Kim Jong Un: Trying to Be the New Sun of the State

North Korean Media Removes References to Kim Il Sung’s Birthday, Day of the Sun
Kim Jong Un Establishes Mosaic Murals for His Idolization
Kim Jong Un Intensifies Fourth-Generation Succession to Maintain Regime

While North Korea has recently stopped idolizing Kim Il Sung and removed the term sun, they continue to use that term for Kim Jong Un, drawing attention.

According to the South Korean Ministry of Unification on the 18th, the North Korean media, Rodong Sinmun, praised Kim Jong Un in a report the previous day as the sun of self-reliant Korea.

Although North Korean media has previously confirmed propaganda materials referring to Kim as the sun of self-reliant Korea, the absence of the term Day of the Sun, which used to refer to Kim Il Sung’s birthday, has drawn more attention to changes within North Korea.

Experts analyze this as an attempt to shift the focus of idolization to Kim Jong Un himself, reducing the intensity of idolization and deification of predecessors like Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il.

North Korean media primarily used softened expressions like the 4.15 and April holidays instead of the term Day of the Sun for Kim Il Sung’s birthday on April 15.

The term Day of the Sun is hard to find in promotional materials and celebrations throughout North Korea.

On the 14th, Rodong Sinmun reported that Mangyongdae, where Kim Il Sung was born, has been referred to as a patriotic shrine instead of the previous shrine of the sun, indicating a move to erase the legacy of past leaders.

The fact that not only Kim Jong Un but also high-ranking officials did not pay homage to the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun on Kim Il Sung’s birthday is interpreted in a similar context.

Although Kim did not visit the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun in 2020 and 2022, it’s unprecedented in the Kim Jong Un regime that even the officials excluded the homage schedule.

The idolization project for Kim Jong Un of North Korea began in earnest last year (2023).

The first mosaic mural of Kim appeared in the capital, Pyongyang, last year.

At the time, this was interpreted as a clear statement that Kim had joined the ranks of his grandfather and father, the previous leaders, and was stepping up his idolization.

In March of last year, the Korean Central News Agency reported that a large mosaic mural of Kim had been installed at the Mangyongdae Revolutionary Academy in Pyongyang, and a completion ceremony was held.

Kim showed off his power in the completion ceremony through the idolization project as Ri Il Hwan, the party’s Propaganda and Agitation Department (PAD)director, and high-ranking administrators, faculty members, and others participated.

Mosaic murals began to be installed across North Korea for propaganda purposes in the early 2000s during the Kim Jong Il regime. They primarily featured his father, Kim Il Sung. Now, the number of murals of Kim Jong Un is increasing.

In October 2022, a mural depicting Kim breaking ground at the completion ceremony of the Yeonpo Greenhouse Farm in South Hamgyong Province was first spotted, drawing attention.

Four months later, as reported by Korean Central TV, another mural depicting Kim looking at farm plants alone appeared at a greenhouse farm in North Hamgyong Province, signaling a change in the atmosphere.

At the time, Yang Moo Jin, President of the University of North Korean Studies, evaluated that “Kim Jong Un of North Korea is trying to show the people that he has ascended to the level of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il in all fields including politics, economy, and military, and intends to have as much power as the previous leaders.”

Meanwhile, Kim Jong Un appears to be seriously preparing to continue the fourth-generation succession. Recently, he has been exposing his child, Kim Ju Ae, to the media by accompanying her to official events.

North Korea has been under economic pressure for a long time due to UN sanctions against the country, and the financial difficulties continue inside the country after the COVID-19 pandemic.

As discontent with the regime grows among North Koreans, Kim Jong Un is intensifying the fourth-generation succession by using his child to protect his regime.

Earlier this year, North Korean media reported that Kim and his beloved child visited the completion and operation ceremony, saying, “Kim Jong Un Comrade visited the completion and operation ceremony with his beloved child,” and continued, “The great people of the Hyangdo toured the Kangdong Comprehensive Greenhouse with the party, government, and military officials.”

At the time, experts focused on the term Hyangdo in the plural form, speculating that the media used the same terminology for Kim Ju Ae as Kim Jong Un, thus highlighting North Korea’s strengthening of the fourth-generation succession.