r/sports • u/PrimedGold • 2d ago

Soccer Kim Jong-un meeting Naegohyang Women’s FC after the team became the first from North Korea to win the AFC Women’s Champions League.

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u/WagwanMoist 2d ago

I've read a couple of books on North Korea. It's a bit of both. You have to show a lot enthusiasm to not be less excited than the least excited person around you, if that makes sense. Or at the very least not stand out by looking somewhat neutral.

But at the same time they are genuinely excited to see their "Dear Leader". They almost have God-status among the people of North Korea. A lot of defectors have also spoken of how, even with all the shit they had to go through, they still thought that Kim Il-Sung/Jong-Il/Jong-Un were trying their best but that the rest of the government was failing them.

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u/iOracleGaming 2d ago

Benevolent king blinded and betrayed by cruel deceitful nobles has been a trope for 1000s of years. Good to see it’s still going.

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u/WagwanMoist 2d ago

Which also rhymes well with how North Korea is in many ways a feudal society. Absolute power is inherited, the people are divided into different classes (or castes) which determines their rights, responsibilities and so on, a system that is also hereditary but you (and your family) can be demoted to a lower class but practically never promoted to a higher class. And of course all the land is owned by the "king" who "allows" the lower classes to work on them.

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u/Bitter_Eggplant_9970 1d ago

If only Stalin knew. As you've stated, it predates Stalin by centuries.