Kim Han-sol compandium

UPDATE 4 (2013-8-27): Kim Han Sol is attending university in France. According to the Daily NK:

A spokesperson for the prestigious French university Sciences Po has confirmed that Kim Han Sol, son of Kim Jong Il’s eldest son Kim Jong Nam, will begin classes at the Le Havre campus of the university this September, according to the French media.

Officially known as the Paris Institute of Political Studies, Sciences Po is one of Europe’s elite social sciences institutes.

18-year old Kim, who previously attended a branch of the British-based United World Colleges located in Mostar, Bosnia-Herzegovina, will join the university’s three-year Europe-Asia undergraduate program, which is taught in English.

Kim Han Sol was primarily educated in Macau and speaks excellent English. He shot to fame in October 2012 when he gave a televised interview with Finnish politician Elisabeth Rehn, in which he shared some modest details about his upbringing and his hopes for peace on the peninsula. However, since then he has largely disappeared from public view once again.

UPDATE 3 (2013-5-31): Kim Han-sol has graduated from high school. According to the Choson Ilbo:

Kim Han-sol, the grandson of former North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, attended his graduation ceremony at an international school in Bosnia on Tuesday, the Serbian daily Novosti reported.

UPDATE 2 (2012-10-17): Kim Han-sol has gone missing. According to NK News:

Kim Han Sol, the grandson of the late Kim Jong Il and a student at the Mostar-based branch of the United World College (UWC) has not been seen for days, a Bosnian newspaper said on the 19th.

“He doesn’t to go North Korea at all, he lives here [in Mostar], he has his circle of friends and he’s an excellent learner,” Bosnian newspaper Glas Srpske reported the UWC Mostar headmistress Valentina Mindoljević as saying to Croatian daily Slobodna Dalmacija. Local media reports suggest Kim Han Sol may only have left Mostar temporarily.

A journalist reportedly went to Mostar to question students about Kim Han Sol’s whereabouts for the Bosnian daily, but was unable to track him down. One student, however, confirmed that Kim Han Sol had been absent from classes for some days, and a local newspaper vendor confirmed he had not been seen recently.

UPDATE 1 (2012-10-17): A big thanks to to Eric T. for sending this along. Here is a description of the interview offered on YouTube:

Kim Han Sol interviewed by Elisabeth Rehn for Finnish television.

Kim Han Sol is the grandson of Kim Jong Il. He never met his grandfather. At the time of this interview in 2012, he was studying at an UN sponsored college in Mostar, Bosnia and Hertzegovina.

After watching the interview, Mr. Kim seems like a mature and astute individual. He offers quite a bit of personal information and politely hedges his political opinions to avoid saying anything too controversial.

Here is the full interview (conducted on Mr. Kim’s part in nearly-perfect American-English):

ORIGINAL POST (2011-10-20): I do not have much interest in writing about Kim Han-sol, but for archival purposes I have posted a bunch of recent links about him below.  Personally I think we should leave him alone and let him get on with his schooling.

Kim Jong-il Family’s Facebook Pages Revealed (2011-10-3)

Kim Han-Sol’s Internet footprint (2011-10-3)

Kim Jong-il’s Grandson Feels Sorry for Starving Compatriots (2011-10-4)

Man believed to be Kim Jong-il’s grandson offers apology to N. Korean people (2011-10-3)

Kim Jong-il grandson’s Facebook page shows gulf in North Korea ruling family (2011-10-4)

Web Postings Stir Interest in Teenager’s Relation to North Korean Leader (2011-10-6)

Kim Han-sol: harbinger of NK change? (2011-10-11)

N. Korean leader’s grandson enrols at Bosnia college (2011-10-14)

Grandson of North Korea’s Kim Jong Il draws attention in Bosnia (2011-10-16)

Kim Jong-il’s Grandson Briefly Breaks Silence (2011-11-22)

N. Korean leader’s grandson draws international attention in Bosnian school (2011-10-20)

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2 Responses to “Kim Han-sol compandium”

  1. Christopher Engel-Andreasen says:

    Very interesting.

    Definitely a Swedish interview, not Finnish though 🙂

  2. Mike says:

    It didn’t even register until after I finished watching this, that his birth year would make Kim Han Sol just 18; even though he may be a freshman I assumed from the interview that he was a number of years older. Well spoken and intelligent, NK needs more people like him.