
Kim Jong Il's Grandson Gives an Interview - jellyksong
http://blogs.wsj.com/korearealtime/2012/10/18/kim-jong-ils-grandson-gives-tv-interview/
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danielna
I don't know if I'm more surprised by his English fluency, earrings or open-
mindedness. To be honest I'm kind of worried for his safety after giving an
interview like this... given what he's saying and his general demeanor,
something makes me doubt it was vetted through "official" North Korean
sources.

And in response to "propaganda comments" on the article, as a Korean American
I know that the strongest sentiment in Korea is still towards unification.
I've never understood that (and still don't, to some degree) but watching this
video gives me a glimpse of that. When I hear this kid speak, I see me. It
leaves me unexpectedly hopeful for the future.

~~~
jsnk
His safety is not at risk.

Kim Jong-nam is the father of Kim Han Sol and he's long been a critic of North
Korean regime. He still lives with massive state handout safe and sound.

~~~
w1ntermute
> Following a much-publicized botched attempt to secretly enter Japan using a
> fake passport and visit Disneyland in May 2001, he was thought to have
> fallen out of favor with his father.[0]

I'm surprised Kim Jong-nam's been left alone.

0: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Jong-nam>

~~~
Volpe
Could it be that some of the propaganda we hear about North Korea is
propaganda!?

------
ericdykstra
He's really composed and well-spoken for a 17 year old, and I'm not just
talking about his English fluency. I was also impressed by how mature he
sounded when talking about his future plans; taking things step-by-step, and
wanting to volunteer and become a humanitarian worker before working on
uniting Korea and contributing to world peace.

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richardlblair
I don't really know where my opinion falls with this interview. The young man
seems to be cognizant of his family's wrong doing, but as some have said this
could all just be a media stunt.

What I do know is that this young man has inherited a horrific past, and if
what he said in the interview is true he is attempting to make up for it. That
is all any of us can do. People are born into situations, and that isn't
anyones fault. It's what we do with that situation that matters.

I hope for his sake, and North Korea's sake that he is able to follow through
with the goals and dreams that he shared.

~~~
jonnathanson
If this isn't a media setup of some sort, you can bet that it will be pretty
soon.

I'm going to take a wild guess that this kid will be the following things by
the end of 2013: TED speaker, bestselling author, Anderson Cooper guest, a
regular fixture on magazine "Most Intriguing People of 2012/2013" lists;
short-liat candidate for Time Magazine's Person of the Year.

I don't mean to be cynical, but we can all smell the media frenzy about to
descend on him. And, while I applaud his speaking out against the horrors of
his family dynasty, I have to keep in mind that a) he's been living a
luxurious, sheltered existence in Macau on the ill-gotten gains that dynasty
secured, and b) he has virtually nothing to lose by going public, as his
father was disinherited from the dynastic succession a few years ago. (One
wonders if he wouldn't be toeing the Kim party line, were he the next heir
apparent to the Supreme Leadership).

All of that being said, I do share your sincere hope that he can, in some way,
be a catalyst for change and improvement in the conditions of the North Korean
people. He does seem to be sincere in his desire to effect change, and as
such, I am forced to shelve my cynicism if he has any hope whatsoever of being
an agent for that change.

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robotico
Kim Han Sol? Seriously, Lil' Kim the Illest was a huge movie buff, I wonder if
that played a part in his naming?

He speaks English quite a bit better than his interviewer. He sounds like an
American.

~~~
tibbon
I too noticed that his English is absolutely perfect. If I met him at a coffee
shop here I'd assume he was born and raised in the US.

Its equally interesting that Elisabeth Rehn's English is so heavily accented,
as I have a general perception that Europeans are generally excellent at
English (I've met several Germans and Swedes that I couldn't hear any accent
on at all), especially someone of her background.

Definitely off topic, but interesting to note. Just shows how my perceptions
and assumptions can be very wrong. Great interview.

~~~
opminion
Accents are complicated, but as a general rule, you end up stuck with whatever
your brain has learned by age 14. Stephen Pinker has a story about Henry
Kissinger and his brother moving to the US just before and after that
threshold, one having a German accent and the other doesn't.

Most foreigners never lose their accent, while children of non-native speakers
learn the local language without their parents' accent. Natives of Germanic
languages, as someone else pointed out, tend to be better at English than
natives of Romance languages. And some native Greeks can speak with such a
perfect Spanish accent that when their vocabulary lags behind they sound
slightly aphasic (until they tell you that they are actually learning the
language).

It also depends education: Portugal and Greece used subtitles on tv whereas
France, Spain and Germany usually dub foreign films. This makes a difference
between the students from those nationalities one encounters, say, in Britain.

I know of a Japanese whose Spanish, learned in a couple of years as an adult,
has far less Japanese accent than his English, learned and practiced since
primary school.

And now that I'm at it: as with the deaf/mute confusion, when teaching, or
just speaking, to a non-native speaker, remember that, rather than having a
sticky tongue, they might just not be able to hear the sounds you are saying.
This causes much frustration because you repeat the same word ten times,
assuming that they can hear the difference, but they cannot. The solution is
to point out explicitly in which sound the difference occurs.

Apologies for the dogmatic speech, it's the foreign-sounding generalisation _I
have a general perception that Europeans are generally excellent at English_
that triggered it :-)

~~~
kahawe
> _you end up stuck with whatever your brain has learned by age 14_

I very strongly doubt this is true and I must object because this holds up the
old alleged "fact" that at a certain age "you're just too old" to learn
something new and I detest this with a passion.

Off the top of my head, Gary Marcus' "Guitar Zero" does an excellent job of
de-bunking this.

~~~
gnarbarian
This is a fact for many brain functions like vision for example. If you are
born with a ocular birth defect and your eyes are not surgically corrected
early enough after birth you will be blind for life.
<http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Critical_period>

~~~
kahawe
We were talking accents and ability to learn new languages or skills here, not
birth defects - the one doesn't have anything to do with the other unless it
is a form of direct speech impediment....

~~~
gnarbarian
I mentioned the birth defect as simply an example of how they discovered there
is a critical developmental period for vision.

As far as critical developmental periods for people without birth defects,
there are many accounts of feral children that were never able to learn
speech. There really is evidence for a critical developmental period for
speech functions.

<http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Critical_period#section_1>

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dmix
He's 17 years old, studying in Bosnia and uses social media:

> In various posted messages on YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter, he expressed
> guilt for his family’s role in the suffering of the North Korean people.

~~~
arbuge
So what does he plan to do about that?

~~~
slurgfest
Say European-sounding things in an American-sounding accent and mention South
Korean friends often, then help the North Korean regime garner more
international aid in the times that they are not launching missiles in the
direction of neighbors.

Sorry - what I meant to say is 'volunteer and help the people of his country'.

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valhallarecords
His ability to speak English is not exactly the most important thing here...
Lots of people can speak English, especially those coming from affluent
families.

~~~
eloisant
Yes, he probably went to an international school in Macau, any kid in this
case would be fluent in English.

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whatshisface
If you look at the comments on the article, they are 4 out of 6 Korean
propaganda. (at the time I wrote this comment)

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arbuge
North Koreans seem to like studying overseas in off-the-beaten-track places.
I'm from Malta - Kim Jong Il was there to learn English once. It's a tourist
mecca now, but was a bit quieter then.

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drumdance
I only listened for a second but also was impressed with his English

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adlep
He seems like a very articulate and positive young man.

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adacosta
He sounds like he's from southern california.

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wilfra
I'm surprised people don't immediately recognize this for what it almost
certainly is: a calculated attempt by the North Korean government to
manipulate the media and foreign governments. Perhaps the word manipulate is a
bit strong because the goal may very well be to improve relations, but to
think that this wasn't vetted and planned by the North Korean leadership is a
bit silly. The family wouldn't go to great lengths to keep a low profile for
so long only to have a 17-year old randomly give an interview like this - and
risk being cutoff financially or even barred from the country/arrested etc.
The answer to his question about the plight of the poor people in his country
being removed is a huge clue that this is what is going on.

Personally I applaud this effort and I hope we see more of it - and it would
be great for this young man to go to North Korea and work as a diplomat or
something. But people should see this and future actions from him for what
they are - carefully crafted maneuvers by the North Korean government.

~~~
w1ntermute
I'm not sure how this can be construed as "a calculated attempt by the North
Korean government to manipulate the media and foreign governments". The kid
looks and dresses like a South Korean boy band member and just called his
relatives dictators...seems to me that doesn't do anything other than get egg
all over the North Korean government's face.

~~~
slurgfest
The interviewer introduces the word dictator. He goes along, but doesn't
actually make any criticisms - pretty much all he says of substance is that he
wants peace and unification, which are not particularly 'South Korean' ideas.
If a similar film had been made with the current leader 20 years ago, I
wouldn't be surprised at all.

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kahawe
> _He’s clearly an articulate, balanced and confident young man, completely at
> ease in English._

Why is everyone so surprised that his English is excellent and that he is very
confident? His clan pretty much owns and runs a whole country and rulers and
their families generally have everything available to them, in every
dictatorship all around the world since the beginning of time. Including the
best modern education available.

If anything, it is surprising how outspoken he is against the regime and
thereby his own family and the entitlement that allowed him to be where he is
now but then again, "quod licet iovi, non licet bovi" and sons typical hold a
special value anyway.

~~~
hobbes
Have you seen the film "The King's Speech"?

King George VI must have led a deprived and impoverished life to be so
insecure and inarticulate in public. ;)

In a smaller arena, some of the CEO's I have worked under have shown signs in
insecurity also. So, I don't think confidence necessarily comes from power and
wealth.

~~~
mikeash
He is not saying that he _must_ have these attributes given his background,
only that it is not a surprise if he has them.

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nsoldiac
Is anybody else excited that the future hope of North Korea is one letter away
from being called Kim 'Han Solo'?? Awesome.

~~~
vidarh
"Future hope" is a bit of an exaggeration. He's the son of the current leaders
- Kim Jong-Un - older half-brother, who was passed over as the heir of King
Jong-Il, possibly in part due to being too westernized, and who has lived in
exile for years. Any realistic prospect of Kim Han-Sol playing any leading
role in North Korea would hinge on very substantial political changes in the
regime, or on Kim Jong-Un losing the support of the army.

