Did Kim Hong-il have kids?
Kim Jong-il
His second mistress, Ko Yong-hui, was a Japanese-born ethnic Korean and a dancer. She had taken over the role of First Lady until her deathreportedly of cancerin 2004. They had two sons, Kim Jong-chul (in 1981) and Kim Jong-un, also "Jong Woon" or "Jong Woong" (in 1983). They also had a daughter, Kim Yo-jong, who was about 23 years old in 2012.
Sim Chol-ho
Sim was married with two children. He spoke both Korean and English.
Kim Pyong-il
Kim Pyong-il's rivalry with half-brother Kim Jong-il goes back to the 1970s. In those days, Kim Pyong-il was known as a womaniser who threw raucous parties; sometimes, attendees at these parties would shout, "Long live Kim Pyong-il!". Kim Jong-il knew that this could be portrayed as a threat to the cult of personality surrounding their father Kim Il-sung, and reported the matter; Kim Il-sung was reportedly infuriated, and thus Kim Pyong-il fell out of favour with his father while Kim Jong-il strengthened his position.
Choi Eun-hee
In 1976, Choi divorced Shin after seeing news that he had fathered two children with the young actress Oh Su-mi. Choi's career began to suffer after her divorce, and she traveled to Hong Kong in 1978 to meet with a person posing as a businessman who offered to set up a new film company with her. In Hong Kong, Choi was abducted and taken to North Korea by order of Kim Jong-il. While searching for Choi after her abduction, Shin was also abducted and taken to North Korea soon after.
Hyon Song-wol
Hyon disappeared from public view in 2006 when, according to reports in the Japanese media, she married a North Korean army officer with whom she had a child. She was reported to have known Kim Jong-un, the youngest son of former North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, since they were both teenagers. South Korean government sources told the media that Hyon and Kim Jong-un had been romantically involved in the early 2000s after he returned to North Korea from his studies at a public school in Switzerland. His father reportedly disapproved of the relationship and the younger Kim and Hyon broke it off.
Socialist Women's Union of Korea
She was followed by Kim Sung-ae, the second wife of North Korean leader Kim Il-sung and former vice chairperson of the Union, in 1972. She gave the Union its current, totalitarian form. It is possible that she used her position to promote her sons Kim Pyong-il and Kim Yong-il to succeed Kim Il-sung, as opposed to Kim Jong-il from Kim Il-sung's first marriage. The Union lost much of its importance after Kim Jong-il managed to succeed his father, and Kim Sung-ae resigned her post on 25 April 1998.
Kim Jung-mi (writer)
Kim Jung-mi (; born 1963) is a South Korean writer. She graduated in education from Korea National Open University. She began writing when in 2000 her story Gwaengiburimal a-ideul (괭이부리말 아이들 The Children of Gwaengiburimal) won the grand prize in the Changbi Good Children's Book Contest. She has written children's books "Jongibap" (종이밥 Paper Meal), "Nae dongsaeng ayeongi" (내 동생 아영이 My Little Sister Ayeong), "Ttongbada-e gega sanda" (똥바다에 게가 산다 A Crab Lives in a Sea of Poop), and young adult novels "Modu kkameon" (모두 깜언 Everyone Come On), "Jokeowa na" (조커와 나 The Joker and I), as well as picture books "Yukbeongileul jikyeora ttukttak" (6번길을 지켜라 뚝딱 Let's Protect Road Number 6), and "Moyeora! Uranginhyeonggeukdan!" (모여라! 유랑인형극단! Gather Around! The Travelling Puppet Show!). She has also written "Dasi gileul tteonada" (다시 길을 떠나다 Once Again On the Road), which portrays the life of Mun Jeong-hyeon.
Kim Hak-sun
However, instead of paying them, the Japanese military imprisoned them as sex slaves in a "comfort station" that was a quasi-brothel. She and her friend as well as two others were forced to service a small group of Japanese service men, as well as some other men the Japanese soldiers brought in. She spent four months at two different "comfort stations" in China before meeting a middle-aged Korean man who helped her to escape. He later married her and they had two children, a boy and a girl. By the time Kim came forward with her story, however, her husband and children had died.
Lee Nan-young
She married , a singer, composer and a conductor, in 1937. The couple had seven children, including Sook-ja Kim and Ai-ja Kim of The Kim Sisters. During the Korean War, the family lost their home in the bombing, and Kim Hae-song was captured and killed by the North Korean army. To earn money, Lee and her children sang for the American troops. She later performed in Busan nightclubs with her oldest daughters, Young-ja and Sook-ja.
Eli Kim
On December 4, 2015, Eli announced via instagram that he had been married for over a year, since June 5, 2014, having dated his wife who is a model 11 years his senior, for 5 years. It was also announced that they were expecting a child. His fellow members Soohyun and Kevin took to Twitter to comfort the fans about Eli's shocking marriage news. On December 6, 2015, U-KISS' label NH Media released a statement to clear up some questions. His label said that Eli's marriage won't affect his promotions with U-KISS and he will continue filming his Chinese drama as well. And asked to refrain from leaving hate comments as he will be a father soon. On June 8, 2016, Eli's son, Michael Min-soo Kim was born.
M. K. Rajakumar
Rajakumar was married to Ong Kik Hong and had three children: venture capitalist Datin Sunita Mei-Lin; Kiren Su-Lin in London; and Arjuna, a vice-president at HSBC Hong Kong. He also had one granddaughter.
Kim Jong-il
It was reported that Kim Jong-il had died of a suspected heart attack on 17 December 2011 at 8:30a.m. while travelling by train to an area outside Pyongyang. It was reported in December 2012, however, that he had died "in a fit of rage" over construction faults at a crucial power plant project at Huichon in Jagang Province. He was succeeded by his youngest son Kim Jong-un, who was hailed by the Korean Central News Agency as the "Great Successor". According to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), during his death a fierce snowstorm "paused" and "the sky glowed red above the sacred Mount Paektu" and the ice on a famous lake also cracked so loud that it seemed to "shake the Heavens and the Earth."
Pulgasari
Director Shin had been kidnapped in 1978 by North Korean intelligence on the orders of Kim Jong-il, son of the then-ruling Kim Il-sung, and was coerced into making several films as a director, with "Pulgasari" being his last North Korean film before he and his wife, actress Choi Eun-hee, escaped to the United States.
Unstoppable Marriage (TV series)
Madam Shim has four sons: Ki-baek, Yi-baek, Sam-baek, and Sa-baek. The eldest son, Ki-baek falls in love with Goo Mi-ho, the daughter of Madam Shim's enemy, Goo Gook. Third son Sam-beak becomes friends with Chae Soo-jung, a hotel management student at his mother's hotel, but things become complicated when he and older brother Yi-baek both fall for her. Soo-young and Yu-ri both have a crush on fourth son Sa-baek, but he doesn't return their feelings and constantly ignores them.
It aired on Japanese cable channel KBS Japan in June 2008.
Kim Jong-suk
Kim Jong-suk died in Pyongyang in 1949. The official story is that she died from "the hardships she had endured during the years as a guerrilla fighter." The unofficial story is that she died in childbirth while delivering a stillborn child. Her death, however, is omitted from her official biography. Some say she died from tuberculosis, and there are other stories that she was shot and bled to death.
After Kim Jong il succeeded Kim Il Sung, he began to make his mother, Kim Jong-suk, into "a revolutionary immortal." This campaign created "a holy trinity known as the ‘Three Generals.’" Instead of touting Kim Jong-suk as the quiet woman that she was, she became the heroine of the revolution. The website of the National Democratic Front of South Korea (NDFSK) says she was "a peerless heroine. . . .an anti-Japanese heroine . . . a faithful retainer who faithfully carried out General Kim Il Sung’s [Kim Il-sung] will but also a lifeguard who safeguarded the General of every dangerous movement."
Censorship in North Korea
Kim Jong-il was made commander-in-chief and head of the military affairs commission by his father Kim Il-sung in the spring of 1994. Later that year in July, Kim Il-sung died of a heart attack and Kim Jong-il became the next member of the Kim Dynasty to rule North Korea. Kim Jong-il upheld his father's authoritarian regime and strict censorship. He was known for using military propaganda to distract North Korean citizens from their lack of freedoms and access to outside information. Despite only giving citizens access to hyper-militarized government propaganda, many cell phones and DVDs were obtained illegally under Kim Jong-il.
Kim Ho-jin
He married actress Kim Ji-ho on December 11, 2001 at the Millennium Seoul Hilton Hotel. Their daughter was born on April 8, 2004. The couple met while shooting "More Than Love" in 2000.
Kim Jong-il
Soviet records show that Kim was born Yuri Irsenovich Kim () in 1941 in the village of Vyatskoye, near Khabarovsk, where his father, Kim Il-sung, commanded the 1st Battalion of the Soviet 88th Brigade, made up of Chinese and Korean exiles. Kim Jong-il's mother, Kim Jong-suk, was Kim Il-sung's first wife. Inside his family, he was nicknamed "Yura", while his younger brother Kim Man-il (born Alexander Irsenovich Kim) was nicknamed "Shura".
Kim Won-bong
Kim Won-Bong married twice. His first wife, Choi Dong-seon, died young. After her death, he married Park Cha-jeong. He had two sons and one daughter: Kim Cheol-Geon (김철건), Kim Joong-Geon (김중건) and Kim Hak-Bong (김학봉), respectively. His pen name was "Yaksan" (약산 若山), which means "like a mountain".
Ko Yong-hui
It is thought that Ko and Kim Jong-il first met in 1972. In 1981, Ko gave birth to son Kim Jong-chul, her first child with Kim. It was Kim's third child, after son Kim Jong-nam (born 1971 to Song Hye-rim), and daughter Kim Sol-song (born 1974 to Kim Young-sook). Kim Jong-il's second child with Ko, the present North Korean supreme leader Kim Jong-un, followed one to three years after Jong-chul. Their third child, Kim Yo-jong, a daughter, was believed to be about 23 in 2012. However, the birth year of Kim Yo-jong is also given as 1987.
Workers' Party of Korea
The Kim dynasty began with Kim Il-sung, the first leader of the WPK and North Korea. The official ideology is that the North Korean system functions "well" because it was established by Kim Il-sung, whose successors follow his bloodline. Every child is educated in "the revolutionary history of the Great Leader" and "the revolutionary history of the Dear Leader" (Kim Jong-il). Kim Il-sung's first choice as successor was Kim Yong-ju, his brother, but he later decided to appoint his son Kim Jong-il instead; this decision was formalized at the 6th Congress. Kim Jong-il appointed his youngest son, Kim Jong-un, as his successor at the 3rd WPK Conference in 2010, and his son succeeded him in early 2011. Because of the familial succession and the appointment of family members to high office, the Kim family has been called a dynasty and a royal family. Suh Dae-sook, the author of "Kim Il Sung: The North Korean Leader", notes that "What he [Kim Il-sung] has built in the North however, resembles more a political system to accommodate his personal rule than a communist or socialist state in Korea. It is not the political system he built that will survive him; it is his son [Kim Jong-il], whom he has designated heir, who will succeed his reign." The ruling Kim family in North Korea (Kim Il-sung, Kim Jong-il and Kim Jong-un) has been described as a "de facto" absolute monarchy or "hereditary dictatorship". In 2013, Clause 2 of Article 10 of the new edited Ten Fundamental Principles of the Workers' Party of Korea states that the party and revolution must be carried "eternally" by the "Baekdu( Kim's) bloodline".
Kim Jong-il
On 24 December 1991, Kim was also named Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army. Defence Minister Oh Jin-wu, one of Kim Il-sung's most loyal subordinates, engineered Kim Jong-il's acceptance by the Army as the next leader of North Korea, despite his lack of military service. The only other possible leadership candidate, Prime Minister Kim Il (no relation), was removed from his posts in 1976. In 1992, Kim Il-sung publicly stated that his son was in charge of all internal affairs in the Democratic People's Republic.
Kim Young-ae
Love affair with late Korean actor Shin, Seong-il. "http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/art/2018/11/688_258890.html
"Late actor's professionalism shines"
18 Nov 2018
"In a biography released in 2011, Shin admitted for the first time his love affair and deceased ex-lover, newscaster and actress Kim Young-ae, and her pregnancy."
In 2006, Kim temporarily put her acting career on hold when she became the vice chairman of cosmetics firm Chamtowon, which mainly produces soap and mud packs. Her company filed a lawsuit against state-owned network KBS in 2008, after the program "Consumer Report" falsely reported that Chamtowon's mud-based products contained heavy metals above safe levels. During the eight months after the broadcast, the company went virtually bankrupt, and had to suspend operations at its factory in Jeongeup in North Jeolla Province and lay off 100 workers. After the Korea Food and Drug Administration confirmed that the magnetic substance found in the mud products was oxidized steel originally present in the mud, not foreign materials put in the products during the manufacturing process, the court ruled in favor of Chamtowon, and ordered KBS to release a correction regarding the wrong report. But Chamtowon wasn't able to recover from its financial losses, and the strain contributed to Kim's divorce from her husband.
Choi Jin-sil
In 2000, her marriage to Cho Sung-min received widespread attention in South Korea. Cho was a professional baseball player with the Yomiuri Giants of Japan. They first met on a television show in 1998. Choi gave birth to a son Hwan-Hee (2001) and a daughter Joon-Hee (2003).
Kyeon Mi-ri
Kyeon remarried in 1998, to businessman Lee Hong-heon. They have one son, Lee Ki-baek. Lee Hong-heon legally adopted Kyeon's two daughters from her first marriage, and they took on his surname; Lee Yu-bi and Lee Da-in are both actresses. Kyeon is also a part of the Hwanggan Kyeon clan, which makes her a descendant of Gyeon Hwon, who was the first king of the Hubaekje kingdom, during the Later Three Kingdoms of Korea.
Kim Jong-chul
In 2007, Jong-chul was appointed deputy chief of a leadership division of the Workers' Party of Korea. However, on 15 January 2009, the South Korean Yonhap News Agency reported that Kim Jong-il appointed his youngest son, Jong-un, to be his successor, passing over Jong-nam and Jong-chul.
Korean Air Flight 858
In January 1988, Kim announced at a press conference held by the Agency for National Security Planning, the South Korean secret services agency, that both she and her partner were North Korean operatives. She said that they had left a radio containing 350 grams of C-4 explosive and a liquor bottle containing approximately 700 ml of PLX explosive in an overhead rack in the passenger cabin of the aircraft. Kim expressed remorse at her actions and asked for the forgiveness of the families of those who had died. She also said that the order for the bombing had been "personally penned" by Kim Jong-il, the son of North Korean President Kim Il-sung, who had wanted to destabilize the South Korean government, disrupt its upcoming 1988 parliamentary elections, and frighten international teams from attending the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul later that year. "It is natural that I should be punished and killed a hundred times for my sin," she said. Writing in "The Washington Post" on 15 January 1988, journalist Peter Maass stated that it was not clear to him if Kim was coerced in her remarks or was motivated by remorse for her actions. Kim was subsequently sentenced to execution for the bombing of KAL 858, but she was later pardoned by the President of South Korea, Roh Tae-woo. "The persons who ought to be on trial here are the leaders of North Korea," he said. "This child is as much a victim of this evil regime as the passengers aboard KAL 858."
Kim Hong-il (general)
Kim's objections to the 1965 Treaty on Basic Relations between Japan and the Republic of Korea later led him into further conflict with the Park regime. While the treaty negotiations were ongoing, Kim co-authored a series of op-eds along with Association of Families of Patriotic Martyrs president Koo Sung-suh, former Minister of Justice , Christian philosopher Ham Seok-heon, former prime minister Byeon Yeong-tae, and linguist , which were published on the front page of the "Kyunghyang Shinmun" in February 1965. After the signing of the treaty in June, Kim intensified his public activities in opposition to it. On 27 July, he became a founding member of the Citizens' Council for the Protection of the Fatherland, which aimed to block ratification of the treaty. After he failed to achieve that goal, he issued a statement on behalf of the council calling for the National Assembly to be dissolved and a new general election to be held. Then on 27 August, Kim and ten other Republic of Korea Reserve Forces officers issued another statement calling on the Armed Forces to "maintain political neutrality" in the face of increasing public turmoil relating to the treaty. Two days later, Kim and three co-signers of that statement—former Minister of Defense , former Korean Central Intelligence Agency director , and former minister without portfolio Park Won-bin—were arrested and charged with criminal libel in relation to its contents, and were held at the Seoul Correctional Institute (the former Seodaemun Prison). Further charges of inciting rebellion were laid against the four on 7 September. Kim's three co-defendants were eventually released on ₩50,000 bail on 25 October, while Kim himself was released on the official ground of severe illness.
History of the Workers' Party of Korea
In 1980, the WPK Congress elevated Kim Jong-il to senior positions and publicized his status as heir apparent. Until then, it seemed likely that Kim's successor would be either Oh Jin-wu or Prime Minister Kim Il (not related to Kim Il-sung). In fact, it seems that Kim Il-sung had always planned that his son would succeed him, and had been advancing him within the Army (the real source of power in the DPRK) since 1974. Kim Il was removed from office in 1976 and died in 1984, and Oh remained loyal to the Kim family. Well before Kim Il-sung's death in 1994, Kim Jong-il had become the day-to-day ruler of the country, and had promoted his own followers to key positions in the Army. Kim Jong-il's accession was followed by a round of purges in the WPK, in which some of his father's old followers were removed from office.
Gim Yu-sin
Today, Kim Yu-Shin is remembered by Koreans as one of the greatest generals in Korean history. His ultimate legacy is the first unification of the Korean nation. One of his ten children, his second son Kim Won-sul, became a general during the time of King Munmu of Silla, and he was essential in unifying Silla.
Shin Sang-ok
From 1983 on, Shin directed seven films, with Kim Jong-il acting as an executive producer. The last and best-known of these films is "Pulgasari", a giant-monster film similar to the Japanese "Godzilla". In 1986, eight years after his kidnapping, Shin and his wife escaped while in Vienna for a film festival. They managed to obtain political asylum from the US embassy in Vienna and Kim Jong-il became convinced that the couple had been kidnapped by the Americans. Shin and his wife lived covertly for two years in Reston, Virginia, under American protection, and authorities debriefed the couple about Kim Jong-il and their experiences in North Korea.
History of North Korea
Kim Jong-il died on December 17, 2011 and was quickly succeeded by his son, Kim Jong-un. In late 2013, Kim Jong Un's uncle Jang Song-thaek was arrested and executed after a trial. According to the South Korean spy agency, Kim may have purged some 300 people after taking power. In 2014, the United Nations Commission of Inquiry accused the government of crimes against humanity.
Kapsan Faction Incident
Kim Jong-il took part in investigating the faction. The task was delegated to him by Kim Il-sung. Kim Jong-il was only 26 at the time and it was the first official duty given to him by his father. Six months after the purge, at an unscheduled meeting of the party, Kim Il-sung called for loyalty in the film industry that had betrayed him with "An Act of Sincerity". Kim Jong-il himself announced that he was up to the task and thus begun his influential career in film-making. Kim left the party's Organization and Guidance Department to take over PAD which had been tarnished in the incident. He gave his support for establishing a monolithic ideology centered around his father alone. Kim called a month-long conference of filmmakers to re-orient the country's film industry by cleansing it from the "poison" of the Kapsan faction. Kim also had the conspirators' war memoirs removed from a popular collection called "Reminiscences of the Anti-Japanese Guerillas".
Kim Young-sook
Kim Young-sook (, born 1947) was the third wife of Kim Jong-il. She was the daughter of a high-ranking military official, and was a switchboard operator in North Hamgyong Province before moving to Pyongyang. Kim Jong-il's father, Kim Il-Sung, handpicked her to marry his son. The two had been estranged for some years before his death. Kim Young-sook had a daughter from this marriage, Kim Sul-song (born 1974). She was First Lady of North Korea from 1994 to late 2011.
Kim Ga-yeon
In 2011, Kim entered into a common-law marriage with South Korean former professional StarCraft player Lim Yo-hwan, which was kept secret for two years. They had a daughter, born on August 1, 2015.
In 2016, she and Lim Yo-Hwan had a wedding.
Kim Hong-il (general)
Kim Hong-il (23 September 1898 – 8 August 1980) was a Korean independence activist and a general of the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Korean War, who later became a diplomat and politician in South Korea. Born in North Pyongan, he did his early schooling in China and Korea, and had a brief career as a teacher before his connections with the nascent Korean independence movement led to his imprisonment. He fled into exile in China in 1918, and served in the Kuomintang's National Revolutionary Army from 1926 to 1948, following which he moved to the newly-independent South Korea to join the Republic of Korea Army. He commanded South Korea's I Corps during the first year of the Korean War, and was then sent to Taipei as South Korea's ambassador to the Republic of China, which by then had retreated to Taiwan. His assignment there ultimately lasted nine years. He returned to South Korea in 1960 following the April Revolution which ended the rule of Syngman Rhee, and served briefly as Minister of Foreign Affairs under the Park Chung-hee junta. He ran for the National Assembly, first unsuccessfully in 1960 and 1963, and was then elected in 1967 and became a major figure in the opposition New Democratic Party.
Kim Man-il
Kim Man-il's death is shrouded in mystery. North Korean sources claim that in the summer of 1947 or 1948, Shura and his brother were playing in a pond in the city of Pyongyang, when Shura accidentally drowned. However, Russian sources indicate that he fell in a well in Vyatskoye and drowned, prior to the family moving back to Korea. Official records state that Kim Jong-il was devastated and could never get over the trauma of losing his younger brother. Kim Man-il's alleged grave is located in Vyatskoye. In 1949, his mother, Kim Jong-suk died while giving birth to a stillborn girl.
Song Chong-gug
In 2003, Song married Kim Jung-Ah to the surprise of many of his fans after dating Kim since April 2001. Before the marriage, he had been linked with multiple celebrities including Lee Jin, a member of a Korean girl band Fin.K.L.. He presented a bigger surprise three years later by getting divorced. 
On 17 December 2006, he married actress and model Park Yun-Soo after an 18-month relationship. The wedding was held privately in front of 100 family and friends. Song became a father six months after the wedding. In October 2015, Song divorce his wife.
Kim Chapiron
In March 2017, he was a member of the jury for the fourth edition of the Rennes International Short Film Festival and also for the seventh Moon Festival.Kim Chapiron is the husband of Ludivine Sagnier, with whom he has two daughters, Ly Lan, born in 2009 and Tàm, born in 2014.
Abduction of Shin Sang-ok and Choi Eun-hee
Kim Jong-il was frustrated with his films in the early 1970s. He could tell that in contrast to the other films being released globally, his were stiff and lifeless. His diagnosis was a lack of enthusiasm from his actors and crew. Bradley K. Martin, author of "Under the Loving Care of the Fatherly Leader: North Korea and the Kim Dynasty", explains this while quoting a 1983 tape recording of Kim: "The difference, he suggested, was that North Korean film industry people knew that the state would feed them even if they performed only minimally, so they didn’t try hard... 'Because they have to earn money,' Kim said, Southern movie industry people expended blood, sweat, and tears to get results."
Kim Jong-pil
On 15 February 1951, Kim married Park Young-ok (30 October 1929 – 21 February 2015), who died on 21 February 2015 from Urethral cancer, aged 85. Park was President Park Chung-hee's niece.
Kim Hyde
Following an unfounded accusation from Tara O'Neill (Cashelle Dunn) of sexual assault and his wedding to Rachel, the drama in Kim's life escalates when Kit returns for the Christmas, announcing she is pregnant with their child. Rachel has some difficulty accepting after plans to adopt Lee Morton's (Natasha Lee) newborn son Joe, fall through. Kim and Kit grow closer together and Kim and Rachel's marriage begins to feel strained. Kim and Kit share a kiss, and following the revelation that Rachel slept with Hugh Sullivan (Rodger Corser), Kim decides to leave her and be with Kit and baby Archie in the city.
Kim Bo-yeon
Kim married in 1988, and had two daughters, Kim Eun-seo and Kim Eun-jo. She and her husband later divorced.
Kim Jong-il
The most common colloquial title given to Kim was "Dear Leader" to distinguish him from his father Kim Il-sung, the "Great Leader". Following Kim's failure to appear at important public events in 2008, foreign observers assumed that Kim had either fallen seriously ill or died. On 19 December 2011, the North Korean government announced that he had died two days earlier, whereupon his third son, Kim Jong-un, was promoted to a senior position in the ruling WPK and succeeded him. After his death, Kim was designated the "Eternal General Secretary" of the WPK and the "Eternal Chairman of the National Defence Commission", in keeping with the tradition of establishing eternal posts for the dead members of the Kim dynasty.
Kim Jong-il
Officially, Kim was part of a triumvirate heading the executive branch of the North Korean government along with Premier Choe Yong-rim and parliament chairman Kim Yong-nam (no relation). Kim Jong-il commanded the armed forces, Choe Yong-rim headed the government and handled domestic affairs and Kim Yong-nam handled foreign relations. However, in practice Kim Jong-il exercised absolute control over the government and the country. Although not required to stand for popular election to his key offices, he was unanimously elected to the Supreme People's Assembly every five years, representing a military constituency, due to his concurrent capacities as supreme commander of the KPA and chairman of the NDC.
Kim Jong-il
By 29 October 2008, reports stated Kim suffered a serious setback and had been taken back to hospital. The New York Times reported that Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso, on 28 October 2008, stated in a parliamentary session that Kim had been hospitalized: "His condition is not so good. However, I don't think he is totally incapable of making decisions". Aso further said a French neurosurgeon was aboard a plane for Beijing, en route to North Korea. Further, Kim Sung-ho, director of South Korea's National Intelligence Service, told lawmakers in a closed parliamentary session in Seoul that "Kim appeared to be recovering quickly enough to start performing his daily duties". "The Dong-a Ilbo" newspaper reported "a serious problem" with Kim's health. Japan's Fuji Television network reported that Kim's eldest son, Kim Jong-nam, travelled to Paris to hire a neurosurgeon for his father, and showed footage where the surgeon boarded flight CA121 bound for Pyongyang from Beijing on 24 October. The French weekly "Le Point" identified him as Francois-Xavier Roux, neurosurgery director of Paris' Sainte-Anne Hospital, but Roux himself stated he was in Beijing for several days and not North Korea. On 19 December 2011, Roux confirmed that Kim suffered a debilitating stroke in 2008 and was treated by himself and other French doctors at Pyongyang's Red Cross Hospital. Roux said Kim suffered few lasting effects.
Kim Hong-il (general)
Kim died at his home in Hyochang-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul on 8 August 1980. He was survived by his wife Min Gyeong-ran and three sons. Although a public funeral had been planned, in the end Kim's family decided to hold a private funeral at their home, followed by a procession to the Seoul National Cemetery where he was buried. Pastor Kyung-Chik Han of Young Nak Presbyterian Church, the church of which Kim had been a member, presided over the funeral. Roughly 1,500 people visited the family home to pay their respects, including Chun Doo-hwan, United States Forces Korea commander John A. Wickham Jr., and fellow independence activist .
Shin Sang-ok
In 1978, Shin's former wife, Choi Eun-hee, an actress who starred in many of his films, was kidnapped in Hong Kong and taken to North Korea. Shin himself came under suspicion of causing her disappearance, and when he traveled to Hong Kong to investigate, he was kidnapped as well. The kidnappings were on orders of future leader Kim Jong-il, who wanted to establish a film industry for his country to sway international opinion regarding the views of the Workers' Party of Korea. The North Korean authorities have denied the kidnapping accusations, claiming that Shin came to the country willingly. Shin and Choi made secret audiotapes of conversations with Kim Jong-il, which supported their story.
Shin was put in comfortable accommodation, but after two escape attempts was placed in a prison for over two years. Once his re-education in North Korean ideology was thought complete, he was taken to Pyongyang in 1983 to meet Kim Jong-il and learn why he had been abducted to North Korea. His ex-wife was brought to the same dinner party, where she first learned that Shin was also in North Korea. They remarried shortly afterwards, as suggested by Kim Jong-il.
Kim Won-il
Kim Won-il was born on March 15, 1942 in Gimhae, Gyeongsangnam-do. Kim was only a child when his father, a communist activist, defected to the North during the Korean War. The father left his wife and four children behind, to a legacy of great poverty and a cloud of ideological suspicion. Kim attended Daegu Agriculture High School, and holds bachelor's degrees from Sorabol College of Arts and Yeungnam University and a master's degree in Korean Literature from Dankook University.
Kim Hee-sun
Kim wed businessman Park Ju-young in a lavish ceremony at the Seoul Sheraton Grande Walkerhill Hotel on October 19, 2007. She gave birth to daughter Park Yeon-ah on January 21, 2009.
Kim Jong-il
Kim's first mistress, Song Hye-rim, was a star of North Korean films. She was already married to another man and with a child when they met. Kim is reported to have forced her husband to divorce her. This relationship, started in 1970, was not officially recognized. They had one son, Kim Jong-nam (1971–2017), who was Kim Jong-il's eldest son. Kim kept both the relationship and the child a secret (even from his father) until he ascended to power in 1994. However, after years of estrangement, Song is believed to have died in Moscow in the Central Clinical Hospital in 2002.
Kim Jong-il
Kim Jong-il was the focus of an elaborate personality cult inherited from his father and founder of the DPRK, Kim Il-sung. Kim Jong-il was often the centre of attention throughout ordinary life in the DPRK. On his 60th birthday (based on his official date of birth), mass celebrations occurred throughout the country on the occasion of his Hwangap. In 2010, the North Korean media reported that Kim's distinctive clothing had set worldwide fashion trends.
Kim Jong-chul
Kim Jong-chul was born in 1981. He is the son of Kim Jong-il and companion Ko Yong-hui, who died in 2004.
Until 2001, it was assumed that Kim Jong-il's eventual heir would be his eldest son, Kim Jong-nam whose mother was Song Hye-rim. But in May 2001, Kim Jong-nam was arrested at Narita International Airport, Japan, travelling on a forged Dominican Republic passport. He was held and then deported to the People's Republic of China. The incident caused Kim Jong-il to cancel a planned visit to China because of the embarrassment to both countries. As a result of this incident, Kim Jong-nam fell from favour.
Kim Song-ae
According to Jang Jin-sung, Kim Song-ae had the ambition to place her son, Kim Pyong-il in the position of successor to her spouse Kim Il-sung, rather than his son from his first marriage, Kim Jong-il. In this, she was supposedly supported by a faction of the North Korean political elite, among them her brother Kim Kwang-hop, and Kim Il-sungs brother Kim Yong-ju, and opposed by the faction of her stepson Kim Jong-il. In the 1970s, her influence was reportedly seen as excessive by the party, who started to curb it. In parallel, her stepson Kim Jong-il became the designated heir of Kim Il-sung, and his faction worked to remove her from influence. In 1976, Kim Song-ae lost her position as chair of the KDWL, which removed her communication channel to the public and effectively curbed her power base. Reportedly, Kim Song-ae, as well as her brother-in-law Kim Yong-ju, who had supported her plans to place her son in the position of heir instead of Kim Jong-il, was placed in house arrest in 1981 upon the wish of the designated heir Kim Jong-il.
Kim Salmon
By August 2005 Salmon was married again and had two more children, another son and a daughter. As of July 2013, Salmon resides in a flat in a northern suburb of Melbourne and teaches music as his "day job". He states that he did have Hepatitis C but that he is cured now.
Kenji Fujimoto
He has described Kim Jong-il as having a "violent temper". In an interview on Japanese commercial television, he says that Kim Jong-un, then the heir apparent of Jong-il, "knows how to be angry and how to praise. He has the ability to lead people... also he loves basketball, roller-blading, snowboarding and skiing... I watched him play golf once and he reminded me of a top Japanese professional." Fujimoto says he was handed a photo of Jong-un when he was younger, adding they refused to share recent photos with him. He was told not to make the photo public; however, in February 2009, he released the photo. Jong-il's other son, Kim Jong-chul, was said by Jong-il to be "too feminine and unfit for leadership".
Kim Hyo-jin
They announced their engagement in August 2011 (Kim reportedly turned down a movie role to prepare for her upcoming nuptials), and subsequently released pre-wedding photos. Their minimalist invitation was made from environmentally friendly paper and had the number 1,825 written on it, the exact amount of the days the two have spent together as a couple. They were married at the Shilla Hotel in Seoul on December 2, 2011. The date marked the couple's fifth anniversary together and was booked by Yoo one year in advance despite landing on a Friday – an unusual day for a wedding. The ceremony was officiated by the president of World Vision Korea; Yoo and Kim then donated a portion of their monetary gifts to the organization to help build an elementary and middle school in Myanmar. Kim gave birth to their first child, a son, on July 5, 2014.
Gim Yu-sin
Kim Yu-Shin's third wife, Lady Jiso (Hanja:智炤夫人), was the third daughter of King Muyeol of Silla. Yushin had ten children. His second son, Kim Won-sul, would later play a central role in completing the independence of Silla from the Tang Dynasty.
Kim Won-soo
He is married with two sons.
Mikhail Kozakov
Kozakov was officially married five times. He left his last wife Nadezhda Sedova (47 years younger than him) in 2010 with a scandal, claiming that she had stolen his flat and that she was the cause of his illness, and fled to his fourth wife Anna Yampolskaya who lived in Israel along with their children Mikhail and Zoya. He had a daughter Katerina and a son Kirill, also a , from his first marriage to Greta Taar, as well as a daughter Manana from his second marriage to Medea Berelashvili.
Jang Song-thaek
Jang was born in Chongjin, during the Soviet Civil Administration of Northern Korea. He graduated from the Kim Il-sung Senior High School before leaving for Moscow, where he studied at Moscow State University between 1968 and 1972. Following his return, he married Kim Kyong-hui, the younger (and only) sister of Kim Jong-il. The couple had a daughter, Jang Kum-song (1977–2006), who lived in Paris as an international student; she refused an order to return to Pyongyang and then reportedly committed suicide in September 2006, due to Jang and his wife's opposition to her relationship with her boyfriend. Kim Kyong-hui was reported executed by poison in May 2014 because she complained about her husband's execution.
Kim Han-sol
Kim Han-sol (, born 16 June 1995) is the eldest son of Kim Jong-nam and a grandson of the former North Korean ruler, Kim Jong-il. His father was the unofficial heir-apparent until 2001, when he fell out of favor with the regime after a failed attempt to secretly visit Japan's Disneyland in May 2001.
Kim Hyun-sik
It was not until 1985 when Kim decided to create a band of his own. The band took the same name as his first album, "Spring Summer Fall Winter (SSaW)". The members were Kim Jong-jin, Jeon Tae-guan, Jang Gi-ho, Yoo Jae-ha, and Kim. This was the first band that Kim officially lead. During this time, Kim's parents and sister immigrated to Canada, and his wife began to live separately from him. The band's album, titled "Like Rain, Like Music", sold over 300,000 copies, becoming an instant success. However, the band quickly disbanded due to differences in music styles.
Kim Jong-nam
Kim Jong-nam (, ; 10 May 1971 – 13 February 2017) was the eldest son of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il. From roughly 1994 to 2001, he was considered the heir apparent to his father. He was thought to have fallen out of favour after embarrassing the regime in 2001 with a failed attempt to visit Tokyo Disneyland with a false passport (however, this may have been a lie told to Japanese security forces as a joke in reference to advertising slogan I'm going to Disney World!), although Kim himself said his loss of favour had been due to advocating reform.
List of Kim Jong-il's titles
When Kim Jong-il, former leader of North Korea, is mentioned in North Korean media and publications, he is not simply addressed by name. At least one special title is used, and his name is emphasised by a special bold font, for example: "The great leader Comrade Kim Jong-il provides on-the-spot guidance to the Ragwon Machine Complex." Alternatively, a larger than normal font may be used. (Example: "The great leader Comrade Kim Jong-il provides on-the-spot guidance to the Ragwon Machine Complex.") The titles themselves were developed by the Central Committee of the Workers' Party. The same applies to Kim Jong-il's father, Kim Il-sung, who ruled North Korea from 1948 to 1994. Scholars have collected the following list of Kim Jong-il’s titles.
Kim Chong-kon
Kim Chong-kon married Kim Sang-jo (), with whom he has three sons: Myung-joon (), Hee-joon () and Seong-joon (). The former two also joined the navy, graduated as Officer cadets 70th class and 71st class. A Christian, Kim's hobbies included reading classical novels/historical stories and playing ball games. After retirement, he joined an advisory council of reserve admirals () hosted by Admiral An Pyong-tae, then-Chief of Naval Operations, in 1996. In 1998 he was also elected as the 5th Vice President of the Korean Retired Generals and Admirals Association ().
Song Hye-rim
Most accounts of Song are drawn from the memoirs of her sister, Song Hye-rang. Her former friend Kim Young-soon published her memoir "I Am Song Hye-rim's friend", and revealed that she and her family were sent to a concentration camp for ten years after she found out Hye-rim's secret (namely, that she was Kim Jong-il's mistress, a fact that was hidden at the time even from Kim Il-sung), which resulted in the death of her children and parents and her husband being taken away and never seen again before she managed to defect to South Korea in 2003.
Kim Sang-joong
Kim is the third child among six siblings, and has two brothers and three sisters. He married in 1991, but he and his wife divorced in 1999. They have one son, born in 1993.
Kim Man-il
Kim Man-il (; 1944–1947/8) was the second son and child of North Korean leader Kim Il-sung and his first wife, Kim Jong-suk.
Kim Hyun-sik
Kim met his wife at a clothes shop in Sinchon County. The couple married in 1982. In 1983, his son, , was born. Kim and his family lived in Dongbu Ichon-dong where they opened a pizza place in 1983. In the documentary produced by MBC for the 20th anniversary of Kim's death, it is mentioned that Kim referred to this time as the most happiest time of his life. The pizza place soon went out of business after one year in 1984.
Shin Kyuk-ho
Shin has a total of four children from three marriages. His first wife, Noh Soon-hwa, died in 1951. They have one daughter, Shin Young-ja (born 1942). Shin then married a Japanese woman, Hatsuko Shigemitsu, in 1952. They have two sons, Shin Dong-joo (born 1954) and Shin Dong-bin (born 1955). Shin is also married to Seo Mi-Kyung in South Korea under the country's common-law marriage system. They have one daughter, Shin Yu-mi (born 1983).
Kim Hong-il (general)
Kim made his first foray into electoral politics in the 1960 elections as a candidate for the Senate. He announced his intention to run when he resigned from his ambassadorial post. He ran as an independent in the Seoul electoral district, facing off against multiple Democratic Party and Liberal Party candidates. He came in seventh place behind (independent), (independent), Kim Dong-o (Democratic), (Democratic), Go Hui-dong (Democratic), and (Democratic). In December 1961, Kim was chosen as the ninth president of the . In 1962, he was awarded the Independence Medal of the Order of Merit for National Foundation. Kim then ran again in the 1963 elections as one of six Korea Independence Party candidates. The party received 1.28% of all votes cast, and failed to secure any seats.
Kim Song-ae
Kim Song-ae originally worked as a secretary. She married Kim Il-sung in 1952, following the death of Kim Il-sung's first wife in 1949, although due to the Korean War no formal ceremony was held. One source indicates Kim Il-sung had had an affair with her even before his first wife died. She gave birth to a daughter (Kim Kyong-jin, 1953) and two sons (Kim Pyong-il, 1955; Kim Yong-il, 1957).
Simon Emil Ammitzbøll-Bille
Simon Emil Ammitzbøll-Bille is openly bisexual, and was married to another man, Henning Olsen until Olsen died in August 2016, after a long battle with cancer. In June 2017 he began a relationship with Kristine Bille, whom he married in November 2017. In October 2017, they announced that they are expecting their first child in the Spring of 2018.
Korean Air Flight 858
Kim Jong-il became the leader of North Korea in 1994, succeeding his father. In 2001, right-wing activists and relatives of the victims killed in the attack demanded that Kim Jong-il be arrested for terrorism offences when he visited Seoul later in the year. Two petitions were filed against him, with the activists and relatives stating that there was strong evidence—namely Kim's testimony—to suggest he was ultimately responsible for the bombing. They also called for him to make a public apology for the incident and formally compensate the victims' families. The leader of a right-wing South Korean group, lawyer Lee Chul-sung, said, "Kim Jong-il must be arrested and punished if he comes to Seoul without admitting his criminal acts and offering an apology and compensation." Kim Jong-il was not arrested, however. He died in December 2011, and was succeeded by his son, Kim Jong-un.
Mansudae Art Troupe
Ko Yong-hui was a dancer in the Mansudae Art Troupe in the 1970s. She met Kim Jong-Il in 1975 and became his consort although he was already married to Kim Yong-Sook. Ko had three children by Kim Jong Il.
Ko Yong-hui
Prior to an internal propaganda film released after the ascension of Kim Jong-un, there were three attempts made to idolize Ko, in a style similar to that associated with Kang Pan-sok, mother of Kim Il-sung, and Kim Jong-suk, mother of Kim Jong-il and the first wife of Kim Il-sung. These previous attempts at idolization failed and were stopped after Kim Jong-il's 2008 stroke.
Jeon Ok
Jeon Ok married Kang Hong-shik, an actor, film director and singer. Kang Hong-shik and Jeon Ok were the first married couple in Korean entertainment history. Their daughters, Kang Hyo-shil and Kang Hyo-son, became their parents' step. Later, Jeon and Kang divorced. Kang went over to North Korea along with Hyo-son who later became a famous actress in North Korea. Kang Hong-shik was honored as "Merited artist" as well. Meanwhile, Hyo-sil married Choi Moo-ryong, a popular actor of the 1960s and 1970s. Choi then had an affair with Kim Ji-mee, the most popular Korean actress of that time, so that Choi and Kang divorced in 1962. Jeon's grandson is Choi Min-soo between Choi Moo-ryong and Hyo-shil, who is also a famous active actor.
Woo In-hee
Kim Jong-il could have Woo In-hee executed for betraying him and talking about their secret relationship. Sure enough, in 1981, Woo was told she was free to go, but was instead taken to the shooting grounds just north of Pyongyang. She was tied to a post and shot as 6,000 people, including her husband Yoo Hosun, were watching. Kim nullified Woo and Yoo's marriage and forced the latter to finish "Unsung Heroes".
Kim dynasty (North Korea)
In 1953, Kim Song Ae gave birth to her first child with Kim Il Sung, a daughter named Kim Kyong Jin (Kim Kyo’ng-chin). She went on to have at least two other children with him, sons Kim Pyong Il (b. 1954) and Kim Yong Il (b. 1957).
Kim Hong-il (general)
In 1977 Kim was elected the sixth president of the , an organisation for Korean independence activists and their families. He was re-elected as the seventh president in 1979.
Kim Bo-hyon
In his twenties, Kim married a girl named Lee Bo-ik, who was five years younger than Kim. Together, they produced three sons and three daughters, the most well known of the offsprings being Kim Hyong-jik. To feed his six offsprings, Kim is said to wake up at early dawn and round the village to collect manure, while at night, twist straw ropes, make straw sandals and plait straw mats by lamplight.
Kim Jong-un
It is believed that the student at the Gümligen International School may not have been Kim Jong-un, but his elder brother Kim Jong-chul. It is not known whether the student known as Pak-un in Liebefeld Steinhölzli lived in Switzerland prior to 1998. All the children of Kim Jong-il are said to have lived in Switzerland, as well as the mother of the two youngest sons, who lived in Geneva for some time.
Kim Ho-kon
South Korea
Kim Hyon-hui
Kim married a former South Korean agent handling her case in 1997 and has two children. She lives somewhere in South Korea.
Kim E-Z
She is married to a stock manager Song Hyun Seok since April 2010 and gave birth to her first son on April 5, 2011.
Kenji Fujimoto
Fujimoto states that Kim Jong-il had a taste for "live fish" and expensive alcohol such as French wines and brandies, particularly Hennessy cognac, while claiming that both Jong-il and his third son, Kim Jong-un, "both like shark fin soup three times a week". According to Fujimoto, he would travel the world for Kim Jong-il, all expenses paid, purchasing Chinese melons, Czech beer, Uzbek caviar, Thai papayas and Danish pork. On one occasion, an envoy was sent to China to retrieve some McDonald's hamburgers. Kim's wine cellar is filled with 10,000 bottles, he said, and the banquets that Kim holds have lasted for four days. Fujimoto also said there is an institute based in Pyongyang staffed by 200 individuals devoted entirely to Kim Jong-il's diet, ensuring he eats the best and most healthy foods.
Kim Il-sung
Kim Il-sung married twice. His first wife, Kim Jong-suk (1919–1949), gave birth to two sons before her death in childbirth during the delivery of a stillborn girl. Kim Jong-il was his oldest son. The other son (Kim Man-il, or Shura Kim) of this marriage died in 1947 in a swimming accident. Kim married Kim Sung-ae in 1952, and it is believed he had three children with her: Kim Yŏng-il (not to be confused with the former Premier of North Korea of the same name), Kim Kyŏng-il and Kim Pyong-il. Kim Pyong-il was prominent in Korean politics until he became ambassador to Hungary. Since 2015 Kim Pyong-il has been ambassador to the Czech Republic. Kim was reported to have other children with women he was not married to. They included Kim Hyŏn-nam (born 1972, head of the Propaganda and Agitation Department of the Workers' Party since 2002).
Kim Jong-il
Kim's official wife, Kim Young-sook, was the daughter of a high-ranking military official. His father Kim Il-Sung handpicked her to marry his son. The two were estranged for some years before Kim's death. Kim had a daughter from this marriage, Kim Sul-song (born 1974).
Kim Kang-woo
On June 18, 2010, Kim married his longtime girlfriend Han Mu-young, the elder sister of actress Han Hye-jin. Their son was born in 2011.
Cho Hae-il
In 1961 he entered Kyunghee University, where he majored in Korean literature and met Hwang Sunwon, one of the greatest senior writers in Korea. Graduating in 1966, he served his mandatory military service in various roles. Upon his discharge from the service, he begins writing. When his writing career began to wind down in the late 80s, Cho moved to teaching creative writing at Kyunghee University. He married in 1972 and has one son.
Kim Sung-oh
Kim Sung-oh (born September 15, 1978) is a South Korean actor. He is best known for his supporting roles in the television series "Secret Garden" and the film "The Man from Nowhere". He was married in December 2014 to a non-entertainment person, 5 years younger than him. They have a son, Kim Ah-il (김아일).
Choi Cheol-ho
He married Kim Hye-sook on 7 August 2005. Kim was the Chungnam representative at the 2004 Miss Korea pageant. They have one son, Choi Min-joon.
Kim Ji-ho
Kim Ji-Ho married actor Kim Ho-Jin on December 11, 2001 at the Millennium Seoul Hilton Hotel. Their daughter was born on April 8, 2004. The couple met while shooting "More Than Love" in 2000.
Song Hye-rang
Song Hye-rang (born 1935) is a North Korean defector and author. Her father was a wealthy South Korean landowner who moved to the North for political reasons, while her mother was an editor of the official North Korean newspaper "Rodong Shinmun". Song's younger sister Song Hye-rim, a popular actress, secretly began an affair with Kim Jong-il against his father Kim Il-sung's wishes in the late 1960s or early 1970s, which culminated in Hye-rim's forced divorce from her husband; Hye-rang first learned of the situation on 10 May 1971, when Kim came to her residence in the middle of the night and informed her that he had impregnated her younger sister. Five years later, Hye-rang would become responsible for raising Kim Jong-nam, the son resulting from that pregnancy; his father was unwilling to let him attend school for fear that the secret of his parentage would be revealed. Hye-rim moved into the household; she also brought her own son Ri Han-yong and daughter Ri Nam-ok to live with them, so that Jong-nam would not be lonely. Their lives were carefully managed by Kim Jong-il to ensure that his father would not find out about his continuing affair; they spent most of their time at residences in east Pyongyang or Chungsangdong, occasionally travelling overseas to Geneva and Moscow.
Kim Jong-nam
It has been reported that Kim had two wives, at least one mistress, and had at least six children. His first wife, Shin Jong-hui (born ), lives at a home called Dragon Villa on the northern outskirts of Beijing. His second wife, Lee Hye-kyong (born ), their son Han-sol (born 1995) and their daughter Sol-hui (born ) lived in a modest 12-story apartment building in Macau; Jong-nam's mistress, former Air Koryo flight attendant So Yong-la (born ), also lives in Macau. He had several tattoos, including two of dragons.
Kim Yo-jong
Kim Yo-jong was born the daughter of Kim Jong-il and his wife Ko Yong-hui on 26 September 1988. She and her brother, Kim Jong-un, are said to have a close relationship, due to shared isolated years while studying together in Switzerland from 1996 to 2000, and in North Korea, "where social and emotional isolation appears to have been a defining force in their early lives" possibly because their father Kim Jong-Il wanted to bring them up away from the influence of his father Kim Il-sung. She may have studied at the Kim Il-sung Military University after her return. She also studied computer science at Kim Il-sung University where she is said to have studied with Kim Eun-gyong, the daughter of Japanese abductee Megumi Yokota.
Kim Ki-young
Kim was working as an intern at Seoul University Medical Clinic when the Korean War broke out. He went to Pusan on June 1, 1951, the day the North Korean army retreated. In Pusan, Kim met Oh Young-jin, a fellow Pyongyang National High School graduate. Oh, who would later write the screenplay to the popular film "The Wedding Day" (1956), was producing newsreels for the Korean News through the Bureau of Public Information, and helped Kim get a job writing screenplays with this organization. With Oh's help, Kim was able to get a job working for the United States Information Service in Jinhae. The job helped shape Kim's life in several ways. With the increase in pay he received from the U.S.I.S., he was able to marry Kim Yu-bong in 1951, and their first son, Kim Dong-won, was born in 1952. They would have a daughter born in 1955 and a second son, Kim Dong-yang, born in 1958. The two remained married for the rest of their lives. Kim Yu-bong supported her husband's filmmaking career through her dental practice, giving him a unique degree of independence among Korean filmmakers of his era to pursue his own personal visions. At a career retrospective during the last year of his life, Kim commented, "My wife's support has been unflagging over the years, even if, at times, she has seen one of my films and cried 'What have you done with my money?' But at rare moments like this retrospective, she becomes very emotional, recognizing that finally it has all been worthwhile."
Kim Kyong-hui
General Kim Kyong-hui (; born 30 May 1946) is the aunt of current North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un. She is the daughter of the founding North Korean leader Kim Il-sung and the sister of the late leader Kim Jong-il. She currently serves as Secretary for Organization of the Workers' Party of Korea. An important member of Kim Jong-il's inner circle of trusted friends and advisors, she was director of the WPK Light Industry Department from 1988 to 2012. Her husband was Jang Sung-taek, who was executed in December 2013 in Pyongyang, after being charged with treason and corruption.
Kim Jong-il
Kim reportedly visited the People's Republic of China in May 2010. He entered the country via his personal train on 3 May and stayed in a hotel in Dalian. In May 2010, Assistant U.S. Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Kurt Campbell told South Korean officials that Kim had only three years to live, according to medical information that had been compiled. Kim travelled to China again in August 2010, this time with his son, fueling speculation at the time that he was ready to hand over power to his son, Kim Jong-un.
Kim Jong-il
Kim was said to be a huge film fan, owning a collection of more than 20,000 video tapes and DVDs. His reported favourite movie franchises included "James Bond", "Friday the 13th", "Rambo", "Godzilla" and Hong Kong action cinema, with Sean Connery and Elizabeth Taylor his favourite male and female actors. He authored "On the Art of the Cinema". In 1978, on Kim's orders South Korean film director Shin Sang-ok and his actress wife Choi Eun-hee were kidnapped in order to build a North Korean film industry. In 2006, he was involved in the production of the Juche-based movie "The Schoolgirl's Diary", which depicted the life of a young girl whose parents are scientists, with a KCNA news report stating that Kim "improved its script and guided its production".