[KS] Divinity of the Kims?

[Michael Rank]

KCNA urges people to "absolutely worship" KJI, if that doesn't amount  
to  attributing divine powers I don't know what does. See for example  
KCNA Oct 10, 2002:

Papers run editorials to mark 57th anniversary of WPK
All the party members, servicepersons and people should cherish the  
absolute worship for Kim Jong Il, get united closer around him,  
devotedly carry out his idea and line and uphold his army-based  
policy...

Go to the very useful NK News http://www.nk-news.net/index.php for  
plenty more examples (mainly around 2002).

Michael Rank

> -----Original Message-----
>  From: Kirk Larsen <kwlarsen67 at gmail.com>
>  To: Korean Studies Discussion List <koreanstudies at koreaweb.ws>
>  Sent: Sat, 13 Feb 2010 0:55
>  Subject: [KS] Divinity of the Kims?
>
>  Hello all,
>
>  Having recently read and thoroughly enjoyed B.R. Myers book, The  
> Cleanest Race, I am writing to enlist your collective wisdom  
> concerning one of Myers' interesting and provocative claims: he argues  
> that the DPRK regime does not attribute divine powers or  
> characteristics to its leaders, either Kim Il Sung or Kim Jong Il.  
> Specifically:
>
>  “No matter what some American Christian Groups might claim, divine  
> powers have never been attributed to either of the two Kims” (Myers,  
> Cleanest Race, 13).
>
>  This claim got me to thinking and poking around, the results of which  
> I've put up on my blog  
> (http://kwlhistorymatters.blogspot.com/2010/02/not-so-divine- 
> kims.html) but while I have been able to find a few examples of claims  
> of, if not quite divinity, certainly claims of the remarkable and  
> supernatural, more generally, I find myself agreeing with Myers that  
> the fantastical claims are not the norm in DPRK propaganda.
>
>  My query to the experienced, erudite, and talented group that  
> subscribe to this list is: does anyone know of specific, credible  
> evidence to the contrary? In other words, any unequivocal examples of  
> the DPRK regime claiming divinity for its founder and present ruler?
>
>  Cheers,
>
>  --
>  Kirk W. Larsen
>  Department of History
>  2151 JFSB
>  BYU
>  Provo, UT 84602-6707
>  (801) 422-3445
>