The Most Insane North Korea Story You'll Hear 🤯
A North Korean defector or insider describes the extreme cult of personality surrounding the Kim family in North Korea. Citizens are required to treat portraits of the Kim leaders as sacred objects, prioritizing them over their own family members' safety. Failure to protect these portraits can result in three generations of a family being punished.
Summary
In this brief but striking clip, a speaker with firsthand knowledge of North Korea describes the deeply enforced cult of personality surrounding the Kim family regime. Every newspaper front page features a portrait of a Kim leader, and citizens are forbidden from folding or placing anything on top of these images, as the portrait must be treated as though it were the actual 'Dear Leader' in person.
Every household in North Korea is required to display portraits of the dictators. In the event of a house fire, the father's first obligation is not to save his children or wife, but to rescue the portraits of the leaders. This is not merely cultural pressure — it is enforced through severe punishment. If a portrait is damaged, the entire family across three generations can face punishment from the state.
The speaker also describes how the regime actively glorifies those who sacrifice their lives to protect these portraits. Stories of 'heroes' who died shielding a portrait with their own bodies are taught to citizens, and such a death is considered the most honorable way to die in North Korea. Dying for the leader is framed as the highest form of sacrifice a citizen can make.
Key Insights
- The speaker explains that North Korean citizens are forbidden from folding newspapers or placing anything on top of a Kim portrait, as the image must be treated as if it were the actual Dear Leader present in person.
- The speaker states that every home in North Korea is required to display portraits of the dictators, making the cult of personality a mandatory fixture of private life.
- The speaker claims that in the event of a house fire, a father's first duty is to save the portraits of the Kim leaders — not his children or wife — because protecting the regime's image takes legal and cultural precedence over family.
- The speaker reveals that if a portrait of a Kim leader is damaged, the punishment extends across three generations of the responsible family, illustrating the regime's use of collective punishment as a control mechanism.
- The speaker describes how North Korean citizens are taught stories of heroes who died physically shielding Kim portraits with their bodies, and that dying to protect the leader is officially celebrated as the most honorable death possible.
Topics
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