Kim Jong il Statue?

The Daily NK is running a couple of interesting pieces on Kim il Sung monuments and statues in the DPRK.  Both articles are worth reading (here and here), and I will comment on them more extensively in the near future, but the first article made a startling claim that I had to put to NKeconWatch readers: That there is a Kim Jong il statue in Pyongyang.

In contrast to the many Kim Il Sung’s statues, there stands only one Kim Jong Il statue. This is located in on the lawn of National Security Agency office building at the foot of Mt. Amee in Daesung district, Pyongyang. It was erected on Kim Jong Il’s 46th birthday in 1988 and is constructed not of bronze, but of gold.

In addition to the one standing statue of Kim Jong Il, all Colleague Kim Il Sung Revolutionary History Institutes, which are located in each major local office or agency, showcase plaster busts of the Kim son, and at the International Friendship Museum in Mt. Myohang, a large sitting statue was constructed.

I have spent about 20 days in the DPRK.  I know many people who have spent many many more, and I have never heard of any Kim Jong il statues.  Can anyone confirm this?  Any photos out there?

Share

2 Responses to “Kim Jong il Statue?”

  1. Young says:

    Eh, a gold statue from ’88? I have been on a handful visits there and I have never seen or heard of it. I will ask my father when he returns if he knows anything. The one in Mt. Myohang sounds more likely.

  2. Simon says:

    I’ve never heard of a KJI statue at all, the closest thing I know of is the plaster one in the KJI museum at the Mount Myohyang International Friendship Exhibition, other than that I’ve never seen anything close to a statue of the chap, mind you I’ve never been to the place mentioned in the article either