Succession Patterns And The Kim Dynasty
In the Name of the Father,
Son, and Grandson:
Succession Patterns and the Kim Dynasty
Virginie Grzelczyk
Nottingham Trent University
The Journal of Northeast Asian History
Volume 9 Number 2 (Winter 2012), 33-68
Copyright © 2012 by the Northeast Asian History Foundation. All Rights Reserved.
No portion of the contents may be reproduced in any form without written permission of the Northeast Asian History Foundation.
In the Name of the Father, Son, and Grandson:
Succession Patterns and the Kim Dynasty
This paper seeks to understand North Korea’s Kim Il Sung to Kim Jong Il and Kim
Jong Il to Kim Jong Un’s hereditary transition by proposing a comparative analysis of several dictatorship families. The paper utilizes totalitarian …show more content…
Keywords: hereditary successions, political families, dictatorship, North Korea,
Kim Jong Il, Kim Jong Un
In the Name of the Father,
Son, and Grandson:
Succession Patterns and the Kim Dynasty
Virginie Grzelczyk
Nottingham Trent University
Introduction
In the summer of 2008, several media outlets started to worry about the growing lack of new footage of North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il, who had come to power in 1994 upon his father’s death. Kim Jong Il had suffered from a stroke which led him to more visible efforts to organize his political succession, allegedly promoting his third son Kim Jong Un to four-star general status and reshuffling his personal entourage to consolidate his son’s position within the elite. This grooming period was cut rather short by Kim Jong Il’s surprisingly peaceful passing in
December 2011. The Dear Leader’s death now leaves twenty-something
Kim Jong Un as the new commander of the impoverished country, thus
1
The author would like to acknowledge the support of the Korea Foundation Global E-School
Korean Studies Conference organized at Central European University, September 6-8, 2012 in assisting with the publication of this article. The author would also like to thank panel
Son, and Grandson:
Succession Patterns and the Kim Dynasty
Virginie Grzelczyk
Nottingham Trent University
The Journal of Northeast Asian History
Volume 9 Number 2 (Winter 2012), 33-68
Copyright © 2012 by the Northeast Asian History Foundation. All Rights Reserved.
No portion of the contents may be reproduced in any form without written permission of the Northeast Asian History Foundation.
In the Name of the Father, Son, and Grandson:
Succession Patterns and the Kim Dynasty
This paper seeks to understand North Korea’s Kim Il Sung to Kim Jong Il and Kim
Jong Il to Kim Jong Un’s hereditary transition by proposing a comparative analysis of several dictatorship families. The paper utilizes totalitarian …show more content…
Keywords: hereditary successions, political families, dictatorship, North Korea,
Kim Jong Il, Kim Jong Un
In the Name of the Father,
Son, and Grandson:
Succession Patterns and the Kim Dynasty
Virginie Grzelczyk
Nottingham Trent University
Introduction
In the summer of 2008, several media outlets started to worry about the growing lack of new footage of North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il, who had come to power in 1994 upon his father’s death. Kim Jong Il had suffered from a stroke which led him to more visible efforts to organize his political succession, allegedly promoting his third son Kim Jong Un to four-star general status and reshuffling his personal entourage to consolidate his son’s position within the elite. This grooming period was cut rather short by Kim Jong Il’s surprisingly peaceful passing in
December 2011. The Dear Leader’s death now leaves twenty-something
Kim Jong Un as the new commander of the impoverished country, thus
1
The author would like to acknowledge the support of the Korea Foundation Global E-School
Korean Studies Conference organized at Central European University, September 6-8, 2012 in assisting with the publication of this article. The author would also like to thank panel