Kim Jong Il’s Birthday Preparations [Video]

Posted on February 15th, 2012 by Kim

bangstyle.com today Kim Jong Il’s Birthday Preparations [Video] Cake, candles, a few nice gifts, dinner with friends, a good surprise party: these are all celebrated components that typically comprise a pretty solid birthday. Throw in a few unexpected elements–thoughtful notes interspersed throughout the work day, a spontaneous vacation paid for by your loved one–and most people would probably call it one of their better b-days. Those people never had their birthday declared as a national holiday. Those people are not the late Kim Jong Il.

The infamous North Korean leader, who ruled for 17 years, may have died this December, but his legacy is living on in a big way. Declared a national holiday, “the Day of the Shining Star” celebrates what would have been Kim Jong Il’s seventieth birthday on February 16. While Americans were scrounging for last minute V-Day gifts last night and enjoying romantic pre fixe dinners over candlelight, North Korean military and party officials shot fireworks into the sky and unveiled an 18-foot-tall bronze statue in Kim Jong Il’s likeness.

You liked your surprise party for your 24th this year? Try having your name carved into a mountain. Then top that with 70 women performing a national synchronized swim in your honor, choreographed to a song written in your name. Add in commemorative postage stamps, coins, and gold medals, and you’re finally in the running to compete with the country’s so-called “Dear Leader.” Those balloons left over in the corner are probably looking a little deflated.

bangstyle.com today Kim Jong Il’s Birthday Preparations [Video] In addition to the festivities, ceremonial head-of-state Kim Yong Nam spoke in front of senior North Korean officials endorsing Kim Jong-Il’s son and successor, Kim Jon Un, as the “unquestioned successor to Kim Jong Il,” the Huffington Post reports. The speech received vigorous cheering and applause, supporting the theory that all the pomp and circumstance for the posthumous “Dear Leader” has a very calculated purpose.

“Having Kim Jong Un’s father and grandfather portrayed as gods is important for a regime based on hereditary rule,” Peter Beck, a Korea specialist and The Asia Foundation’s representative in Seoul, South Korea, told Huffington Post. “Legitimacy comes from his forefathers. Kim Jong Un’s father and grandfather may be dead, but he embodies their essence.”

In case you didn’t get a sense of just how prominent that essence is, an annual exhibition in the “Dear Leader’s” honor showcases 30,000 red “kimjongilia” begonias (yes, even the flowers derived their name from him). This year, a new exhibition hall opened in his memory for the floral display.

And while no big parades are planned tomorrow, there is an international figure skating competition. Because no birthday would be complete without one.

North Korea Prepares For Kim Jong Il’s Birthday (PHOTOS)

North Korea Gets Ready for Kim Jong Il’s Birthday

« PREVIOUS