I find it almost unimaginable that a place as evil, backwards, and totalitarian as North Korea can exist in the 21st Century. But it does. Though the West doesn’t have access to much information about it, the thousands of North Korean defectors have told information about what life in North Korea is like. The defectors all tell stories of horrific abuse and poverty and fear.
CNN.com has a report on one of Kim Jong Il’s former bodyguard. He tried to escape several years ago, but he was arrested and thrown in a prison camp. He finally escaped to South Korea, and he works there.
In the article, he describes his physical training. But, unsurprisingly, the training involved a tremendous amount of brainwashing.
A large part of the training, he claims, is ideological brainwashing. Lee says he was trained to believe Kim Jong Il was a god — and that the only reason he was born was to serve and protect the “Dear Leader.”
I’ve long heard that the North Korean government has taught the people that the rulers are gods. But I’ve always wondered if the rulers actually believe that. Does Kim Jong Un think that he is a god? Or do they find it a useful myth?
Whatever the answer is –– and the former bodyguard doesn’t say –– the dynasty rules through fear. Even (or maybe I should write, “especially”) the senior advisors fear them.
“When Kim Jong Il would arrive in his vehicle, 60- to 70-year old advisors would run away and throw themselves onto the grass. They had dust on their clothes but they wanted to hide from him,” says Lee.
“They are scared because even when he was happy he would be rude and could chop off their heads.”
He remembers a senior official who once used Kim Jong Il’s private elevator and ashtray. When Kim found out, he sent him to a concentration camp — where the man died.
The sooner this dynasty is toppled, the better. I hope and pray that that day is near. Unfortunately, the persecuted people of North Korea still have to deal with this evil dynasty. Even worse, Kim Jong Il’s former bodyguard thinks that the current ruler, Kim Jong Un, is the most violent of the dynasty.
But he is worried that Kim Jong Un may be the worst of all. “Kim Jong Un ended up killing his uncle, who even Kim Jong Il could not kill,” said Lee.
You can read the entire article here: North Korean defector: ‘I was Kim Jong Il’s bodyguard’.
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