Well, That’s a Bummer! North Korean Media Admits That Founder Kim Il-sung Wasn’t Able to Teleport

Поклонение перед бронзовыми статуями бывших лидеров КНДР Ким Ир Сена и Ким Чен Ира в ознаменование годовщины окончания японского колониального господства


North Korean media has reportedly acknowledged that the nation’s founder, Kim Il-sung, along with other leaders, did not possess supernatural powers such as teleportation, as per South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency. The North Korean newspaper Rodong Sinmun, which serves as the mouthpiece for the ruling party, stated on May 20 that Kim Il-sung, who led North Korea from 1948 until his death in 1994, was not capable of performing chukjibop, a mystical technique often likened to teleportation in martial arts.

The newspaper clarified, “In fact people, can’t disappear and reappear by folding space.”

According to Radio Free Asia, this acknowledgment counters a longstanding myth that Kim Il-sung used chukjibop during his guerrilla warfare against Japanese forces, who occupied Korea from 1910 to 1945.

This shift in narrative by state media, as noted by Radio Free Asia, indicates a change in how North Korea portrays its leaders under Kim Jong-un’s leadership. South Korean officials, who monitor North Korean media, have observed a decline in the glorification of past leaders since Kim Jong-un assumed power.

The South Korean Unification Ministry described this move as significant, suggesting it emphasizes “patriotism and love for the people rather than mystification of the leaders,” according to an official quoted by Yonhap News Agency.

It seems that Kim Jong-un himself is against the glorification of leaders, stating in state media in March 2019 that, “Mystifying a leader’s revolutionary activity and appearance would result in covering the truth. Absolute loyalty would spring up when (they) are mesmerised by the leader humanly and comradely.”