1 00:00:10,244 --> 00:00:14,313 (male narrator) In North Korea, a nation is in mourning. 2 00:00:17,251 --> 00:00:23,288 Their dictator for the past 48 years, Kim Il Sung is dead. 3 00:00:29,964 --> 00:00:32,898 (Michael Madden) For the North Koreans, Kim Il Sung was a living god. 4 00:00:36,737 --> 00:00:40,105 And these people were being told that god was dead. 5 00:00:45,479 --> 00:00:48,814 (Jean H. Lee) They were shocked. 6 00:00:48,849 --> 00:00:52,117 Because they had been raised to think of him as a god, 7 00:00:52,153 --> 00:00:55,254 they didn't know that he was even mortal. 8 00:01:00,861 --> 00:01:06,665 (narrator) But the myth of Kim's divinity concealed a darker truth. 9 00:01:06,700 --> 00:01:11,703 Behind the facade was a brutal ruler, whose regime 10 00:01:11,739 --> 00:01:14,907 imprisoned, killed, and tortured hundreds of thousands. 11 00:01:14,942 --> 00:01:16,542 [loud applause] 12 00:01:16,577 --> 00:01:19,178 (Natasha Ezrow) Kim Il Sung created 13 00:01:19,213 --> 00:01:22,047 an atmosphere of fear and paranoia. 14 00:01:22,083 --> 00:01:25,751 And everybody knew that they needed to get in line. 15 00:01:25,786 --> 00:01:27,586 [speaking Korean] 16 00:01:38,732 --> 00:01:42,468 He needed to have absolute control over the people. 17 00:01:42,503 --> 00:01:46,305 That means controlling what they think, 18 00:01:46,340 --> 00:01:50,909 where they work, what they eat. 19 00:01:50,945 --> 00:01:54,480 (Natasha Ezrow) There's no country in the world that exercises 20 00:01:54,515 --> 00:01:59,384 more control and power over its citizens than North Korea. 21 00:01:59,420 --> 00:02:02,354 (narrator) Ironically, the man who turned his country 22 00:02:02,389 --> 00:02:05,057 into a kind of prison, 23 00:02:05,092 --> 00:02:08,227 spent much of his youth fighting for Korean independence. 24 00:02:08,262 --> 00:02:10,496 [loud cheering] 25 00:02:10,531 --> 00:02:14,233 How did a man who risked his life 26 00:02:14,268 --> 00:02:18,170 for the freedom of his people become their oppressor 27 00:02:18,205 --> 00:02:21,540 and build one of the most controlled societies on earth? 28 00:02:26,480 --> 00:02:29,181 (woman) Dictatorships have had an incredible impact 29 00:02:29,216 --> 00:02:31,950 in the past century. 30 00:02:31,986 --> 00:02:35,787 These dictators ended up learning from one another. 31 00:02:35,823 --> 00:02:39,491 (man) They're all different but many use the same tactics. 32 00:02:39,527 --> 00:02:41,927 (woman) The use of terror. (man) Propaganda. 33 00:02:41,962 --> 00:02:44,096 (woman) Control the elites. Create an enemy. 34 00:02:44,131 --> 00:02:46,532 Cult of personality. (man) Use violence-- 35 00:02:46,567 --> 00:02:48,867 these are tools that dictators use to stay in power. 36 00:02:54,842 --> 00:03:01,180 [singing in Korean] 37 00:03:01,215 --> 00:03:05,584 (male narrator) The dictatorship Kim Il Sung created in North Korea 38 00:03:05,619 --> 00:03:09,087 still survives, nearly 25 years after his death. 39 00:03:09,123 --> 00:03:13,425 Kim created the system with himself at the apex of power 40 00:03:13,460 --> 00:03:16,728 that has lasted now for almost 70 years. 41 00:03:16,764 --> 00:03:20,165 It's been led by the same family now 42 00:03:20,201 --> 00:03:22,434 onto the 3rd generation, 43 00:03:22,469 --> 00:03:25,170 and that's really an extraordinary record. 44 00:03:25,206 --> 00:03:27,339 [steady beat of boots hitting the pavement] 45 00:03:27,374 --> 00:03:31,677 (narrator) Today's North Korea, ruled by Kim Jong Un, 46 00:03:31,712 --> 00:03:34,179 remains a tightly controlled totalitarian state. 47 00:03:37,518 --> 00:03:40,485 If you study Kim Jong Un's ideology, 48 00:03:40,521 --> 00:03:43,155 his strategy, his policy, 49 00:03:43,190 --> 00:03:46,925 it is very similar to that of his grandfather Kim Il Sung, 50 00:03:46,961 --> 00:03:49,394 but with a more modern vent. 51 00:03:49,430 --> 00:03:53,765 This is really one of the most isolated 52 00:03:53,801 --> 00:03:56,301 and strictly-regulated societies in the world. 53 00:04:01,442 --> 00:04:04,109 (narrator) The seeds of this extreme dictatorship 54 00:04:04,144 --> 00:04:06,979 were sown more than 100 years ago, 55 00:04:07,014 --> 00:04:09,848 in a time of turmoil for Korea. 56 00:04:12,319 --> 00:04:16,922 In 1910, the country was annexed by Japan. 57 00:04:19,860 --> 00:04:23,795 Japan's growing empire wanted Korea as an access point 58 00:04:23,831 --> 00:04:26,798 to strike at its rivals, China and Russia. 59 00:04:29,536 --> 00:04:34,539 For Koreans, decades of suffering were about to begin. 60 00:04:34,575 --> 00:04:39,578 (Michael Madden) The Japanese really put in an ethnic cleansing program. 61 00:04:39,613 --> 00:04:43,515 They changed the names of Korean citizens, 62 00:04:43,550 --> 00:04:48,453 and they basically tried to eradicate the Korean language. 63 00:04:48,489 --> 00:04:52,858 (narrator) Those who resisted were tortured and executed. 64 00:04:52,893 --> 00:04:58,764 This is the world Kim Il Sung is born into in 1912, 65 00:04:58,799 --> 00:05:02,801 2 years after the occupation began. 66 00:05:02,836 --> 00:05:07,539 In a village just outside the Korean city of Pyongyang 67 00:05:07,574 --> 00:05:10,609 his parents name him Kim Song Ju. 68 00:05:12,913 --> 00:05:16,081 This is a kid who was named Song-Ju, 69 00:05:16,116 --> 00:05:18,817 which means pillar of the country, 70 00:05:18,852 --> 00:05:22,587 and so he was expected by his parents to do something amazing. 71 00:05:22,623 --> 00:05:25,324 (narrator) Kim's mother and father introduce him 72 00:05:25,359 --> 00:05:28,894 to Christianity as a young boy. 73 00:05:28,929 --> 00:05:31,930 (Bruce Cumings) Pyongyang was the center of Christianity in Korea. 74 00:05:31,965 --> 00:05:36,134 It was known as "The Jerusalem of the East." 75 00:05:36,170 --> 00:05:42,774 (narrator) Kim learns the organ and plays it in his parents' church. 76 00:05:42,810 --> 00:05:46,678 But just before his 7th birthday, 77 00:05:46,714 --> 00:05:51,917 his innocence is shattered when his father is arrested 78 00:05:51,952 --> 00:05:55,120 for protesting against the Japanese occupation. 79 00:05:55,155 --> 00:05:58,023 His father was arrested 80 00:05:58,058 --> 00:06:01,693 during the 1919 independence demonstrations 81 00:06:01,729 --> 00:06:04,296 against the Japanese. 82 00:06:04,331 --> 00:06:07,332 (narrator) Kim's father is involved in 83 00:06:07,368 --> 00:06:10,068 the local resistance movement against Japanese oppression. 84 00:06:10,104 --> 00:06:14,539 He and other protestors are jailed and treated unmercifully. 85 00:06:18,278 --> 00:06:22,647 (Jean H. Lee) Kim was taken to see his father in prison. 86 00:06:25,986 --> 00:06:30,088 And that image of his father, beaten, bruised, tortured, 87 00:06:30,124 --> 00:06:33,592 completely emaciated, was seared into his memory. 88 00:06:33,627 --> 00:06:36,495 (narrator) Watching his father suffer 89 00:06:36,530 --> 00:06:39,531 instills in Kim a hatred of the Japanese. 90 00:06:43,704 --> 00:06:48,340 At 19, he commits his life to his parents' cause. 91 00:06:51,378 --> 00:06:53,979 He joins a Communist guerilla group, 92 00:06:54,014 --> 00:06:56,715 battling the Japanese Army in the mountains 93 00:06:56,750 --> 00:07:00,585 near the Korean-Chinese border. 94 00:07:00,621 --> 00:07:05,924 (Bruce Cumings) It's a very mountainous area, extremely hot in the summer, 95 00:07:05,959 --> 00:07:08,794 and bone-chilling cold in the winter, 96 00:07:08,829 --> 00:07:12,831 down to 40 degrees below zero-- 97 00:07:12,866 --> 00:07:15,200 the absolute worst circumstances. 98 00:07:15,235 --> 00:07:17,936 [loud & rapid gunfire & explosions] 99 00:07:17,971 --> 00:07:22,641 (narrator) Kim's success in raids against Japanese strongholds 100 00:07:22,676 --> 00:07:27,646 establishes his reputation as a heroic freedom fighter. 101 00:07:27,681 --> 00:07:32,451 (Bruce Cumings) He was a tall man for a Korean, over 6 feet tall, 102 00:07:32,486 --> 00:07:37,122 strong, smart, illusive, a really remarkable guerilla. 103 00:07:37,157 --> 00:07:39,991 [loud explosions] 104 00:07:40,027 --> 00:07:44,162 (narrator) By 24, Kim had risen through the ranks, 105 00:07:44,198 --> 00:07:46,731 leading hundreds of men 106 00:07:46,767 --> 00:07:48,967 in crippling raids on Japanese positions. 107 00:07:54,208 --> 00:07:59,344 As his fame grows, he becomes an almost legendary figure. 108 00:08:03,083 --> 00:08:08,487 By the late 1930s, Kim Il Sung is the most wanted 109 00:08:08,522 --> 00:08:10,822 guerilla leader fighting the Japanese. 110 00:08:10,858 --> 00:08:14,092 They send divisions of men 111 00:08:14,127 --> 00:08:17,629 into the mountains to hunt him down. 112 00:08:17,664 --> 00:08:20,031 in 1938 and '39, the Japanese 113 00:08:20,067 --> 00:08:22,400 threw tens of thousands of soldiers 114 00:08:22,436 --> 00:08:24,636 against Kim Il Sung and other guerillas. 115 00:08:27,040 --> 00:08:32,210 These were pitched battles on a major scale. 116 00:08:32,246 --> 00:08:37,148 (narrator) The Japanese killed thousands of guerillas, but not Kim. 117 00:08:41,889 --> 00:08:46,157 His fellow revolutionaries give him the name Kim Il Sung, 118 00:08:46,193 --> 00:08:49,728 meaning become the sun. 119 00:08:49,763 --> 00:08:53,498 (Michael Madden) And that's the name that stuck. 120 00:08:53,534 --> 00:08:58,103 Without being a guerilla, there is no Kim Il Sung. 121 00:08:58,138 --> 00:09:02,507 He got pressed in the southern part of Korea, 122 00:09:02,543 --> 00:09:05,644 Europe, China, Russia, I mean it was all over the place. 123 00:09:09,182 --> 00:09:13,919 (narrator) In the decades to come, Kim's legend as a freedom fighter 124 00:09:13,954 --> 00:09:17,122 will give rise to a defining feature of his dictatorship. 125 00:09:21,428 --> 00:09:24,329 The cult of personality is the idea 126 00:09:24,364 --> 00:09:26,932 that the leader possesses superhuman qualities, 127 00:09:26,967 --> 00:09:30,135 that the leader is a savior to the nation. 128 00:09:30,170 --> 00:09:32,437 Dictators build personality cults 129 00:09:32,472 --> 00:09:36,474 because it enables them to mesmerize the public, 130 00:09:36,510 --> 00:09:39,978 to ensure that the public adores them. 131 00:09:40,013 --> 00:09:43,148 Kim Il Sung was able to do it 132 00:09:43,183 --> 00:09:46,151 on a level that we've never seen before. 133 00:09:46,186 --> 00:09:50,755 (narrator) In time, Kim's days as a guerilla leader will provide 134 00:09:50,791 --> 00:09:54,960 the cornerstone of the cult of personality built around him. 135 00:09:54,995 --> 00:09:58,630 That was an enormous element of his prestige and legitimacy 136 00:09:58,665 --> 00:10:01,499 when he started out, and it remains 137 00:10:01,535 --> 00:10:03,635 the core legitimacy of the regime. 138 00:10:06,873 --> 00:10:12,177 (narrator) But in the spring of 1941, Kim's dictatorship is a long way off. 139 00:10:12,212 --> 00:10:16,881 The guerilla movement has been crushed by the Japanese. 140 00:10:16,917 --> 00:10:21,353 Kim and his guerilla fighters are forced to flee. 141 00:10:21,388 --> 00:10:24,656 They take refuge in the last safe place left-- 142 00:10:24,691 --> 00:10:27,292 the Soviet Union. 143 00:10:30,430 --> 00:10:34,399 The Soviet army embraces Kim for his resistance to the Japanese. 144 00:10:34,434 --> 00:10:37,102 They make him captain 145 00:10:37,137 --> 00:10:40,639 and put him in charge of some 160 Korean guerillas. 146 00:10:43,910 --> 00:10:47,812 Kim and his guerillas train for action against the Japanese. 147 00:10:47,848 --> 00:10:53,818 But in June 1941, Germany invades the Soviet Union 148 00:10:53,854 --> 00:10:58,657 forcing the country to defend its western borders. 149 00:10:58,692 --> 00:11:00,558 [loud explosions] 150 00:11:06,166 --> 00:11:09,701 Kim finds himself sidelined in the Soviet Far East. 151 00:11:12,739 --> 00:11:15,940 While waiting for action, 152 00:11:15,976 --> 00:11:19,644 he closely observes their iron-fisted leader. 153 00:11:19,680 --> 00:11:24,849 (Michael Madden) Kim Il Sung was a student of Joseph Stalin. 154 00:11:24,885 --> 00:11:28,319 He had immense respect for Joseph Stalin. 155 00:11:28,355 --> 00:11:31,990 (narrator) Kim has begun a common stage 156 00:11:32,025 --> 00:11:34,626 in the development of many dictators. 157 00:11:37,664 --> 00:11:41,366 (Natasha Ezrow) Dictators learn from each other all the time about 158 00:11:41,401 --> 00:11:45,203 how they rise to power, about how to deal with opponents, 159 00:11:45,238 --> 00:11:49,507 about how you maintain a dictatorship for decades on end. 160 00:11:49,543 --> 00:11:53,778 So for many dictators, Joseph Stalin is actually a role model. 161 00:11:56,416 --> 00:11:59,751 (narrator) Stalin used his own cult of personality 162 00:11:59,786 --> 00:12:02,954 to secure his position and transform the Soviet Union 163 00:12:02,989 --> 00:12:06,324 into an industrial and military powerhouse. 164 00:12:06,359 --> 00:12:11,229 [speaking in Russian] 165 00:12:11,264 --> 00:12:15,633 (Natasha Ezrow) He cultivated an image that he was the father of the nation, 166 00:12:15,669 --> 00:12:18,570 that he was a strong leader. 167 00:12:18,605 --> 00:12:24,743 But he also was really adept at using fear to insure loyalty. 168 00:12:24,778 --> 00:12:27,645 So for anyone that wanted to learn from Stalin, 169 00:12:27,681 --> 00:12:30,949 they learned quite a bit about the level of brutality 170 00:12:30,984 --> 00:12:33,518 that was needed, particularly in the beginning of the regime 171 00:12:33,553 --> 00:12:35,086 to ensure mass compliance. 172 00:12:37,290 --> 00:12:40,925 (narrator) More than 500 miles from home, 173 00:12:40,961 --> 00:12:44,129 Kim seems light-years away from using such tactics. 174 00:12:47,567 --> 00:12:51,503 But with World War II coming to an end, 175 00:12:51,538 --> 00:12:53,805 things are about to change. 176 00:12:57,377 --> 00:13:01,713 [extremely loud explosions] 177 00:13:01,748 --> 00:13:05,784 While Kim is sidelined in the Soviet Far East, 178 00:13:05,819 --> 00:13:08,219 the allies crush Hitler's armies in Germany. 179 00:13:12,492 --> 00:13:16,528 Sensing an oppportunity, Joseph Stalin declares war 180 00:13:16,563 --> 00:13:19,631 on Kim's sworn enemy, Japan. 181 00:13:22,302 --> 00:13:26,237 Along with the United States, 182 00:13:26,273 --> 00:13:29,274 the Soviets drive the Japanese from Korea. 183 00:13:39,553 --> 00:13:43,721 Kim's dream since he was 7 years old, 184 00:13:43,757 --> 00:13:47,559 to see a Korea free from Japanese occupiers, 185 00:13:47,594 --> 00:13:50,161 has finally been realized. 186 00:13:50,197 --> 00:13:53,765 But there's a complication. 187 00:13:53,800 --> 00:13:56,801 The Soviets came in from the north 188 00:13:56,837 --> 00:14:00,438 and the Americans came in from the south, 189 00:14:00,473 --> 00:14:05,143 and they agreed to divide the peninsula at the 38th parallel. 190 00:14:05,178 --> 00:14:10,682 (narrator) Korea is now divided and controlled by 2 foreign powers. 191 00:14:10,717 --> 00:14:15,553 In the north, the Soviets need Koreans they can trust 192 00:14:15,589 --> 00:14:18,289 to help stabilize their occupation. 193 00:14:18,325 --> 00:14:21,559 They recruit Kim and send him home to Korea. 194 00:14:21,595 --> 00:14:25,530 His years of exile are over. 195 00:14:25,565 --> 00:14:29,500 He was brought to Pyongyang and installed by the Soviets 196 00:14:29,536 --> 00:14:32,136 as their man in Pyongyang. 197 00:14:32,172 --> 00:14:35,640 He was somebody that they saw could really carry out 198 00:14:35,675 --> 00:14:37,942 some of the Soviet objectives. 199 00:14:37,978 --> 00:14:41,412 (narrator) The Soviets appoint Kim to a key position, 200 00:14:41,448 --> 00:14:44,983 Deputy Commandant in Pyongyang. 201 00:14:45,018 --> 00:14:47,619 He acts as a liaison between Soviet occupying forces 202 00:14:47,654 --> 00:14:49,988 and local Koreans. 203 00:14:52,559 --> 00:14:55,326 It's his first taste of political power, 204 00:14:55,362 --> 00:14:57,228 and his ambition kicks in. 205 00:14:59,633 --> 00:15:03,134 He begins to envision himself as the one man 206 00:15:03,169 --> 00:15:06,671 who can bring North and South Korea back together again, 207 00:15:06,706 --> 00:15:10,541 and sets his sights on the leadership of the nation. 208 00:15:10,577 --> 00:15:14,312 (Jean H. Lee) But what motivated him, I mean, it was 209 00:15:14,347 --> 00:15:18,583 personal ambition plus the mission to build a country. 210 00:15:18,618 --> 00:15:23,421 He was motivated by a desire to make this country intact. 211 00:15:23,456 --> 00:15:26,224 (narrator) But if Kim is going to become 212 00:15:26,259 --> 00:15:28,459 the ruler of Soviet-controlled Korea, 213 00:15:28,495 --> 00:15:31,963 he'll have to convince them he's the man for the job. 214 00:15:31,998 --> 00:15:36,501 Kim Il Sung's greatest strength was his charisma 215 00:15:36,536 --> 00:15:39,003 and his interpersonal skills. 216 00:15:39,039 --> 00:15:43,408 I think that helped him enormously. 217 00:15:43,443 --> 00:15:48,713 (narrator) Kim gets a chance to use these skills in the fall of 1945 218 00:15:48,748 --> 00:15:51,950 when resentment against the Soviets begins to build. 219 00:15:51,985 --> 00:15:56,154 Many Koreans feel they've traded one occupier for another. 220 00:15:56,189 --> 00:16:01,059 They want a Korea free from outside interference. 221 00:16:01,094 --> 00:16:05,396 When Korea was occupied by the Soviet Union, 222 00:16:05,432 --> 00:16:09,000 there was a lot of turmoil, a lot of uncertainty 223 00:16:09,035 --> 00:16:11,402 about the political direction of the country. 224 00:16:11,438 --> 00:16:13,571 The Soviets put communists in control 225 00:16:13,606 --> 00:16:16,507 and a lot of people resented that. 226 00:16:16,543 --> 00:16:21,279 There came to be quite a bit of anti-communist sentiment, 227 00:16:21,314 --> 00:16:24,449 particularly among a lot of young people. 228 00:16:24,484 --> 00:16:27,518 (narrator) November 23, 1945, 229 00:16:27,554 --> 00:16:30,755 in Sinuiju, a city on the border with China, 230 00:16:30,790 --> 00:16:33,358 Soviet and Korean forces cracked down 231 00:16:33,393 --> 00:16:35,994 on an anti-communist student protest. 232 00:16:38,732 --> 00:16:42,600 Sinuiju is a mess, hundreds of people were injured 233 00:16:42,635 --> 00:16:44,902 and there's estimates that 100 students died. 234 00:16:47,674 --> 00:16:50,308 (narrator) Student protests against the violence 235 00:16:50,343 --> 00:16:51,876 erupt across North Korea. 236 00:16:54,814 --> 00:16:57,648 The Soviets send Kim to Sinuiju 237 00:16:57,684 --> 00:16:59,751 in a last-ditch attempt to restore order. 238 00:17:02,989 --> 00:17:06,524 It's the opportunity he's been waiting for. 239 00:17:06,559 --> 00:17:10,495 Kim was able to calm things down and to say 240 00:17:10,530 --> 00:17:12,764 the communists are not your enemy, 241 00:17:12,799 --> 00:17:15,566 we have to work together to create 242 00:17:15,602 --> 00:17:18,569 a system for everyone, and it really helped. 243 00:17:18,605 --> 00:17:22,874 He was a natural hands-on leader, and I think 244 00:17:22,909 --> 00:17:25,443 maybe at Sinuiju that was first demonstrated. 245 00:17:27,680 --> 00:17:29,680 (narrator) Prominent Soviets are impressed 246 00:17:29,716 --> 00:17:32,150 by Kim's skill in diffusing the uprising. 247 00:17:32,185 --> 00:17:34,619 [loud applause] 248 00:17:34,654 --> 00:17:37,355 They put him in charge of the puppet government 249 00:17:37,390 --> 00:17:39,290 they've installed in North Korea. 250 00:17:39,325 --> 00:17:41,492 (Bruce Cumings) In February 1946, 251 00:17:41,528 --> 00:17:44,662 he became head of the first national government 252 00:17:44,697 --> 00:17:48,633 and it's really from that time on that we can see 253 00:17:48,668 --> 00:17:51,969 Kim Il Sung's dominance of the North Korean system. 254 00:17:52,005 --> 00:17:55,573 (narrator) Kim the guerilla fought for his country's liberation 255 00:17:55,608 --> 00:17:58,743 for nearly 2 decades; Kim the politician 256 00:17:58,778 --> 00:18:02,046 has taken just 4 months to become its ruler. 257 00:18:04,984 --> 00:18:07,685 But he's still under the Soviet umbrella. 258 00:18:10,190 --> 00:18:12,523 To govern the country on his own, 259 00:18:12,559 --> 00:18:16,060 he needs to show the Soviets he can run 260 00:18:16,096 --> 00:18:18,763 a successful communist country that's loyal to them. 261 00:18:18,798 --> 00:18:21,933 He can only do that if he has the support of his people. 262 00:18:24,604 --> 00:18:27,905 Kim turns to a tactic familiar to many would-be dictators. 263 00:18:34,013 --> 00:18:38,049 When dictators first take power, they often try to get consent 264 00:18:38,084 --> 00:18:41,018 by appealing to as many people as possible, 265 00:18:41,054 --> 00:18:43,254 trying to please the masses, 266 00:18:43,289 --> 00:18:46,824 trying to ensure that they are loyal to them. 267 00:18:46,860 --> 00:18:50,261 They wouldn't want to incite some sort of revolution. 268 00:18:53,833 --> 00:18:58,836 The first way is that they try to provide the public 269 00:18:58,872 --> 00:19:02,673 with some kind of good and service, 270 00:19:02,709 --> 00:19:06,144 like access to education, access to water, electricity. 271 00:19:06,179 --> 00:19:09,080 They may make gas much cheaper, 272 00:19:09,115 --> 00:19:11,782 they may be lowering taxes. 273 00:19:11,818 --> 00:19:14,919 They want to ensure that the masses feel 274 00:19:14,954 --> 00:19:16,988 that there's a need for this dictatorship. 275 00:19:19,726 --> 00:19:23,561 (narrator) To win his people over, Kim makes a dramatic offer. 276 00:19:23,596 --> 00:19:26,831 (Bruce Cumings) Kim Il Sung announced a land reform. 277 00:19:26,866 --> 00:19:29,567 Peasants were given land free, 278 00:19:29,602 --> 00:19:33,371 they got 3 chungbo, which is a fairly small farm, 279 00:19:33,406 --> 00:19:36,974 but one that would sustain a family. 280 00:19:37,010 --> 00:19:39,944 (narrator) For the first time in centuries, 281 00:19:39,979 --> 00:19:43,247 farmers can call the land their own. 282 00:19:43,283 --> 00:19:45,550 (Jean H. Lee) Giving them control over their land, 283 00:19:45,585 --> 00:19:48,252 giving them a sense of ownership again 284 00:19:48,288 --> 00:19:51,022 after hundreds of years of feudal rule, and then 285 00:19:51,057 --> 00:19:53,324 these brutal 35 years of Japanese occupation, 286 00:19:53,359 --> 00:19:56,294 gave the Koreans a sense of pride 287 00:19:56,329 --> 00:20:01,232 and a vision of a new Korea. 288 00:20:03,403 --> 00:20:07,738 (narrator) Kim gives 2.4 million acres of land 289 00:20:07,774 --> 00:20:12,343 to more than 700,000 farmers and their families. 290 00:20:12,378 --> 00:20:15,379 (Charles K. Armstrong) That's a huge boost to Kim's popularity. 291 00:20:15,415 --> 00:20:18,416 Now you have maybe 70% of the Korean population 292 00:20:18,451 --> 00:20:20,618 which has directly, materially, 293 00:20:20,653 --> 00:20:23,287 benefited from the policies of the new regime. 294 00:20:23,323 --> 00:20:26,257 So that was a very effective tool 295 00:20:26,292 --> 00:20:28,459 of getting popular consent for Kim. 296 00:20:32,532 --> 00:20:35,066 (narrator) But Kim still needs consent 297 00:20:35,101 --> 00:20:37,335 from a group even more important than the masses. 298 00:20:39,973 --> 00:20:42,607 (Natasha Ezrow) The elites are the biggest threat to any dictator. 299 00:20:42,642 --> 00:20:45,776 They have to make sure that this elite group 300 00:20:45,812 --> 00:20:48,212 is unified and incredibly loyal. 301 00:20:48,248 --> 00:20:52,483 If they can't do that, they are at risk of being overthrown. 302 00:20:52,518 --> 00:20:55,386 (narrator) After using the carrot with the masses, 303 00:20:55,421 --> 00:20:58,856 Kim uses the stick with the elites-- 304 00:20:58,891 --> 00:21:03,294 high ranking communists and other rivals he doesn't trust. 305 00:21:03,329 --> 00:21:07,164 Kim was very shrewd in dealing with his enemies. 306 00:21:07,200 --> 00:21:11,035 He sent them to South Korea-- people who had 307 00:21:11,070 --> 00:21:13,904 served the Japanese, military officers, 308 00:21:13,940 --> 00:21:16,107 and other Korean communists-- all potential rivals. 309 00:21:20,246 --> 00:21:24,415 (narrator) Over the next 2 years, Kim takes one more step 310 00:21:24,450 --> 00:21:28,552 to show the Soviets he's capable of ruling the country 311 00:21:28,588 --> 00:21:31,155 without their help-- by proving he can defend it. 312 00:21:33,660 --> 00:21:36,661 Building from a core group 313 00:21:36,696 --> 00:21:40,064 of some 200 of his old guerrilla comrades 314 00:21:40,099 --> 00:21:42,800 and amasses an army of more than 60,000 soldiers. 315 00:21:42,835 --> 00:21:44,535 [Kim speaking Korean] 316 00:21:58,384 --> 00:22:01,752 (narrator) By 1948, the Soviets are convinced Kim 317 00:22:01,788 --> 00:22:04,755 has a firm hold on the country. 318 00:22:04,791 --> 00:22:06,590 They begin to pull out. 319 00:22:14,600 --> 00:22:19,737 For the first time in almost 5 decades, 320 00:22:19,772 --> 00:22:24,075 North Korea is free from foreign control... 321 00:22:24,110 --> 00:22:26,911 and Kim is the undisputed leader. 322 00:22:32,452 --> 00:22:38,155 He finally has the power to go for his ultimate goal, 323 00:22:38,191 --> 00:22:42,159 one shared by many in his country-- 324 00:22:42,195 --> 00:22:45,629 unifying North and South Korea. 325 00:22:45,665 --> 00:22:51,035 Kim wanted the peninsula unified as it had been 326 00:22:51,070 --> 00:22:54,739 for thousands of years before, under a single government. 327 00:22:54,774 --> 00:22:57,375 Kim Il Sung saw himself as the great unifier. 328 00:22:57,410 --> 00:23:01,812 A unified Korea without foreign troops. 329 00:23:01,848 --> 00:23:06,984 (narrator) In the summer of 1949, Kim sees his chance. 330 00:23:07,019 --> 00:23:10,621 The U.S. has pulled most of its troops from South Korea. 331 00:23:13,826 --> 00:23:17,762 Its borders are now defended by 60,000 South Korean soldiers. 332 00:23:22,335 --> 00:23:26,637 When Kim doubles his army to 120,000 men, 333 00:23:26,672 --> 00:23:29,607 the South Koreans are outnumbered 2 to 1. 334 00:23:31,010 --> 00:23:32,376 [loud applause] 335 00:23:34,580 --> 00:23:36,213 [Kim speaks Korean] 336 00:23:52,365 --> 00:23:54,865 [extremely loud explosions and machine-gun fire] 337 00:23:58,404 --> 00:24:02,573 (narrator) One year later, Kim invades South Korea. 338 00:24:02,608 --> 00:24:06,210 [extremely loud explosions and gunfire] 339 00:24:13,953 --> 00:24:17,054 Kim's army steamrolls the outnumbered South Korean forces 340 00:24:17,089 --> 00:24:20,424 and pins them into a small corner of the country. 341 00:24:22,962 --> 00:24:26,831 He believes his dream of a unified Korea 342 00:24:26,866 --> 00:24:29,700 is about to come true... 343 00:24:29,735 --> 00:24:33,571 But Kim's made a major miscalculation. 344 00:24:33,606 --> 00:24:38,742 What he did not seem to understand was that 345 00:24:38,778 --> 00:24:42,446 South Korea had become important to the United States. 346 00:24:45,184 --> 00:24:48,352 (narrator) Worried about the global spread of communism, 347 00:24:48,387 --> 00:24:51,889 U.S. President Harry Truman has appealed to the UN 348 00:24:51,924 --> 00:24:54,658 for support in defending South Korea. 349 00:24:54,694 --> 00:24:57,761 If the United Nations yields to the forces of aggression, 350 00:24:57,797 --> 00:25:00,164 no nation will be safe or secure. 351 00:25:04,103 --> 00:25:06,871 (narrator) September, 1950. 352 00:25:06,906 --> 00:25:10,341 [extremely loud explosions] 353 00:25:10,376 --> 00:25:15,312 With Kim on the verge of victory, a UN force 354 00:25:15,348 --> 00:25:19,350 led by American troops carries out a daring counterattack... 355 00:25:19,385 --> 00:25:21,619 [extremely loud explosions and machine-gun fire] 356 00:25:26,158 --> 00:25:29,493 ...and pushes Kim's army north. 357 00:25:29,529 --> 00:25:32,429 Kim's shattered forces retreat 358 00:25:32,465 --> 00:25:37,201 across the 38th parallel into North Korea. 359 00:25:37,236 --> 00:25:40,137 The UN forces under American leadership 360 00:25:40,172 --> 00:25:43,974 came very close to wiping out Kim's regime. 361 00:25:44,010 --> 00:25:47,811 (narrator) Kim's decision to make war on the Korean peninsula 362 00:25:47,847 --> 00:25:50,915 has pushed his forces to the brink of disaster. 363 00:25:57,990 --> 00:26:01,292 (narrator) October 1, 1950. 364 00:26:03,796 --> 00:26:07,531 Kim Il Sung's army is trapped 365 00:26:07,567 --> 00:26:13,237 in a small corner of North Korea by U.S. led UN forces. 366 00:26:13,272 --> 00:26:16,507 Desperate for help, Kim convinces China's leader, 367 00:26:16,542 --> 00:26:19,143 Chairman Mao, to support his communist cause. 368 00:26:21,080 --> 00:26:23,948 [extremely loud explosions] 369 00:26:27,019 --> 00:26:29,453 (narrator) Three weeks later. 370 00:26:29,488 --> 00:26:31,288 [extremely loud machine-gun fire] 371 00:26:33,559 --> 00:26:36,627 Mao sends more than 250,000 troops 372 00:26:36,662 --> 00:26:38,862 across the Yalu River into North Korea... 373 00:26:41,534 --> 00:26:45,936 ...and drive the U.S. back toward the 38th parallel. 374 00:26:48,808 --> 00:26:52,943 Not only does it save Kim's forces from annihilation, 375 00:26:52,979 --> 00:26:56,513 it resurrects his dream of reunifying Korea. 376 00:27:00,786 --> 00:27:04,455 But the U.S. strikes back with a brutal new tactic. 377 00:27:07,727 --> 00:27:11,829 (Bruce Cumings) The U.S. began just basically bombing everything... 378 00:27:11,864 --> 00:27:15,566 ...targeting schools, hospitals-- 379 00:27:15,601 --> 00:27:18,268 it was just a brutal, scorched-earth air campaign. 380 00:27:22,608 --> 00:27:26,243 (Michael Madden) Pyongyang was leveled. 381 00:27:26,278 --> 00:27:29,847 Hamhung, level to the ground. Wonsan, level to the ground. 382 00:27:29,882 --> 00:27:34,351 Tens of thousands of people died overnight. 383 00:27:34,387 --> 00:27:36,854 And this is devastating. 384 00:27:42,094 --> 00:27:45,429 (Charles K. Armstrong) More tonnage of bombs was dropped on North Korea, 385 00:27:45,464 --> 00:27:48,599 than in all of the Pacific War 386 00:27:48,634 --> 00:27:50,601 between the U.S. and Japan during World War II. 387 00:27:53,973 --> 00:27:58,542 (narrator) The U.S. bombing exacts a heavy toll on North Korean civilians. 388 00:28:01,547 --> 00:28:04,615 20% of the nation, 389 00:28:04,650 --> 00:28:08,952 nearly 2 million people, lose their lives. 390 00:28:08,988 --> 00:28:12,289 It was the most unrestrained U.S. Air Force bombing campaign 391 00:28:12,324 --> 00:28:15,392 in the 20th century. 392 00:28:15,428 --> 00:28:20,764 It's a disaster for the country... and for Kim. 393 00:28:20,800 --> 00:28:24,635 (Bruce Cumings) He was in a very deep pickle, because 394 00:28:24,670 --> 00:28:28,572 he's the one who invaded the South with a lot of promises, 395 00:28:28,607 --> 00:28:30,641 and it brought a holocaust upon his country. 396 00:28:34,346 --> 00:28:36,613 (narrator) July, 1953. 397 00:28:36,649 --> 00:28:39,216 Almost 3 years after it began, 398 00:28:39,251 --> 00:28:42,319 and in the wake of the U.S. bombing, 399 00:28:42,354 --> 00:28:44,755 the war ends in a cease-fire. 400 00:28:44,790 --> 00:28:47,691 Its exhausted combatants end up where they began, 401 00:28:47,727 --> 00:28:49,960 straddling the 38th parallel. 402 00:28:52,865 --> 00:28:55,966 It's an abject failure for Kim. 403 00:28:56,001 --> 00:28:59,369 His dream of unifying the country has been squashed. 404 00:28:59,405 --> 00:29:03,006 North Korea has been bombed into submission 405 00:29:03,042 --> 00:29:07,411 with a 5th of its population dead. 406 00:29:07,446 --> 00:29:13,050 And there were many around him who criticized him for that. 407 00:29:13,085 --> 00:29:16,954 He was in a very weak positron at that point 408 00:29:16,989 --> 00:29:19,323 because of his reckless action. 409 00:29:19,358 --> 00:29:22,860 (narrator) But Kim has no intention of ceding his leadership. 410 00:29:22,895 --> 00:29:27,131 He begins to take a series of steps that will insure 411 00:29:27,166 --> 00:29:29,733 his hold on the country for years to come. 412 00:29:32,238 --> 00:29:36,473 One of the first is a classic move 413 00:29:36,509 --> 00:29:38,475 from the dictator's playbook. 414 00:29:43,282 --> 00:29:46,984 For any dictatorship, they have to use force because they 415 00:29:47,019 --> 00:29:50,954 need to project this image of power, this image of control. 416 00:29:50,990 --> 00:29:53,724 This image that if anyone tries to threaten the regime, 417 00:29:53,759 --> 00:29:56,160 they will be dealt with. 418 00:29:56,195 --> 00:29:59,763 (narrator) Kim immediately shifts the blame for the War 419 00:29:59,799 --> 00:30:02,232 from himself to his rivals, 420 00:30:02,268 --> 00:30:05,369 publicly denouncing 12 senior communists 421 00:30:05,404 --> 00:30:08,705 who had criticized his handling of it. 422 00:30:08,741 --> 00:30:11,809 (Charles K. Armstrong) Kim's rivals were accused of 423 00:30:11,844 --> 00:30:15,078 collaborating with the Americans to sell out North Korea. 424 00:30:15,114 --> 00:30:19,683 And they simply admitted to the charges, and then 425 00:30:19,718 --> 00:30:22,186 some went into exile, others were executed. 426 00:30:24,924 --> 00:30:28,325 (Jean H. Lee) Kim Il Sung used purges, 427 00:30:28,360 --> 00:30:32,429 executions, to send a message to the elites and to the people, 428 00:30:32,464 --> 00:30:37,267 that if they oppose him, that they won't survive. 429 00:30:37,303 --> 00:30:40,571 (narrator) Like Stalin before him, 430 00:30:40,606 --> 00:30:43,640 Kim takes out suspected opponents-- 431 00:30:43,676 --> 00:30:47,311 2500 in just 4 years. 432 00:30:47,346 --> 00:30:50,380 (Bruce Cumings) He just cashiered his enemies. 433 00:30:50,416 --> 00:30:55,419 What we can learn about Kim from that particular period is 434 00:30:55,454 --> 00:30:59,156 that he's a vicious, ruthless leader who brooks no opposition. 435 00:31:02,228 --> 00:31:04,761 (narrator) Although his most dangerous political enemies 436 00:31:04,797 --> 00:31:07,831 are dealt with, Kim must still convince the masses 437 00:31:07,867 --> 00:31:10,267 he's not to blame for their suffering during the War. 438 00:31:12,605 --> 00:31:15,539 He relies on a tactic that will become 439 00:31:15,574 --> 00:31:17,074 a trademark of his regime. 440 00:31:19,879 --> 00:31:21,545 (Natasha Ezrow) Propaganda is the spread of information 441 00:31:21,580 --> 00:31:23,614 that benefits the regime. 442 00:31:23,649 --> 00:31:25,649 Dictatorships need propaganda to 443 00:31:25,684 --> 00:31:28,018 be able to control people's thoughts. 444 00:31:28,053 --> 00:31:31,889 They want to ensure that the masses are loyal to the regime. 445 00:31:31,924 --> 00:31:35,459 (narrator) Kim uses a relentless stream of propaganda to create 446 00:31:35,494 --> 00:31:38,695 an alternate reality where the U.S. is an imminent threat 447 00:31:38,731 --> 00:31:41,198 to the safety of his people. 448 00:31:41,233 --> 00:31:45,736 That bombing of North Korea has been a memory 449 00:31:45,771 --> 00:31:49,139 kept alive to demonstrate how savage the Americans are. 450 00:31:55,214 --> 00:31:58,282 [speaking Korean] 451 00:32:12,364 --> 00:32:15,666 (narrator) It's a reinvention of history-- 452 00:32:15,701 --> 00:32:19,403 one that will be repeated again and again 453 00:32:19,438 --> 00:32:22,072 until millions of Koreans believe it. 454 00:32:22,107 --> 00:32:23,607 [Kim Kil Sun speaks Korean] 455 00:32:44,997 --> 00:32:48,966 (narrator) Kim's propaganda campaign continually reminds the people 456 00:32:49,001 --> 00:32:53,003 that he's the father of the nation. 457 00:32:53,038 --> 00:32:55,839 One hundred million books are published 458 00:32:55,874 --> 00:32:58,141 to celebrate his greatness. 459 00:32:58,177 --> 00:33:02,646 But in order to fully seed his cult of personality, 460 00:33:02,681 --> 00:33:06,750 Kim needs to go out among the people. 461 00:33:06,785 --> 00:33:10,754 He travels across the country to spread his message in person. 462 00:33:10,789 --> 00:33:13,023 (Charles K. Armstrong) Kim really was 463 00:33:13,058 --> 00:33:15,592 a powerful personality, and someone 464 00:33:15,627 --> 00:33:18,929 who was able to connect with the ordinary person. 465 00:33:21,934 --> 00:33:25,635 (Bruce Cumings) I compare him to Muhammad Ali in the sense 466 00:33:25,671 --> 00:33:28,538 that he would wade into a crowd 467 00:33:28,574 --> 00:33:31,775 as if everybody loved him and press the flesh. 468 00:33:31,810 --> 00:33:34,578 It was a) part of his megalomania, 469 00:33:34,613 --> 00:33:37,981 b) part of demonstrating to the Korean people 470 00:33:38,017 --> 00:33:40,751 that he was a hands-on leader. 471 00:33:40,786 --> 00:33:44,221 He just bathed in the adulation of his own people 472 00:33:44,256 --> 00:33:47,758 and seemed to think it was entirely deserved. 473 00:33:47,793 --> 00:33:50,293 (narrator) By the late 1950s, 474 00:33:50,329 --> 00:33:53,497 Kim's cult of personality is flourishing. 475 00:33:53,532 --> 00:33:57,634 But his public confidence contrasts 476 00:33:57,669 --> 00:34:02,372 with a growing paranoia behind closed doors. 477 00:34:02,408 --> 00:34:08,545 (Fathali Moghaddam) Paranoia is a very dominant trait in dictators, 478 00:34:08,580 --> 00:34:12,983 it's a tendency that leads to projection 479 00:34:13,018 --> 00:34:17,721 of their own insecurities and suspicions. 480 00:34:17,756 --> 00:34:21,191 And their motivation becomes one 481 00:34:21,226 --> 00:34:24,594 of controlling every aspect of society. 482 00:34:27,666 --> 00:34:31,668 (narrator) In his drive for control, Kim attempts to completely 483 00:34:31,703 --> 00:34:34,438 insulate the country from outside influences. 484 00:34:34,473 --> 00:34:39,209 He locks down all of its media and information sources. 485 00:34:39,244 --> 00:34:41,211 (Charles K. Armstrong) Both information internally 486 00:34:41,246 --> 00:34:44,748 and also information going in and out of the country. 487 00:34:44,783 --> 00:34:48,151 to keep the people aware of only the kinds of information 488 00:34:48,187 --> 00:34:51,922 that the regime wants them to know. 489 00:34:51,957 --> 00:34:55,425 (Natasha Ezrow) They are actually forced to listen to the radio, 490 00:34:55,461 --> 00:34:58,428 which is only one channel all day long. 491 00:34:58,464 --> 00:35:02,032 They can turn it down, but they can not change it. 492 00:35:02,067 --> 00:35:04,935 So all day long they are hearing how great Kim Il Sung is. 493 00:35:08,707 --> 00:35:12,075 (narrator) Kim's obsession with his peoples' loyalty intensifies. 494 00:35:14,847 --> 00:35:19,749 He keeps them in line with a mandatory weekly program 495 00:35:19,785 --> 00:35:23,086 he calls, "Self-Criticism Sessions." 496 00:35:23,122 --> 00:35:24,788 [Kim Kil Sun speaks Korean] 497 00:35:52,451 --> 00:35:55,285 (Natasha Ezrow) Everybody was spying on one another. 498 00:35:55,320 --> 00:35:59,222 And everybody knew that they couldn't let 499 00:35:59,258 --> 00:36:02,792 any sign of disloyalty be visible to, to anyone. 500 00:36:04,796 --> 00:36:07,030 (narrator) By the early 1960s, 501 00:36:07,065 --> 00:36:09,866 after nearly 2 decades in power, 502 00:36:09,902 --> 00:36:13,336 Kim's grip on the nation has tightened, 503 00:36:13,372 --> 00:36:16,072 but he still sees conspiracies against him everywhere. 504 00:36:18,710 --> 00:36:22,045 To quash dissent, the regime makes 505 00:36:22,080 --> 00:36:25,649 fear and insecurity a part of daily life. 506 00:36:28,654 --> 00:36:32,489 (Jean H. Lee) A dictatorship needs to have a culture of fear 507 00:36:32,524 --> 00:36:35,892 in order to enforce a sense of loyalty to the leader. 508 00:36:35,928 --> 00:36:38,495 Fear of punishment is always going to be 509 00:36:38,530 --> 00:36:42,899 a part of a regime like this. 510 00:36:42,935 --> 00:36:44,834 [speaking Korean] 511 00:37:18,270 --> 00:37:20,270 [loud cheering] 512 00:37:22,774 --> 00:37:25,041 (narrator) By the mid 1960s, 513 00:37:25,077 --> 00:37:29,212 Kim Il Sung has created a culture of fear 514 00:37:29,248 --> 00:37:31,047 that envelops 12 million North Koreans. 515 00:37:33,752 --> 00:37:37,988 His parades demonstrate his power over the people. 516 00:37:38,023 --> 00:37:42,092 But it's not enough. 517 00:37:42,127 --> 00:37:47,530 Kim enforces their loyalty through the secret police, 518 00:37:47,566 --> 00:37:52,569 nearly 50,000 strong, who monitor their daily lives. 519 00:37:55,540 --> 00:37:58,541 The secret police is important to the dictatorship because 520 00:37:58,577 --> 00:38:02,345 they need to know who the opponents are of the regime. 521 00:38:02,381 --> 00:38:05,115 They need to get access to really good information. 522 00:38:05,150 --> 00:38:07,550 (narrator) To identify threats, 523 00:38:07,586 --> 00:38:11,321 the secret police helps carry out a highly invasive plan. 524 00:38:15,494 --> 00:38:18,595 Around the country agents gather 525 00:38:18,630 --> 00:38:21,598 personal information on every individual. 526 00:38:27,839 --> 00:38:33,643 The data is used to reinforce a rigid caste system, 527 00:38:33,679 --> 00:38:38,481 which ranks everyone into 3 categories based on loyalty. 528 00:38:40,886 --> 00:38:45,188 Within the 3 categories, there are 529 00:38:45,223 --> 00:38:50,927 somewhere between 75 and 95 subdivisions of the population. 530 00:38:50,962 --> 00:38:56,633 This determines what kind of work you're going to do, 531 00:38:56,668 --> 00:39:01,137 what kind of education you're going to have, 532 00:39:01,173 --> 00:39:04,774 where you're going to live. 533 00:39:04,810 --> 00:39:07,544 (Charles K. Armstrong) Only the most politically reliable people 534 00:39:07,579 --> 00:39:11,147 are allowed to live in the capital of Pyongyang. 535 00:39:11,183 --> 00:39:14,718 And the most unreliable people are out in the countryside. 536 00:39:14,753 --> 00:39:18,621 (narrator) The caste system weeds out enemies of the state. 537 00:39:18,657 --> 00:39:22,158 The worst of the perceived offenders 538 00:39:22,194 --> 00:39:23,893 are sentenced to gulags. 539 00:39:26,365 --> 00:39:28,331 [speaking Korean] 540 00:40:19,751 --> 00:40:22,252 One of the harsh realities 541 00:40:22,287 --> 00:40:24,554 of North Korean detention facilities is, 542 00:40:24,589 --> 00:40:26,990 they will be subjected to torture. 543 00:40:27,025 --> 00:40:31,628 Sexual abuse, forced medical procedures. 544 00:40:31,663 --> 00:40:36,566 They keep the prisoners at a nutritional minimum 545 00:40:36,601 --> 00:40:41,337 so they don't die because they want to prolong the suffering. 546 00:40:42,607 --> 00:40:44,274 [speaking Korean[ 547 00:41:06,097 --> 00:41:08,798 (narrator) During the 1960s, 548 00:41:08,834 --> 00:41:12,635 Kim's regime executes more than 6000 political enemies. 549 00:41:18,043 --> 00:41:21,611 As the end of the decade nears, 550 00:41:21,646 --> 00:41:25,014 a culture of fear has permeated all corners of the country. 551 00:41:27,786 --> 00:41:30,386 The regime now controls even 552 00:41:30,422 --> 00:41:33,256 the most basic aspects of daily life. 553 00:41:35,393 --> 00:41:37,527 [Kim Kil Sun speaking Korean] 554 00:42:10,695 --> 00:42:14,230 (narrator) The government even dictates how much each person eats, 555 00:42:14,266 --> 00:42:18,401 rationing consumption through its food distribution policy. 556 00:42:18,436 --> 00:42:20,203 [speaking Korean] 557 00:42:49,000 --> 00:42:53,603 [loud cheering] 558 00:42:53,638 --> 00:42:55,672 (narrator) Kim's indoctrination of his people 559 00:42:55,707 --> 00:42:58,408 reaches its pinnacle in mass rallies 560 00:42:58,443 --> 00:43:00,944 where they honor him as their Supreme Leader. 561 00:43:03,882 --> 00:43:07,951 (Natasha Ezrow) The extent of the cult of personality 562 00:43:07,986 --> 00:43:11,054 is something like we've never seen before. 563 00:43:11,089 --> 00:43:14,657 It borders on fanaticism, 564 00:43:14,693 --> 00:43:18,194 it's complete socialization of everybody. 565 00:43:18,229 --> 00:43:20,897 Every single person in this regime is indoctrinated. 566 00:43:23,835 --> 00:43:26,636 (narrator) Indoctrination and fear help explain 567 00:43:26,671 --> 00:43:28,905 why ordinary Koreans support the regime. 568 00:43:33,912 --> 00:43:38,281 But there are other forces at work, including history. 569 00:43:38,316 --> 00:43:42,685 For the past 600 years North Koreans 570 00:43:42,721 --> 00:43:46,089 have never known real political freedom. 571 00:43:46,124 --> 00:43:49,025 They were either ruled by absolute Korean monarchs 572 00:43:49,060 --> 00:43:51,828 or the Japanese Emperor. 573 00:43:51,863 --> 00:43:53,529 [speaking Korean] 574 00:44:03,775 --> 00:44:06,843 (narrator) Kim also exploits 575 00:44:06,878 --> 00:44:10,980 an intrinsic value of traditional Korean society. 576 00:44:11,016 --> 00:44:14,317 (Jean H. Lee) He tapped into a very Korean trait, which is conformism-- 577 00:44:14,352 --> 00:44:16,486 understanding where your place in society is 578 00:44:16,521 --> 00:44:19,856 and trying not to stray outside that place 579 00:44:19,891 --> 00:44:22,158 that's dictated for you. 580 00:44:22,193 --> 00:44:24,627 So Koreans don't want to go outside the group, 581 00:44:24,663 --> 00:44:26,596 they want to do what the group is doing. 582 00:44:28,466 --> 00:44:31,200 (narrator) By the early 1970s, 583 00:44:31,236 --> 00:44:34,937 Kim's cult of personality in North Korea is unshakeable. 584 00:44:34,973 --> 00:44:39,542 In 25 years he's gone from Soviet puppet 585 00:44:39,577 --> 00:44:42,011 to unassailable leader. 586 00:44:42,047 --> 00:44:45,515 But Kim's still haunted by one question-- 587 00:44:45,550 --> 00:44:50,620 how can he ensure his regime continues after his death? 588 00:44:50,655 --> 00:44:53,322 (Charles K. Armstrong) Kim knows he's not going to live forever. 589 00:44:53,358 --> 00:44:56,959 He saw what happened in the Soviet Union after Stalin died, 590 00:44:56,995 --> 00:44:59,629 confusion in the political leadership, took the country 591 00:44:59,664 --> 00:45:02,365 in what Kim thought was the wrong direction. 592 00:45:02,400 --> 00:45:05,601 And he didn't want to have that happen in North Korea. 593 00:45:05,637 --> 00:45:09,672 (narrator) He settles on a rare and unconventional plan 594 00:45:09,708 --> 00:45:13,976 for a communist dictator approaching the end of his rule. 595 00:45:14,012 --> 00:45:16,713 (Charles K. Armstrong) He looked to his family. 596 00:45:16,748 --> 00:45:19,549 After all, who do you trust more 597 00:45:19,584 --> 00:45:21,284 than the people within your own immediate family? 598 00:45:28,093 --> 00:45:31,494 (narrator) Kim believes succession is the only way 599 00:45:31,529 --> 00:45:34,697 to guarantee his regime's survival when he's gone, 600 00:45:34,733 --> 00:45:37,133 even though it's never been attempted 601 00:45:37,168 --> 00:45:38,768 in the communist world before. 602 00:45:41,773 --> 00:45:46,209 He turns to his eldest son, 33-year-old Kim Jong Il, 603 00:45:46,244 --> 00:45:48,845 who's been serving as head 604 00:45:48,880 --> 00:45:51,080 of the regime's Propaganda and Agitation Department. 605 00:45:54,152 --> 00:45:57,019 Kim Il Sung really grooms his son to be successor. 606 00:45:57,055 --> 00:45:58,688 He places him in increasingly important positions 607 00:45:58,723 --> 00:46:00,957 within the party structure. 608 00:46:00,992 --> 00:46:04,460 (Michael Madden) One of the key projects 609 00:46:04,496 --> 00:46:07,997 that Kim Jong Il develops is venerating his father. 610 00:46:08,032 --> 00:46:12,602 Turning his father into the God figure. 611 00:46:15,240 --> 00:46:18,875 (narrator) It's all part of Kim Il Sung's succession plan. 612 00:46:18,910 --> 00:46:22,712 To implement it, he deifies himself and his son, 613 00:46:22,747 --> 00:46:25,848 and in the process, raises his cult of personality 614 00:46:25,884 --> 00:46:28,518 to an entirely new level. 615 00:46:28,553 --> 00:46:33,790 (Natasha Ezrow) The Kim regime was able to create a complete religion 616 00:46:33,825 --> 00:46:37,093 and myth around the leadership, that they were divine. 617 00:46:37,128 --> 00:46:39,862 And the myth started from 618 00:46:39,898 --> 00:46:42,932 the way that they portrayed Kim's childhood. 619 00:46:42,967 --> 00:46:47,870 That he was this idyllic character, and as he grew up, 620 00:46:47,906 --> 00:46:51,808 that he single-handedly defeated the Japanese. 621 00:46:51,843 --> 00:46:55,645 (narrator) Kim's son, Kim Jong Il, is venerated as well. 622 00:46:55,680 --> 00:46:59,649 He was born in a Siberian village during World War II, 623 00:46:59,684 --> 00:47:02,985 but state propaganda says the birth occurred 624 00:47:03,021 --> 00:47:06,222 on a mystical mountain, Mount Paektu. 625 00:47:06,257 --> 00:47:09,425 (Jean H. Lee) All Koreans think of that place 626 00:47:09,460 --> 00:47:12,461 as the birth of the Korean people. 627 00:47:12,497 --> 00:47:16,132 And so to say that you were descended from Mount Paektu 628 00:47:16,167 --> 00:47:18,434 means that you've got like a godlike right to rule. 629 00:47:20,438 --> 00:47:22,672 (narrator) During the 1970s, 630 00:47:22,707 --> 00:47:25,575 along with countless pieces of art and films 631 00:47:25,610 --> 00:47:27,743 glorifying Kim and his family, 632 00:47:27,779 --> 00:47:32,148 34,000 monuments are erected in their names. 633 00:47:32,183 --> 00:47:36,452 They are now considered gods in North Korea. 634 00:47:42,260 --> 00:47:45,228 Kim is satisfied; his succession is in place. 635 00:47:45,263 --> 00:47:47,797 And he can kind of step back. 636 00:47:47,832 --> 00:47:51,000 From that point onward Kim Jong Il is really doing 637 00:47:51,035 --> 00:47:53,369 a lot of the day-to-day governing of the country. 638 00:47:55,306 --> 00:47:57,673 (narrator) In the 1980s, 639 00:47:57,709 --> 00:48:00,076 with his son basically running the government, 640 00:48:00,111 --> 00:48:02,411 Kim Il Sung attends to his own needs. 641 00:48:04,849 --> 00:48:07,116 By some estimates, Kim caused 642 00:48:07,151 --> 00:48:10,253 more than 200,000 deaths in his gulags, 643 00:48:10,288 --> 00:48:15,191 but he's obsessed with prolonging his own life to 120. 644 00:48:15,226 --> 00:48:19,795 To do it, Kim has set up the Longevity Research Institute. 645 00:48:19,831 --> 00:48:22,665 Its only mission is to keep him alive. 646 00:48:22,700 --> 00:48:24,867 They used to gather men 647 00:48:24,903 --> 00:48:27,336 that were of the same height and weight 648 00:48:27,372 --> 00:48:30,139 and age as Kim Il Sung, try medical treatments on them. 649 00:48:30,174 --> 00:48:32,775 15 North Koreans were fitted with pacemakers 650 00:48:32,810 --> 00:48:36,479 to make sure the pacemakers were gonna work 651 00:48:36,514 --> 00:48:40,116 when they went to install the pacemaker on Kim Il Sung. 652 00:48:40,151 --> 00:48:43,753 (narrator) Kim orders his doctors to give him 653 00:48:43,788 --> 00:48:45,988 dozens of blood transfusions from healthy young men. 654 00:48:48,593 --> 00:48:51,494 He spends hours around young children, 655 00:48:51,529 --> 00:48:54,797 hoping to absorb some of their energy. 656 00:48:54,832 --> 00:49:00,036 Handlers polish his rice grains so he doesn't get a bad one. 657 00:49:03,241 --> 00:49:06,242 But not even Kim can cheat death. 658 00:49:06,277 --> 00:49:09,845 On July 8, 1994, 659 00:49:09,881 --> 00:49:12,248 Kim Il Sung dies of a heart attack 660 00:49:12,283 --> 00:49:14,283 at 82. 661 00:49:16,554 --> 00:49:19,822 (Jean H. Lee) Some people said 662 00:49:19,857 --> 00:49:23,492 I felt sadder at his death then I did my own father's death. 663 00:49:23,528 --> 00:49:25,728 So it shows you how deeply entrenched 664 00:49:25,763 --> 00:49:28,998 that sense of loyalty was to Kim Il Sung. 665 00:49:33,004 --> 00:49:37,006 (narrator) But there are other reasons for the people's tears. 666 00:49:37,041 --> 00:49:40,476 (Natasha Ezrow) They needed to show that they were in genuine mourning. 667 00:49:40,511 --> 00:49:44,113 And if they didn't prove to the regime that they were 668 00:49:44,148 --> 00:49:46,649 in mourning enough, they could be arrested, 669 00:49:46,684 --> 00:49:50,653 they could be tortured, they could be killed. 670 00:49:50,688 --> 00:49:55,291 (narrator) Around the world, political experts watch and wait, 671 00:49:55,326 --> 00:49:58,294 suspecting Kim's regime will crumble without him. 672 00:49:58,329 --> 00:50:02,131 It teeters... but survives. 673 00:50:05,570 --> 00:50:08,404 The strength of the dictatorship Kim forged 674 00:50:08,439 --> 00:50:11,107 passes another test in 2011 675 00:50:11,142 --> 00:50:14,844 when it survives the death of Kim Jong Il. 676 00:50:14,879 --> 00:50:18,748 Once again, power is successfully transferred 677 00:50:18,783 --> 00:50:21,283 from father to son. 678 00:50:23,054 --> 00:50:25,421 [loud cheering & chanting] 679 00:50:26,691 --> 00:50:29,125 Today, under Kim Jong Un, 680 00:50:29,160 --> 00:50:31,360 the regime has fortified itself 681 00:50:31,396 --> 00:50:33,896 through the emulation of its founder. 682 00:50:33,931 --> 00:50:38,434 [loud cheering & chanting] 683 00:50:38,469 --> 00:50:41,637 (Bruce Cumings) Kim Jong Un's a clone of Kim Il Sung. 684 00:50:41,672 --> 00:50:45,074 His haircut is a classic late 1940's Kim Il Sung, 685 00:50:45,109 --> 00:50:48,511 they've fattened him up so that he, 686 00:50:48,546 --> 00:50:51,781 he looks big, he looks like his grandfather. 687 00:50:51,816 --> 00:50:55,451 (narrator) Kim Il Sung's cult of personality 688 00:50:55,486 --> 00:50:57,920 has never gone away. 689 00:50:57,955 --> 00:51:00,623 His presence is everywhere. 690 00:51:00,658 --> 00:51:03,459 There are songs, there are anthems, there are books, 691 00:51:03,494 --> 00:51:06,128 there are stories, there are statues, 692 00:51:06,164 --> 00:51:12,401 there are posters everywhere-- you cannot escape it. 693 00:51:16,607 --> 00:51:20,109 (narrator) In the end, Kim Il Sung did something 694 00:51:20,144 --> 00:51:23,079 no other communist dictator of the 20th Century 695 00:51:23,114 --> 00:51:27,883 had pulled off-- he created a dynasty. 696 00:51:27,919 --> 00:51:31,854 (Jean H. Lee) By passing on leadership of his country to his son, 697 00:51:31,889 --> 00:51:36,125 he engineered this hereditary succession. 698 00:51:36,160 --> 00:51:40,463 We had never seen anything like that in the communist world. 699 00:51:40,498 --> 00:51:43,432 (narrator) Ironically, after struggling to free his people 700 00:51:43,468 --> 00:51:46,068 from the abuses of Japanese rule, 701 00:51:46,104 --> 00:51:49,138 Kim Il Sung created a system that brought 702 00:51:49,173 --> 00:51:50,606 more suffering to his people. 703 00:51:52,643 --> 00:51:54,276 [speaking Korean] 704 00:52:01,119 --> 00:52:06,322 (narrator) Today North Korea is a nuclear state. 705 00:52:06,357 --> 00:52:11,527 Despite ongoing talks, it has not yet given up its weapons. 706 00:52:11,562 --> 00:52:13,462 (Jean H. Lee) The ramifications are far more terrifying 707 00:52:13,498 --> 00:52:16,866 than they were under Kim Il Sung. 708 00:52:16,901 --> 00:52:19,735 North Korea now has the capability 709 00:52:19,770 --> 00:52:22,538 to obliterate the region, frankly, 710 00:52:22,573 --> 00:52:24,373 with these nuclear weapons. 711 00:52:27,712 --> 00:52:31,981 (narrator) Kim Il Sung's dynasty has outlasted 12 U.S. presidents 712 00:52:32,016 --> 00:52:33,949 and entered its 8th decade. 713 00:52:35,987 --> 00:52:38,354 But the question remains-- 714 00:52:38,389 --> 00:52:41,323 how long will his creation-- 715 00:52:41,359 --> 00:52:47,930 the world's most controlled and isolated society... last? 716 00:52:47,965 --> 00:52:52,368 (Charles K. Armstrong) I think this regime can last for quite some time to come. 717 00:52:52,403 --> 00:52:55,404 We can't dismiss the possibility that they could fall, 718 00:52:55,439 --> 00:52:58,641 but I don't think we should ever underestimate 719 00:52:58,676 --> 00:53:01,477 how resilient and long-lasting this regime has been 720 00:53:01,512 --> 00:53:03,612 and can be in the future. 721 00:53:10,588 --> 00:53:12,388 [orchestra plays in minor tones] 722 00:53:19,697 --> 00:53:23,499 (man) To order "The Dictator's Playbook" on DVD, 723 00:53:23,534 --> 00:53:26,468 visit shopPBS.org or call 1-800-PLAY-PBS. 724 00:53:26,504 --> 00:53:28,370 This program is also available 725 00:53:28,406 --> 00:53:30,039 on Amazon Prime Video. 726 00:53:34,412 --> 00:53:36,312 [synthesizer fanfare]