Kim Jong-suk
Charismatic Politics: Kim Jong-suk’s Supporting Cast of Female Fighters
Following in the footsteps of Kim Jong-suk and the rest of North Korea’s revolutionary pantheon was a group of hitherto nameless fighters. With Women of Korea in hand, Robert Winstanley-Chesters inscribes the stories of their lives and extraordinary deaths.
The Legendary Women of Baekdu: “And did those feet in ancient times…”
Robert Winstanley-Chesters concludes his essay series focused on the crossings, journeys and deterritorializations of elements of charismatic Kimism, arriving finally on the slopes of Baekdu with Kim Jong-suk.
The Crossings and Encounters of Kim Jong-suk: “And did those feet in ancient times…”
The second piece in a three-part series, Robert Winstanley-Chesters looks in detail at the de- and reterritorialization of charismatic authority in the story of Kim Jong-suk, the so-called “Mother of Military-first Chosun.”
Footsteps and Deterritorializations: “And did those feet in ancient times…”
Rodong Sinmun reports on a wintery children’s pilgrimage to North Korea’s northern border, the place where, four score and ten years ago, Kim Il-sung crossed the Yalu. Political geographer Robert Winstanley-Chesters investigates the implications of their reenactment.
Hagiography of the Kims and the Childhood of Saints: Kim Jong-il
Christopher Richardson examines the mythological narrative of Kim Jong-il’s genesis, uncovering the carefully constructed combination of religion, half-truths, and state propaganda.