Kim Il Sung

Kim Il Sung has been viewed as an insane dictator, who had very little hope of becoming a Christian - or even moral! There was a time in Kim's life where things were different. However, it is true that Kim Il Sung was very power hungry, fearful and selfish.

While North Korea was starving Kim Il Sung would have expensive food flown in from all over the world. Everything he ate was to aid in his longevity. Kim Il Sung and his officers were so frightened of his death that everything Kim did was recorded for posterity sake. Kim also had an huge amount of doctors, also flown in from around the world. Every body part was assigned to a set of doctors, the East Germans received the task of working on his neck and head. Kim Il Sung even had a special toilet that traveled with him. The device would automatically examine his excrete to make sure that he was healthy and digesting well!

Kim Il Sung, also, had a terrible fear of being forgotten. To prevent being forgotten he had someone follow him around writing down his every observation, his every word! This was considered "holy writ" and was respected by every North Korean as one would respect the Bible. Kim also had over three hundred thousands monuments erected in his honor. This figure does not count all the benches that he sat on in public. Those, instead, got a glass box covering them with a small plaque and are not considered monuments.

If a North Korean were to disrespect Kim Il Sung in anyway, by being disrespectful to a monument, sitting on a picture of Kim Il Sung, speaking against him, or any other form, intentionally or not, they would be severely punished. They would be sent to a horrible prison. People who escaped North Korea report that the prisons are filthy, the prisoners are practically starved, and they are used as slave labor. Most of the prisoners are political.

That is just one horrific way that Kim Il Sung abuses his power. Most of the extremely strange laws have to do with Kim's pride. Another example of this, is that Kim Il Sung never had conversations with anyone. When he spoke to someone, whether it was a guest or a solider, they had to stand at attention and await orders. What a lonely life that must have been! However, it is what Kim Il Sung chose, he choose power over friendship. And that is what he lived with.

Kim Il Sung was able to get away with such abuse because he didn't just run a communist country, he ran a cult. All of his decisions - or excuses for his decisions - were based on the word Jushe. Which is an ancient philosophy that there is one leader, the god head, who is like the brain. Then there is the nervous system, the officers,  that is a liaison between the god head and the people. And then there are the people who simply carry out the tasks assigned to them.

People who have escaped North Korea have reported that those who didn't hate North Korea, loved it. Some Koreans are unable to keep the bombardment of brainwashing out and critical thinking in, they begin to love their abuser and would do anything for him. Others, are able to get enough outside information to know that something isn't right, and risk their lives to flee or protest the dictatorship.

People never start out with the intent to become a power-hungry fearful man. There are life situations that push them toward that. Yes, it is still their choice, but there is always a back story. And there certainly is in regards to Kim Il Sung! Kim was born to Christian parents, his grandfather was a pastor, his father went to missionary school and was an elder, and his mother was a devote Christian and strived to be a good mother. Kim would have learned about Jesus Christ as savior from a very early age. It is unknown if Kim Il Sung accepted Jesus Christ when he was a child, due to revisionist history it is sometimes hard to tell what is true and what is fabrication.

However, we do know that when Kim Il Sung was a teenager he began getting into some trouble. In school he would challenge the teachers and pick fights with the students. He was a classic problem child and couldn't wait to get out of school and his parents lives. What changed is, again, unclear. But, something did, it is unlikely that someone would rebel for no reason.

As a young adult Kim Il Sung joined the gorilla warfare in China on the soviet side. He stayed in the soviet camp for a few decades. The soldiers knew him well, and had been able to thoroughly turn him over to communism. When it was time for Russia to pick a leader for Korea they chose Kim, because he was Korean and the people would be less likely to rebel if one of their own was in power, and because he was very communist. That was when the power and fear began to grow, and matured it to who we knew, the Dictator Kim Il Sung. 

When one looks at Kim Il Sung's actions and life it is hard to tell that there would be any hope of him becoming a Christian. Yes, God is big enough to do anything, but it seems unlikely that Kim would ever be open enough to seeing God. However, if one were to dig a little deeper the amazing revelation is that Kim already had the seeds planted, and was perhaps, already struggling with the knowledge of God. Everyone has a back-story, the most hopeless person could be the one closest to becoming aware of God. Unfortunately, it is too late to pray for Kim Il Sung for he passed away just a few years ago. Let this be a lesson to us all; not only is God powerful enough to help anyone, but someone may be closer to being helped than you think.