The Great Leaders – An Update and Correction
by Richardson ~ April 15th, 2008. Filed under: Kim Il-sung, Kim Jong-il, Korean Language.Update: Dr. Petrov notes in comments, per input from Ruediger Frank on the Korean Studies Mailing List, that there are at least two other common forms of address for Kim Jong-il, which have been added as the last two rows of the table below.
Original post: Today while (finally) reading Andrei Lankov’s, “North of the DMZ” (pg 30), I was reminded that I had not corrected a previous DPRK Studies post; in Korean, Kim Jong-il is technically now referred to as the “Great Leader,” rather than the “Dear Leader” used in English:
| Korean | Romanization | English | |
| Kim Il-sung | 위대한 수령님 | Widaehan Suryŏngnim | Great Leader |
| Kim Jong-il (pre-1997) | 친애하는 지도자 | Ch’inaehanŭn Chidoja | Dear Leader |
| Kim Jong-il (post-1997) | 위대한 지도자 | Widaehan Chidoja | Great Leader |
| Kim Jong-il (post-1997) | 위대한 령도자 | Widaehan Ryŭngdoja | Great Leader |
| Kim Jong-il (post-1997) | 친애하는 장군님 | Ch’inaehanŭn Chang-gunnim | Dear General |
In English, Kim Jong-il is still referred to as the “Dear Leader” and his father as the “Great Leader,” though two different Korean words are used for “leader” and the same Korean word (Widaehan, “great”) precedes what is translated as “leader,” and is translated as “great” or “dear” for the sake of differentiation.
Kim Jong-il will not take the title Suryŏngnim (leader, chieftain), which, like the position of President of the DPRK, is reserved for his father.
April 15th, 2008 at 10:00 pm
This issue was discussed in October 2006 at the Korean Studies Mailing List. Here is one posting by Ruediger Frank:
“Kim JI has been the Dear Leader (jinaehaneun jidoja) until his father’s death, which is long enough ago to just forget about that title. Ever since, his functionary titles (chongbiseo, wiwonjang etc.) aside, he is referred to as Great Leader (widaehan ryeongdoja) or, less frequently, Dear General (jinaehaneun janggunnim). We outsiders seem to like the somewhat funny expression “Dear Leader”, so it has survived in our media. So far, so good, but imho at least academics should use the correct title, no matter what they personally think about the man. It is certainly problematic that in English, widehan suryeongnim and widehan ryeongdoja are both translated as Great Leader; however, I am wondering why there would be too many instances to use these honorific titles anyway (imagine the NYT or Washington Post using “Great Leader”). The official address in international protocol is Chairman (wiwonjang), which is both correct and fairly neutral. As for the Worker’s Party, it should be mentioned that “Labour Party” (instead of Labourer’s Party) would indeed be the correct translation; it is not rodongjadang, but rodongdang… ”
See more of this discussion at
http://koreaweb.ws/pipermail/koreanstudies_koreaweb.ws/2006-October/005979.html
LP
April 16th, 2008 at 2:14 am
[…] Make sure to read Richardson’s post on the distinction on Kim Jong Il’s deified name. I always assumed it was “Dear Leader” or “Great General”. In the official propaganda of the KCNA, it calls Kim in less glowing terms. […]
April 16th, 2008 at 4:27 am
Dr. Petrov,
Thank you very for the additional information, much appreciated! I will update the post this evening.
April 16th, 2008 at 11:02 am
A very interesting post. Thank you, Richardson and Dr. Petrov.
In addition to their formal titles as the “Great Leaders,” the other honorary titles for father and son, apparently, are without limit. While watching a North Korean military music video on YouTube — courtesy of Songunblog — I noticed that Kim Jong Il was frequently referred to as “General Kim Jong Il” (”Kim Jong Il Janggun”). I recall a North Korean news piece that was played on the BBC several years ago in which the news anchor — in the English translation/voiceover — referred to Kim Jong Il as the “Lord of Mount Baekdu.”
While reading this post, I was reminded of the anonymous comments regarding Kim Il Sung that were handwritten in a copy of a North Korean English language propaganda book entitled “Pyongyang” at my University’s undergraduate library. Of course, the authors made numerous references to the Great Leader in the book’s introduction. I recall one handwritten expletive quite well, which is not suitable for re-publication on this blog; however, the most interesting comment described Kim Il Sung as the “Devil Man.”
April 17th, 2008 at 6:34 pm
수령/Suryŏng is often translated “leader,” but has a connotation of overseeing as a king, marshall or a great chief would.
지도/Jido has more of a connotation of leading, lecturing, teaching and such.
친애/Ch’inae is “really loving.”
위대/Widae is “deserving great respect or admiration.”
자/Jah is “person.”
님/Nim is lord, master, sir. Honorifc.
Hence terms like Jang-Gun (general) and Suryong (Marshal, Great Chief) is followed by the more honorific Nim whereas Jido (lecturing/teaching) is followed by person (Jah).
By and large, though, these compound nouns are not classical Korean terms that denote authority. They’re sort of made-up commie modern words.
April 17th, 2008 at 7:27 pm
James; thanks for providing the nuances that are not included in most dictionaries.
However, I do have an issue with your POV (to use a Wikipedia branded term) use of the word “commie.” Please try to uphold the strict standards of DPRK Studies.
With that requirement in mind, please refrain from using the word “commie” … unless following immediately with the word “bastard.”
Heh.
April 19th, 2008 at 7:31 pm
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April 19th, 2008 at 7:45 pm
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April 20th, 2008 at 12:41 pm
Then there is the ultimate North Korean commie word, er, I mean commie bastard, word: “원쑤” (Won-Ssu).
In ROK, this word is actually spelled “원수” (Won-Su).
North Koreans changed the spelling for one reason. 원수 has two radically different meanings (homophones). It can mean “Field Marshal” (used for Kim Il-Sung in North Korea) or “bitter enemy who has done me great harm.”
North Korean authorities did not want snickering, dissenting types to call Kim Il-Sung publicly “Comrade 원수,” ostensibly meaning “Comrade Field Marshal,” while really meaning “Comrade Bitter Enemy Who Screwed Us.”
In order to obviate the need for this potential calamity, they changed the perfectly good Korean spelling of “bitter enemy” to a slightly different spelling, 원쑤, thus butchering classical Korean.
A little trivia from my days in Korea where every pupil underwent mandatory “Ethics” classes, half of which, during my days there, were all about the dastardly evil ways of commies — includinng language distortions.