Kim Jong Il:

Political Tyrant
By Filipe and Jeremy
 Background Information
● Born in 1942 in either a secret camp on Mount Paektu
along the Chinese border, in Samjiyon County or in
Vyatskoye in the former Soviet Union.

● His father was part of military commanded the 1st

Battalion of the Soviet 88th Brigade,

● Kim Jong Il comes from a family of nationalists who

actively resisted imperialism from the Japanese

● He was active in the Children's Union and the

Democratic Youth League
Rise to power
● Kim Jong Il joined the Workers' Party, the official ruling party of North Korea, 1961.

● In after graduation from the university in 1964, Kim Jong Il began his rise through
the ranks of the Korean Workers' Party.

● He was appointed to the Workers' Party Central Committee to lead the offensive
against the revisionists and ensure the party did not deviate from the ideological
line set by his father
● Kim Jong Il oversaw the Propaganda and Agitation department
Rise to power continued

● In 1980, Kim Jong Il was appointed to increasingly important positions in the

Korean Workers' Party.
● At the Sixth Party Congress in 1980 he was positioned to control all aspects of the
government.

● By 1991, he was designated as the supreme commander of the Korean People's

Army

● After the death of his father Kim Il Sung in July 1994, Kim Jong Il took total control
of the country.
 Human Rights Violations

Article 5

(1) No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading

treatment or punishment.

- Citizens of North Korea were made to listen by threatening or actually

performing executions, detention (jail) and forced labour under horrible
conditions which were sometimes so bad they killed workers
 Human Rights Violations

Article 9

(1) No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile

“The United Nations Commission of Inquiry (COI) report on human rights in

the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK or North Korea) that found
the government committed crimes against humanity, including extermination,
murder, enslavement, torture, imprisonment, rape and other forms of sexual
violence, and forced abortion.”
 Human Rights Violations

Article 13

(1) Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the
borders of each state.

(2) Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to
return to his country.

- Very tight domestic restrictions on travel

- Un-authorized cross border travel with China
 Kim Jong Il v.s Macbeth
● They were both persuaded into pursuing power

Macbeth was persuaded by the witches Kim Jong Il was persuaded by his
father
All hail, Macbeth, thou shalt be king hereafter!
[…]
Thou shalt get kings, though thou be none.
So all hail, Macbeth and Banquo! (1.3.53;70-71)
Comparison continued
● They both used violence to maintain their position of power

Macbeth had people attempt to kill Kim Jong Il has killed, wrongfully
Banquo, Fleance, and Macduff's family imprisoned, tortured etc. many innocent
citizens of North Korea that he saw as
[...] From this moment “guilty”.
The very firstlings of my heart shall be
The firstlings of my hand. And even now,
To crown my thoughts with acts, be it thought and
done:
The castle of Macduff I will surprise,
Seize upon Fife, give to th' edge o' th' sword
His wife, his babes, and all unfortunate souls
That trace him in his line. (4.1.166-174)
More comparison
● They both had very unnoble deaths

Macbeth was slain by macduff

after he gave up fighting him Kim Jong Il died of a stroke after three
because of the prophecy months
 Discussion Questions

- If Macbeth was able to defeat Malcolm and Macduff and stay

in power do you think he would’ve done a lot of the stuff Kim
Jong Il did?
- Why do you think people like Macbeth and Kim Jong Il find it
ok to kill people to get what they want?
- Why do you think the people close to Kim Jong Il haven’t
turned against him the way everybody did to Macbeth?
 Works Cited

“Kim Jong Il.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 28 Apr. 2017,

www.biography.com/people/kim-jong-il-201050.

“World Report 2018: Rights Trends in North Korea.” Human Rights Watch, 18

Jan. 2018, www.hrw.org/world-report/2018/country-chapters/north-

korea.
Any Questions?