Kim Jong-il
Date of birth: 1941-02-16
Place of birth: Khabarovsk, USSR
Known for: Acting
Also known as: 김정일, Kim Jong Il, Kim Jeong-il, Kim Jung-il, Jong-il Kim, 金正日
Biography
Kim Jong Il, born Yuri Irsenovich Kim on 16 February 1941, was a North Korean politician who was the second President of North Korea. He led North Korea following the death of his father Kim Il Sung in 1994 until his own death in 2011, when he was succeeded by his son, Kim Jong Un. Afterwards, Kim Jong Il was declared Eternal General Secretary of the WPK. In the early 1980s, Kim had become the heir apparent for the leadership of North Korea, thus being established the Kim dynasty and he assumed important posts in party and army organizations. Kim was the General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), WPK Presidium, Chairman of the National Defense Commission (NDC) of North Korea and the Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army (KPA), the fourth-largest standing army in the world. Kim assumed leadership during a period of catastrophic economic crisis amidst the dissolution of the Soviet Union, on which it was heavily dependent for trade in food and other supplies, which brought a famine. Kim strengthened the role of the military by his Songun ("military-first") policies, making the army the central organizer of civil society. Kim's rule also saw economic reforms, including the opening of the Kaesong Industrial Park in 2003. Following Kim's failure to appear at important public events in 2008, foreign observers assumed that Kim had either fallen seriously ill or died. On 19 December 2011, the North Korean government announced that he had died two days earlier, whereupon his third son, Kim Jong Un, was promoted to a senior position in the ruling WPK and succeeded him.
Movie Credits
Korea, A Hundred Years of War
2020-06-11
A contemporary history of Korea(s) from a unique point of view that embraces the inner history of bo
One Day on Earth
2012-04-22
Recording a 24-hour period throughout every country in the world, we explore a greater diversity of
North Korea: Inside The Mind of a Dictator
2021-01-18
A journey through Kim Jong Un’s past and present to understand the man and the myth who holds North
King of Clones
2023-06-23
From groundbreaking human cloning research to a scandalous downfall, this documentary tells the capt
Kim Jong-il
2011-09-13
Director Watanabe proposes that Kim Jong-il, supreme leader of North Korea, died in September 2003,
Nordkorea – Die Macht der Kim-Dynastie
2023-06-01
Beyond Utopia
2023-10-23
A courageous pastor uses his underground network to rescue and aid North Korean families as they ris
The Red Chapel
2010-12-29
Two Danish comedians join the director on a trip to North Korea, where they have been allowed access
A State of Mind
2005-08-10
Two young North Korean gymnasts prepare for an unprecedented competition in this documentary that of
North Korea: The Parade
1989-05-01
Defilada was made on the occasion of the 40th anniversary celebrations of state's founding in North
Respected Comrade Kim Jong Il is a Great Thinker and Theoretician
2000-04-07
Documentary film praising the North Korean leader, Kim Jong Il for his political and social values,
I Am Sun Mu
2015-10-03
Operating under a pseudonym which means 'no boundaries' - North Korean defector Sun Mu creates polit
The Propaganda Game
2015-10-03
North Korea. The last communist country in the world. Unknown, hermetic and fascinating. Formerly kn
The Lovers and the Despot
2016-09-22
Hong Kong, 1978. South Korean actress Choi Eun-hee is kidnapped by North Korean operatives following
Dennis Rodman's Big Bang in PyongYang
2015-01-25
Dennis Rodman is on a mission. After forging an unlikely friendship with North Korean leader Kim Jon
Kim Jong-un: The Unauthorized Biography
2015-09-23
A journey through several countries to find those who really know Kim Jong-un, North Korea's leader,
Friends Of Kim
2006-03-01
Hilarious and sobering account of the first time an international group of Kim Jong Il supporters vi
North Korean Film Madness
2011-04-20
We went to North Korea to try and penetrate the Korean Feature Film Studio, the state-run film produ
Death of a President
2006-10-27
A fictional investigative documentary looks back on the "assassination" of George W. Bush and attemp
Always Working Together for the People
1994-01-01
A documentary highlighting how both Kim il-Sung and Kim Jong-il work for the prosperity of the juche
Korea: The Never-Ending War
2019-04-29
Shedding new light on a geopolitical hot spot, the film — written and produced by John Maggio and na
President - Documentary
2019-11-07
Dictator: One Crazy Job
2013-06-12
They’ve become the human face of inhuman barbarity. Leaders like Hitler, Idi Amin Dada, Stalin, Kim
Cinema in the Land of Comrade Kim
2024-10-12
The love of Kim Jong Il, the former dictator of North Korea, for cinema and his adventures, includin
North Korea: A Plan to Survive
2023-07-01
A Friend of Kim
2019-05-09
Being denounced on international news, shamed in national tabloids, and slandered on social media is