Dynastic Rule: Personality cult of Kim Jong Un expands as North Koreans wear his pins to show total loyalty

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North Korean officials have been seen in recent months wearing lapel pins with the image of leader Kim Jong Un, another sign the North was boosting his personality cult to the level bestowed on his late dictator father and grandfather.

Citizens of North Korea are required to wear pins over their hearts, which for decades bore images of either the country’s founder, Kim Il Sung, or his son Kim Jong Il, or both. The existence of pins dedicated to Kim Jong Un had not been verified until state media published photos in July showing officials wearing his pins at a ruling Workers’ Party meeting.

The pins are part of a state-sponsored mythology surrounding the Kim family which treats Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il like gods. They are memorialized with numerous statues across North Korea, their birthdays are two of the country’s main holidays and their portraits are hung in all homes and offices.

The personality cult began to take shape during Kim Il Sung’s early years in power. It was initially built on his role as a guerrilla fighter against Japanese colonial rule in Korea and was later expanded to include his leadership in the Korean War and the establishment of North Korea as a socialist state.

The North Korean government employed extensive propaganda to deify Kim Il Sung, along with the educational system that constantly reinforced his image as the “Great Leader” and “Eternal President.” Over the decades, the regime engaged in historical revisionism to exaggerate Kim Il Sung’s achievements and contributions.

Few question current leader Kim Jong Un’s hold on power, but few images honoring the 40-year-old have been displayed in public since he took power in late 2011 upon his father’s death. Recently, however, he has begun taking steps to boost his own personality cult while also trying to further move out of the shadow of his father’s and grandfather’s legacies.

In May, his portrait was publicly displayed along with those of the two other Kims for the first time at a Workers’ Party-run training school. In January, Kim announced he would no longer pursue peaceful unification with South Korea, a decadeslong policy cherished by his father and grandfather. Observers also say North Korea appears to be refraining from using terms like “the Day of Sun,” a reference to the April 15 birthday of Kim Il Sung.

“The latest series of efforts to idolize Kim Jong Un is assessed as a move to dilute his predecessors while establishing his authority as a leader” different from them, said Kim Inae, a deputy spokesperson for South Korea’s Unification Ministry.

She observed that Kim was also likely trying to boost internal solidarity behind his leadership as he grappled with economic hardships and the influence of South Korean pop culture.

The state ideology of Juche was central to the personality cult. It emphasized self-reliance, independence, and the unique role of the leader in guiding the nation. The Juche ideology reinforced the idea that the leader was the ultimate source of wisdom and guidance for the people.

The cult of Kim Il Sung permeated all aspects of North Korean life. It dictated the content of education, art, literature, and even personal behavior, and extended to his descendants, particularly his son Kim Jong Il and grandson Kim Jong Un. It helped maintain the Kim family’s grip on power by portraying them as the legitimate and natural successors to Kim Il Sung’s legacy.

Ahn Kyung-su, head of dprkhealth.org, a website focusing on health issues in North Korea, said Kim Jong Un was trying to phase out the symbols representing the legacies of his predecessors to promote his own era. But as the third-generation leader in the Kim family, he would find it difficult to push too far because that would also weaken the legitimacy of its dynastic rule, said Ahn, who has interviewed many North Korean defectors and closely monitors North Korean state media.

“Kim Jong Un is in a dilemma. He wants to stay away from his father’s and grandfather’s legacies more but he can’t do so,” Ahn said.

He confirmed that North Koreans are expected to wear Kim Jong Un pins.

Leif-Eric Easley, professor of international studies at Ewha Womans University in Seoul, said the wearing of Kim Jong Un pins was not surprising, given that he has been consolidating his rule for over a decade.

“The question is, now that Kim has stepped out from the shadow of his predecessors, whether he will undertake policy adjustments to break with North Korea’s past economic failures,” Easley said.

In recent years, North Korea’s fragile economy has suffered further setbacks because of strict pandemic restrictions, persistent U.N. sanctions, and its own mismanagement. During a Workers’ Party meeting in June, Kim spoke about “some deviations obstructing” efforts to improve the country’s economic status, according to state media.

South Korea’s spy agency said in August that Kim appeared to have obesity-related health problems such as high blood pressure and diabetes, and his officials were looking for new medicines abroad to treat them. Known for heavy drinking and smoking, both his father and grandfather died of heart issues.

Some experts believe that Kim’s moves were also related to his reported push to make his preteen daughter – Kim Ju Ae, his heir in another hereditary power transfer. But she has not been officially designated as her father’s successor.

Speculation about the 11-year-old flared after she accompanied her father on high-profile public events starting in late 2022. At least 60% of Kim Ju Ae’s public activities have involved attending military events with her father.

State media called her Kim Jong Un’s “most beloved” or “respected” child and churned out footage and photos proving her rising political standing and closeness with her father.

Some analysts say it is still too early to call her Kim’s successor, citing the possibility that she could be replaced by one of her siblings due to her age and North Korea’s male-dominated hierarchy.