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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>According to <i><span style='font-style:
italic'>A Sightseeing Guide to Korea</span></i>, published in Pyongyang in
1991, “On the hill [Mansu Hill] is the Mansudae Grand Monument. the bronze
statue to President kim Il Sung, memorials and mosaic murals. The monument was
erected in April 1972 on the occasion of the 60<sup>th</sup> birthday of
President Kim Il Sung.”. The book also has a picture. Another picture appears
in the illustrated book, <i><span style='font-style:italic'>Pyongyang</span></i>,
published in 1990. In his book, <i><span style='font-style:italic'>Kim Il Sung:
The North Korean Leader</span></i>, published in 1988, Suh Dae-sook also gives
the date as April 1972. He notes that the statue stands on the spot where “a
shrine was erected during the Japanese occupation for worship of the deified
Japanese emperors.” The statue is also shown on a 40 <i><span style='font-style:
italic'>chon</span></i> stamps issued on 15 April 1973.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>Holiday greetings to all<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>Jim Hoare<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=2 face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Tahoma;font-weight:bold'>From:</span></font></b><font size=2
face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Tahoma'> Koreanstudies
[mailto:koreanstudies-bounces@koreaweb.ws] <b><span style='font-weight:bold'>On
Behalf Of </span></b>don kirk<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Sent:</span></b> 20 December 2012 23:46<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>To:</span></b> kwlarsen67@gmail.com; Korean
Studies Discussion List<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Subject:</span></b> Re: [KS] Gold leaf on the
Kim Il Sung statue in the Mansudae GrandMonument?</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>I thought that statue was erected after the Great
Leader's death in 1994 -- don't recall being led there for the usual
flower-laying and bowing when first in Pyongyang in 1992. Was back in 1995
when I saw the statue for the first time -- before trooping into the huge
building in back (I should know its name but don't) and seeing his embalmed
body under glass. (The body is now across the river in Kumsusan beside
that of his son.) The statue was definitely bronze-coated at the time -- I
suspect the bronze is on top of cement or concrete -- not gold. Incidentally,
I know what gold leaf looks like on soaring monuments -- think of the flaming
torch on Merdeka Square in Jakarta where I arrived in 1965. Gleaming in the
sun. Not so this one of Kim Il-sung.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>Don Kirk<br>
<br>
--- On <b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Thu, 12/20/12, Kirk Larsen <i><span
style='font-style:italic'><kwlarsen67@gmail.com></span></i></span></b>
wrote:<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><br>
From: Kirk Larsen <kwlarsen67@gmail.com><br>
Subject: Re: [KS] Gold leaf on the Kim Il Sung statue in the Mansudae Grand
Monument?<br>
To: "Ruediger Frank" <ruediger.frank@univie.ac.at><br>
Cc: koreanstudies@koreaweb.ws<br>
Date: Thursday, December 20, 2012, 12:19 PM<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<div id=yiv145441767>
<p class=yiv145441767msonormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>Rudiger’s comments both illuminate and complicate
the gold leaf statue story somewhat.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=yiv145441767msonormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=yiv145441767msonormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>It is definitely the case that DPRK rhetoric is
filled with stories of the benevolence of its leaders and their constant
desire to share the meals, working conditions, and lifestyles of the average
citizen. Kim Il Sung was renowned for this and there were at least some
attempts to cast Kim Jong Il in the same light (c.f., the “Story of the
Returned Boots” being taught to schoolchildren and teachers alike in the film
<i><span style='font-style:italic'>North Korea: A Day in the Life</span></i>).
This impulse is arguably consistent with the socialist aim of leveling and
creating a classless society (more than a little paradoxical in the land of <i><span
style='font-style:italic'>sŏngbun</span></i>). It also echoes at least some
older traditional Korean/Confucian practices. I am reminded of King Sejong
mourning his mother: <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=yiv145441767msonormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=yiv145441767msonormal style='margin-left:36.0pt'><font size=2
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:10.0pt'>“It was the hottest
season of the year but he discarded his softer yo (mattress) and used only a
rough mat to lie on. Those about him placed oil-paper beneath lest the
dampness should harm him, but he refused it and had it taken away.”</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=yiv145441767msonormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=yiv145441767msonormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>But the original question of whether there actually
was gold leaf on Kim’s statue at one point remains unanswered. It seems to me
that there are a couple of possibilities here:<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=yiv145441767msonormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>--there was gold leaf but it was later removed. This
may have been for cosmetic reasons (too shiny), ideological reasons (Kim
wanted to burnish (pun intended) his “man of the people” image), or for more
practical reasons (desire to keep Chinese aid flowing), or some combination
of the above. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=yiv145441767msonormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>--there never was gold leaf but the regime either
tolerated or actively encouraged the story of loyal and respectful workers
calling for gold leaf only to be gently declined by the magnanimous Kim Il
Sung. If so, perhaps the story of Chinese criticism was added later by
critics of the regime. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=yiv145441767msonormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=yiv145441767msonormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>If the reality is that there never was gold leaf on
the Kim statue, this raises some interesting questions about the credulity of
the largely foreign North Korea-watching and commenting community. How many
other things have we gotten wrong but continue to repeat and recirculate
simply because the stories are too good, too lurid, too engaging to pass up.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=yiv145441767msonormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=yiv145441767msonormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>On the other hand, one could make an argument that
even if the actual story isn’t “true” in the sense of actually having
happened, it still conveys deeper “truths” about the nature of the DPRK
regime and its leadership: cult of personality, pragmatic and calculating
concession-seeking, etc. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=yiv145441767msonormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=yiv145441767msonormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>Will the real North Korea please stand up?<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=yiv145441767msonormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=yiv145441767msonormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>Cheers,<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><br>
Kirk Larsen <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>On Thu, Dec 20, 2012 at 1:49 AM, Ruediger Frank <<a
href="/mc/compose?to=ruediger.frank@univie.ac.at" target="_blank"
ymailto="mailto:ruediger.frank@univie.ac.at">ruediger.frank@univie.ac.at</a>>
wrote:<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>Dear Kirk,<br>
I have no photo of the golden one, but the story I was told by the NKs about
20 years ago was slightly different: that the workers (sic!) originally
wanted to have it covered in gold leaf, but the great leader, in his typical
humbleness, insisted on "simple" bronze. Of course I don't know
whether this was a mere ex-post modification of the official
"text". In any case, it would correspond well with the ages-old
ideal (rarely achieved) that rulers "go down" to the people and
lead a "simple" life. North Korean literature and art is full of
examples; just think of the often told and pictured story at the Ch'òllima
steelworks (<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/josephferris76/6974483452/"
target="_blank">http://www.flickr.com/photos/josephferris76/6974483452/</a>)
where the leader refused to sit on a chair and rather sat on a piece of
debris (which is now preserved as a national treasure). Funny, in the 1970s
in the Soviet Union I heard similar anecdotes about Lenin. Speaking of
historical precedents, isn't there also a section in Ch'angdòkgung (the
yòn'gyòngdang residence, I believe) where the Korean king occasionally took
upon himself the alleged hardship of leading a "simple" life?<br>
Another, different story I heard was rather technical: that the original
golden statue reflected the light too strongly. In 1991, the statue was for
sure bronze. But there are list members who visited the country earlier, so
perhaps they can help.<br>
Cheers,<br>
Rudiger<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><br>
<br>
on Donnerstag, 20. Dezember 2012 at 00:27 you wrote:<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>Hello all,<br>
<br>
I have often heard it said that the mammoth Kim Il Sung statue that long
graced the Mansudae Grand Monument (before recently being updated and
placed side by side with a similarly large statue of Kim Jong Il) was
originally covered in gold leaf. But, as the story usually goes, an
expression of distaste by a visiting PRC official (sometimes Deng Xiaoping,
sometimes someone else) and a threat to reduce Chinese aid to the DPRK
resulted in the gold leaf being removed. <br>
<br>
My question is whether anyone has seen or has access to a photograph of the
original gold-plated version of the statue? My cursory fumbling around the
web has not resulted in any such image. I am beginning to wonder whether
the story is actually true (and whether perhaps some early visitors mistook
the new, shiny bronze for gold?). <br>
<br>
Any experts able and willing to weigh in on this? <br>
<br>
Cheers,<br>
<br>
-- <br>
Kirk W. Larsen <br>
Department of History<br>
Assistant Director, Academic Programs and Research<br>
David M. Kennedy Center for International Studies<br>
2151 JFSB<br>
BYU<br>
Provo, UT 84602-6707<br>
(801) 422-3445<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><font size=3
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<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><br>
<br clear=all>
<br>
-- <br>
Kirk W. Larsen <br>
Department of History<br>
Assistant Director, Academic Programs and Research<br>
David M. Kennedy Center for International Studies<br>
2151 JFSB<br>
BYU<br>
Provo, UT 84602-6707<br>
(801) 422-3445<br>
<br>
<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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