Kim Jong-un’s Mother: Born in Japan
The Asahi has an article up about the life of Ko Young-hee, the mother of North Korea’s next leader. It tells the story of her father, Ko Tae Mun, leaving Jeju in the pre-war years and coming to live in the Tsuruhashi area of Osaka. She was born in that area in 1953.
In the 1950’s, Ko Tae Mun created a wrestling association and tried to become a successful pro wrestler. The association and his career flopped, so he took his family to North Korea in 1961. At the request of Great Leader Kim Il-sung, he became the head of the DPRK’s judo association, training North Korean athletes how to beat evil foreigners in international sporting competitions. Ko’s daughter was able to join a prominent dance troupe, through which she was given the opportunity to meet and become a consort of Kim Jong-il.
The North Korean government is in the process of creating a mythical story about the birth and childhood of Kim Jong-un. There is no place in such a story for a mother who was born in Japan, and a grandfather who was a failed professional wrestler. It seems that the propaganda machine will do its best to cover-up those embarrassing details:
What could be included in the legend is the fact that Ko Tae Mun was born in Jeju. In 1948, islanders clashed with the right-wing South Korean authorities. The conflict resulted in numerous fatalities, and some islanders fled to Japan.
In around 2003, a TV drama about the incident was broadcast in North Korea. That was at a time when Ko Young Hee’s political influence was growing.
A former high-ranking Chongryon official said a legend about Kim Jong Un could be created along the following story line:
“Ko Tae Mun carried on the will of Jeju islanders who fought bravely under the guidance of Kim Il Sung. After fleeing to Japan, he returned to North Korea to be embraced by the greatness of Kim. Ko gave up his life to serve as a soldier for Kim. Kim Jong Un would be an individual who carried on the great revolutionary bloodline from Jeju.”
Tsuruhashi would have no place within that legend.
A source in the Korean community in Japan said, “Ko Tae Mun’s relatives still live in Osaka. They are not involved with Chongryon. Even if you talked to them, they will tell you nothing. They have been told to keep quiet by North Korea.”
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