What are your guys' thoughts on Kim Jong Un actually being a puppet under someone else's control?
Some people think his Aunt, a NK four-star General, is the real power dictating things, along with maybe the uncle.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/asia/8599855/The-power-couple-behind-Kim-Jong-Un
An interesting article, thanks for posting it.
Trouble is, North Korea is notoriously opaque, difficult to penetrate and to understand, and much of the scuttlebutt in the article comes from defectors, who may have an axe to grind. That said, the article is still informative and helpful in understanding some of complexities.
Many sources over the decades point to underlying conflicts and tensions between long standing factions in the army and in the KWP (Korean Workers Party). These are probably behind recent stories of running gunbattles on the streets of Pyongyang and rumors of coups d'etat. Kim Jong Un is certainly a player in all this, perhaps even a secondary player, although it would likely be unwise to say he is a puppet.
Of Kyong Hui, Kim Il Sung's daughter, the article says in part,
"Kyong Hui's mother died in her 30s in 1948. With Kim Il Sung soon plotting the 1950 Korean War and later remarriage, Kyong Hui and her brother Jong Il were left to form close bonds, according to Hwang Jang Yop, a former Workers' Party secretary and the most senior North Korean to defect.
Hwang was an ideologue who helped Kim Il Sung formulate the country's Juche philosophy that fuses Marxism, extreme nationalism and a call for self sufficiency."
The quote refers to "Juche philosophy", but this is better understood as the state religion in the officially atheist state of North Korea. Kim Il Sung himself is often attributed to be the author of this state religion. GTP readers may like to see a breakdown of religious beliefs in North Korea.
-----------------------from Wikipedia----------------------------
Traditionally religion in North Korea primarily consisted of Buddhism and Confucianism and Korean shamanism. Since the arrival of Europeans in the 18th century, there is a Christian minority. New religions have arisen during the last century, the most prominent one being Cheondoism, based on traditional shamanism. North Korea is officially an atheist state in which much of the population is nonreligious.[2][3] North Korea sees organised religious activity as a potential challenge to the leadership.[4]
According to Religious Intelligence UK the situation of religion in North Korea is the following:[5]
Irreligion: 15,460,000 (64.3% of population, the vast majority of which are adherents of the Juche philosophy)
Korean Shamanism: 3,846,000 adherents (16% of population)
Cheondoism: 3,245,000 adherents (13.5% of population)
Cheondoism, or spelled Chondoism in North Korean sources[1] (Korean Cheondogyo; hanja 天道教; hangul 천도교; literally "Religion of the Heavenly Way"), is a 20th-century Korean religious movement, based on the 19th century Donghak Confucian movement founded by Choe Je-u and codified under Son Byeong-hui.[2] Cheondoism has its origins in the peasant rebellions which arose starting in 1812 during the Joseon Dynasty. Cheondoism is essentially Confucian in origin, but incorporates elements of Korean nationalism, Taoism and Buddhism. It places emphasis on personal cultivation, this-worldly social welfare, and rejects any notion of an afterlife.
Buddhism: 1,082,000 adherents (4.5% of population)
Christianity: 406,000 adherents (1.7% of population)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_North_Korea
Korean shamanism, today known as Muism (Mugyo, "religion of the Mu")[1][2] or sometimes Sinism (Shingyo, "religion of the gods", with shin being the Korean character derivative of the Hanja),[3] encompasses a variety of indigenous religious beliefs and practices of the Korean people and the Korean sphere.[4] In contemporary South Korea, the most used term is Muism and a shaman is known as a mudang (무당, 巫堂
or Tangol (당골
. The role of the mudang, usually a woman, is to act as intermediary between a spirit entity, spirits or gods and human beings.
Korean shamanism is distinguished by seeking to resolve human problems through a meeting of humanity and the spirits.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_Shamanism
Respectfully,
Steve
