Poetry, Music, Effeminacy: Why Kim Jong-il Rejected His Elder Sons

By Amrutha Gayathri | December 23 2011 6:07 AM

Kim Jong-un, the heir apparent of North Korea and the youngest son of the dead tyrant Kim Jong-il, is already on the way to becoming the great successor, inheriting all that made his father an unquestioned leader.

REUTERS/KBS

A still image taken from a Korean Broadcasting System video and provided by the Kyodo news agency, shows a man reported by the network to be Kim Jong Chul, the middle son of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, at an Eric Clapton concert in Singapore on February 14, 2011. Kim is an avid Clapton fan according to South Korean media.

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Jong-un issued his first military order shortly after the death of his father, in an act displaying his authority over the reclusive nation's armed forces. Prior to announcing the news of his father's death on Monday, he ordered all military units to stop field exercises and training and return to their bases.

But why did Jong-il choose his youngest son Jong-un as his successor, passing over his elder sons Kim Jong-nam and Kim Jong-chul? Apparently Jong-il disliked his older sons due to their gentle natures coupled with their interest in music and literature.

Kenji Fujimoto, Jong-il's personal sushi chef, wrote in his memoir, I Was Kim Jong-il's Cook, that Jong-il thought his middle son Jong-chul was no good because he is like a little girl. Jong-chul made headlines in the Koreas when he was spotted in Singapore on Valentine's Day at an Eric Clapton's concert.

Jong-chul, who also wrote poetry occasionally, didn't share his father's authoritarian mentality, which is apparent in one of his poem obtained by the Newsweek.

If I had my ideal world I would not allow weapons and atom bombs any more.

I would destroy all terrorists with the Hollywood star Jean-Claude van Damme.

I would make people stop taking drugs.

I would even destroy the word DRUG to make people forget about it.

I would make everybody get good jobs.

Everybody would be happy: no more war, no more dying, no more crying.

Then I would make a rule (Do not believe in God.) God doesn't help and there is no God.

I would make people believe in themselves, and they would work hard for their happiness and success waiting in their future.

I would make the whole world use only one language, which would be Korean, and I would make all people have the same amount of money: no rich people, no poor people.

Only in my ideal world can the people have freedom and live very happily.

Kim Jong-il's eldest son Jong-nam was supposed to be his heir until 2001, but after he was detained in Tokyo in 2001 for using a fake Dominican passport, Jong-il swiftly took the decision to shun him in favor of the youngest son. Jong-nam, who is overweight and diabetic, later told the media that he had no interest in politics.