Two Great Leaders...

As North Korea took a new glance into the closed book of the Cold War, I realized how little I actually know about the country, so I decided to do some digging. It turns out I missed the latest (and last?) chance to actually go there to learn more; a 10-day excursion visiting many of the Magnificent Achievements of DPRK. Oh well, couldn't afford the 2220 EUR anyway (there is, however, a discount of 300 EUR for members of the Korean Friendship Association, and since membership is free that would have been an easy price-cut).

I found some interesting reading though; everyone should really take a look at the biographies of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il, two marvellous North Koreans...

Since our boys' lives are extremely intriguing and interesting, both biographies of course include a lot of reading; Jong Il's measuring a fantastic 160 pages and Il Sung's an incredible 2161 pages. For the lazy reader who does not have a spare lifetime to harvest through the forests of superlatives, below are a few of the highlights:

"Comrade Kim Jong Il's family was a patriotic and revolutionary family in a way unprecedented in history",
Biography of Kim Jong Il, p.8

"Comrade Kim Jong Il was admitted to the course of political economy, faculty of economics, Kim Il Sung University, on September 1, 1960.
On that day he was firmly determined to make his university days a period of preparation to succeed to the Juche cause.
Comrade Kim Jong Il said:
'As I enter the highest institute of science, I am more firmly determined to shoulder the future of the revolution upholding the noble intention of the leader.'
'I intend to make my university days a fruitful period to learn the leader's revolutionary idea more closely and make preparations to shoulder the Korean revolution.'
That day he climbed Ryongnam Hill and recited a poem. Korea, I Will Glorify Thee in which he expressed his determination to carry the revolutionary cause of Juche to completion upholding the will of Comrade Kim Il Sung."
Biography of Kim Jong Il, p.16

"As desired by the whole Party Comrade Kim Jong Il was officially elected General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea on October 8, Juche 86 (1997)..."
Biography of Kim Jong Il, p.150

"Strong will power is needed to endure mental suffering just as much as for physical hardships. And the process of their endurance is accompanied by a ceaseless struggle with oneself. Our experience in the autumn of 1940 was exactly of this kind..."
Biography of Kim Il Sung, "The Autumn of 1940", p.1792

"In August 1945, Korea was aflame with the joy of liberation. In the wave of excitement that enveloped the whole land of Korea, the people were awaiting impatiently for the triumphal return of the national hero General Kim Il Sung. The ancient city of Pyongyang, where the leader of the nation was born, was astir even at night waiting for the arrival of General Kim Il Sung, who left his home in snowstorm in 1925..."
Biography of Kim Il Sung, "The Triumphal Return", p.2161

...I could not have said it better myself. but then again, I am not trained in the PR business. Have a look at a TIME Magazine cartoonist's perspective on the issue.