Before assuming the role as one of the world’s most infamous dictators, North Korea’s Kim Jong-Il was the Harvey Weinstein of the world’s most isolated state, being the head of propaganda and the country’s film studios.
Acting as producer and screenwriter for every movie made, a lack of talented actors or directors to help realise his vision meant drastic steps needed to be taken. So he ordered the kidnapping of Choi Eun-Hee, the most famous starlet in South Korea, and her estranged ex-husband Shin Sang-Ok, the country’s most famous filmmaker.
Their incredible story is documented in Paul Fisher’s new book A Kim Jong-Il Production, and he’ll be filling Sean Moncrieff in on the incredible true story of a kidnapped director, his star wife, and the young despot who rose to power.
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The curious case of Choi and Shin is not the only example of pop culture influencing North Korean leadership, because if it wasn’t for Mickey Mouse, the country could now be under the control of Kim Jong-Nam, the half and illegitimate brother of Supreme Leader Kim Jong-Un.
Nam, the love-child of an illicit affair that Kim Jong-Il had with a star of North Korean cinema Sung Hae-Rim, was long considered the most likely successor to the title Supreme Leader, despite his reputation as a fun-loving playboy who likes gambling, girls and amusement parks.
For it was an awkwardly thought-through attempt to visit Tokyo Disneyland in 2001, using a fake Dominican passport with a fake name (Pang Xiong, Chinese for ‘Fat Bear’), that saw him thrown out of Japan and become the butt of international jokes, costing him the role.
Since then he’s been living in Singapore with his family, making frequently visits to Macau, China’s answer to Las Vegas. Nam seems to love it there, telling South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo “it’s the most free and liberal place.”
"Because I was educated in the West, I was able to enjoy freedom from early age, and I still love being free," Nam allegedly said in a book written by Yoji Gomi, a Japanese journalist who corresponded with him for several years.
His exclusion from the Kim dynasty has seemingly loosened his tongue, allowing him to be far more vocal and critical of the North Korean regime. According to Gomi’s book, he once described the communist state’s practice of hereditary passing down of power through the ruling family “a joke to the outside world,” while also questioning his brother’s maturity to lead North Korea – despite the fact that they have reportedly never met.
Regardless, it is interesting to imagine how differently North Korea might be ruled today if this west-loving Disney-fan had taken over instead?
