Kim Yo Jong, Kim Jong Un's sister, inspires fan art because a female dictator is such a novelty

The world is always fascinated with strong men and women.

Julia Yeo| Kayla Wong| Belmont Lay| April 28, 2020, 07:26 PM

Kim Jong Un, supposedly 36, is either dead or alive, given that no one can publicly say for sure. Yet.

But what a lot of people can agree on is that the woman of the moment is his younger sister, Kim Yo Jong.

Since news about Kim Jong Un's health made the rounds globally, talk of succession has culminated in plenty of interest in his sibling who is four years his junior.

Kim Yo Jong has been elevated to the rank of the most favourable candidate for the world's first female dictator position.

Almost complete opposite of elder brother

Being her brother's confidante, she strikes everyone as a figure that is diametrically opposite to her elder sibling.

Slim, with high cheek bones, pursed lips, and cutting an almost reluctant, business-like, and feminine figure in the shadowy realm of a dynastic autocracy that looks like it could turn on itself anytime, the only similarity between her and the heir to the hermetic nation is that they are both highly enigmatic figures.

Little is known about her, such as her likes or dislikes, and the rare glimpses of Kim Yo Jong in public has only added to the fascination.

She stands out in North Korean leadership circles just by virtue of being herself -- a singular figure with a hemline just below the knee against the drab military background standing guard in a paranoid nation.

Odds of sister becoming new leader slim

However, taking into account the patriarchal nature of the North Korean society, there is a good chance Kim Yo Jong might not be allowed to replace her brother and take up the position of the country's top ruler.

Thee Confucian nature of the country ensures seniority and masculinity are respected, at least one analyst has said.

Regardless, here are all the fan art and video montages put together by plebeians outside North Korea, who suddenly developed a vested interest in the country overnight.

Image credit: SydusArts














Potentially dangerous narrative

Much like the western media's tendency to infantilise her brother -- a practice which some North Korea experts have frowned upon for it seemingly reduces the authoritarian leader to a harmless child when reality is far from that -- the internet has portrayed Kim Yo Jong in a favourable, albeit false, light, such as that of a "sexy dictator".

However, such narratives, despite the harmless intentions behind them, can potentially divert attention from the critical issues at hand, such as North Korea's severe human rights violation that she had condoned, or even perpetuated.