Next of Kim

It’s thought to be a sign of getting old when a person of one’s own age assumes control of a country. In the wake of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il’s death, his youngest son Kim Jong-eun is apparently set to take the reins of the rusted nation. Jong-eun is believed, though no one is certain, to have been born in the same year I was. No one is eager to feel old, but I think him becoming a world leader has more to do with his country being extraordinary than me getting on.

Plus, it’s not like he did much to earn his recent promotion. In the words of the recently (and tragically) departed Christopher Hitchens, the concept of a hereditary leader makes about as much sense as hereditary physician, or engineer. There is no reason to believe Jong-eun is prepared to lead a country, even one as centralized as North Korea.

Since his father’s illness became grave over a year ago, the North Korean machine has scrambled to get Jong-eun some experience in seeing how the country is run. He has taken up his father’s pastimes of clapping at state functions and casting his vacant glare on factories and military installations across the country. The past year has allowed North Koreans to get used to the idea of their new leader, even if he’s not ready for his new job.

Jong-eun’s youth will be an obstacle for him, especially when coupled with his inexperience. Age matters in Korea. One almost never hears of a young person having authority over someone his or her senior. This is changing as South Korea becomes more meritocratic, but in the reactionary North, Jong-eun will have a tough time ordering around men and women old enough to be his grandparents.

If he’s shrewd and humble, he’ll be able to make the transition without much friction. If unfriendly factions of the People’s Assembly and military clash, and Jong-eun’s isn’t able to quell dissent, he might not last. But it borders on cliché to mention how long analysts have been predicting the collapse of North Korea. Many proclaimed the end of the DPRK after the death of the eternal lead Kim Il-sung in 1994.

This week has seen the end of a number of lives, some which will be more fondly remembered than others. The youngest Kim now takes the helm of a country history has left behind, one in desperate need of some kind of invigoration. For reasons unrelated to feelings of aging, I hope to outlive not only his rule, but the repressive apparatus he fronts.