According to a NK Times Pyongyang source on the 8th, there has recently been a growing movement among students at major universities in Pyongyang, including Kim Il-sung University and Pyongyang Foreign Studies University, to obtain Kim Jong-un’s portrait insignia. It is said that when the portrait badge was first revealed at the 10th plenary meeting of the 8th Party Party, young college students who were sensitive to new and special things rushed to obtain the portrait badge.
The craze for obtaining Kim Jong-un’s portrait insignia is known to be most active among students at Kim Il-sung University and Pyongyang Foreign Studies University, where there are relatively many children from high-ranking executives or wealthy families.
In fact, Park (20s), a student at the Department of Economics at Kim Il-sung University, gave $500 to the child of a high-ranking central official in order to obtain a Kim Jong-un portrait badge, but the student reportedly refused the request, saying, “I only got one from my father.” . It is said that Kim (20s), a student at Pyongyang Foreign Studies University, also asked a student with his father who works at the central government to get a Kim Jong-un portrait badge, but she was rejected, saying she did not have a spare.
As such, in North Korea, it is not easy for children of high-ranking people, the so-called elite, to obtain Kim Jong-un’s portrait badge. Nevertheless, it is known that competition among university students in Pyongyang to obtain a portrait badge before anyone else is fierce.
Regarding the reason for this, the source said, “Currently, two portrait badges of the Marshal (Kim Jong-un) are awarded to each participant of the 8th 10th Plenary Meeting, and others have not been distributed. For this reason, it is now difficult to obtain a portrait badge even for $500. “It may be difficult, but after one to two years, it will become less popular among residents, like the twin statues (Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il portrait badges),” he explained.
He continued, “The desire to possess a portrait badge stems from the desire to show off social status and power,” and added, “In reality, the people who wear the Marshal’s portrait badge these days are mainly Central Party executives or their children.”
“Because the portrait badge was distributed only to participants in the party plenary session, those who possess it have the opportunity to show that they are in a special position,” he said. “This scarcity is a factor that further increases the value of the portrait badge.” “he claimed.
It is analyzed that the reason why students at universities in Pyongyang City want to obtain Kim Jong-un’s portrait badge is because of the symbolism of wealth and power that the portrait badge has rather than loyalty. Wearing a Kim Jong-un portrait badge attracts people’s attention, which in turn leads to a high evaluation of the person’s abilities.
As a result, the children of North Korea’s trend-setting elite, including Kim Il-sung University and Pyongyang Foreign Studies University, began mobilizing money and personal connections to obtain portraits in order to secure the symbol of wealth and power before anyone else, the source said.
In North Korea, the portrait insignia was first introduced in 1970, the 25th year of his rule, to idolize Kim Il-sung, and Kim Jong-il introduced the portrait insignia in 1992 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of his birthday. However, Kim Jong-un’s portrait badge was issued at the age of 40 this year. This is considerably faster than the point at which he idolized his predecessors.
***This article was translated by Google and may differ from the Korean content.
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