Before this candid interview, I never knew about the
grandson of the late dictator of North Korea and one of the most abhorred tyrants
on earth, Kim Jong-Il.
Then this morning, I read and watch the interview with the teenage grandson of Kim Jong-Il which gives a rare glimpse into growing up in one of the world’s most secretive
nations.
For the purpose of not being lost (for non-North Korean readers) while reading this post, I always mention Kim's full name which is Kim Han-Sol because they all have 'Kim' in their names.
It was reported that Kim
Han-Sol, 17, the son of Kim Jong-Il’s eldest son Kim Jong-Nam, attended a
private high school in Bosnia and Herzegovina on a study visa, but the trail
ran cold on information about him once he deleted or restricted access to all
of his social media accounts.
Kim Jong Nam, who was the heir apparent to succeed Kim Jong Il, at one point, before Kim Jong Un. But according to ForeignPolicy.com, Kim Jong Nam fell out of favor, pushing the boundaries of tolerance of North Korean officials after allegedly trying to defect to Japan.
Kim Han-Sol spoke with former United Nations Under-Secretary General
Elisabeth Rehn, who helped found the United World College in Mostar, where Kim
is a student. The two-part interview was conducted in English for Finnish TV
and uploaded to YouTube on Tuesday.
Kim Han-Sol described his childhood as being
“very isolated” in order to keep a low profile, much of which was spent with
his mother’s family. Kim’s father fell out of favor with the former ruler in
2001 and the family lived in the Chinese territory of Macau.
Kim, who had never met Kim Jong-Il, was curious about him,
like much of the international media, and wanted to find out more about him.
“I always wanted to meet [Kim Jong-Il], because I just
wanted to know what kind of person he is,” Kim said, who hoped that the ruler
would come find him.
Kim Han-Sol called his uncle, North Korea’s new leader Kim Jong-Un,
a “dictator” when asked about him, but he didn’t know about the process. Kim
Jong-Nam told a Japanese journalist in an email exchange that Kim Jong-Un
lacked “any sense of duty or seriousness.”
Kim's mother came from an ordinary North Korean family who
told him to understand the life of regular citizens, he said in the interview.
He grew up isolated in North Korea and didn't have many North Korean childhood
friends, he said.
But when he moved to a school in Macau, he was around youths
from different countries, including the United States and South Korea, which
are in conflict with North Korea. Kim told Rehn that interactions with South
Koreans were initially a bit awkward, but now he has good friends from many
countries.
He said that it was initially awkward meeting students from
South Korea and the U.S. due to the conflicts they have with North Korea, but
they were soon all able to understand each other and he considers them his
friends.
"It was quite an interesting experience throughout the
year having a Libyan roommate," Kim told Rehn. "And especially the
revolution, when it happened he was really enthusiastic about it, and he was
telling me many stories ... how he went home and saw different Libya. ... It
was really interesting. At the end of the day, we all have very similar core
human values,” Kim said.
He also expressed a wish to become involved with voluntary
and humanitarian work after he finished school, especially at home.
“I’ve always dreamed that one day I would go back [to North
Korea] and make things better and make it easier for the people there,” Kim
said.
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