the building a manger or his mother a virgin... but for good measure, they added a double rainbow spontaneously appearing over the mountain.

The myth of the Holy Paektu bloodline was created.

The 1970 edition of North Korea's dictionary of political terminology stated that hereditary secession is a reactionary custom of exploitative societies... That was quietly dropped from future publications...

...state media started referring to the party center, a phrase used to obliquely refer to Kim Jong-il's activities without explicitly stating his name...

...and Kim Jong-il began to be promoted up the workers party hierarchy...the North's allies picked up on Kim Il-sung's plans early on...

...the East German ambassador to Pyongyang cabled the foreign ministry in 1974 to say that North Koreans were being asked to swear loyalty to Kim Jong-il at workers party meetings across the country...in case something grave might happen to Kim Il-sung.

To bolster the case for hereditary succession in these challenging circumstances, the regime created a fantastical story about Kim Jong-il's provenance that borrowed heavily from both Korean mythology and Christianity.