The North Korean leader’s hobbies are not limited to riding armored trains between Pyongyang and Moscow. Kim Jong Un is not content with launching missiles and nuclear submarines during his spare time. The controversial and curious ruler has many interests, especially expensive ones. In parallel with the long list of hobbies, there is an even longer list of supernatural abilities that the North Korean media claims that Kim possesses.
Kim and the basket
Since he was a student in Swiss schools, Kim Jong Un has been passionate about basketball. This sport became his obsession, as he was not a social child surrounded by friends. Instead, he played the game, despite his weight and height, which were not helpful. He filled the walls of his room with pictures of American player Michael Jordan, and was known among his classmates for his huge collection of sports shoes.
Kim Jong Un as a child in photos broadcast by North Korean state television (Epa)
Schoolmates who previously spoke to British media added that Kim was a nervous player and loved to compete, and he also hated losing. Since he does not accept “no” for an answer, and since his childhood hero Michael Jordan did not accept his invitation to visit Pyongyang in 2011 after he inherited power from his father, he instead invited Jordan’s teammate on the Chicago Bulls team, Dennis Rodman.
Kim Jong Un and his friend, American basketball player Dennis Rodman (AP)
The world remembers how, in 2013, Rodman broke through the thick, high-rise iron wall between his country and Pyongyang. He was received warmly, and his historic visit ended with him saying to Kim: “You have a friend for life.” This is a phrase for which human rights organizations criticized him. But Rodman did not care about that, as he returned to North Korea, renewing the friendship between him and Kim and celebrating his birthday publicly, singing “Happy Birthday, Dear Marshal” to him.
In love with horses
Kim Jong Un, who is a master of the media game and uses the language of images as part of propaganda, often appears on horseback. In a 2019 media blitz, he was said to have climbed North Korea’s highest peak on a white horse. In a documentary broadcast on North Korean television in 2021, he appeared again within the same frame.
White horses have their symbolism in the country, as they remind of the founding era, as it is said that the founding grandfather, Kim Il Sung, rode a white horse, leading the battles against Japanese colonialism before and during World War II.
Kim Jong Un often appears riding a white horse in propaganda campaigns (AFP)
Fleets of luxury cars
In addition to Kim’s horses imported by the dozens from Russia, the armored train and the private plane, the North Korean leader adds to his distinguished means of transportation a large group of expensive cars. According to circulating press information, his collection includes two Maybach cars, a Mercedes fleet, and a number of Rolls-Royces and Land Rover.
In addition to the train, plane, cars and horses, there is a yacht worth $6 million, according to information published by the British newspaper “The Telegraph”. It is likely that this yacht will be the means of transportation that takes Kim to his private island, where he spends his vacations.
Dennis Rodman, who visited that island with his friend Kim, reveals that it contains a football field, another for basketball, in addition to many swimming pools and a water sports resort, and boats are parked next to it on which Kim’s private parties are held.
Kim Jong Un loves luxury cars and owns a large collection of them (dpa)
Million dollar luxury budget
Kim Jong Un spares nothing. The prestige in which he sank as a child and teenager did not abandon him at any stage of his life and rule, even during the times when his people were drowning in hunger and destitution. In 2014, a United Nations report concluded that the Pyongyang regime purchases large quantities of expensive goods. The report revealed that Kim built a ski resort and an equestrian center, pointing out that the ruling elite in North Korea imported many expensive cars, more than 35 pianos, and a group of advanced recording devices.
According to the report’s figures, the ruling regime spent about $645 million on luxury goods in 2012, that is, during the first year of Kim III’s rule. Kim inherited this penchant for luxury from his father, but he surpassed him in expenses. If he loves someone and is satisfied with him, he will give him precious watches, rare alcohol, fur coats, and jewelry.
Kim Jong Un in his private plane (North Korean News Agency)
Food, movies and songs
Cigarettes may be the only commodity that Kim does not import, as he smokes a lot of locally made tobacco. However, the remaining food and drink are brought from abroad to the warehouses of his palaces in huge quantities. According to information circulating about the North Korean leader, he is a fan of alcoholic beverages, and is satisfied with only expensive ones. During 2016 alone, it imported $1 million worth of alcohol.
On his dinner table, Swiss cheeses are a staple, and he has loved them since his time as a student in Switzerland. As for lunch, lobster and caviar are two dishes that are almost always present.
Kim Jong Un inspects homemade food items (AFP)
Entertainment takes a large part of Kim’s life. In the palace where he resides, there is a cinema hall that contains a thousand seats. He may use it for his massive party meetings, but the main purpose of it is to watch his favorite movies in it, such as “Godzilla” and the works of Jackie Chan. Kim’s passion for the screen extends to computer and video games, a hobby that has accompanied him from childhood until now, according to information circulated by people close to him.
Then comes music, which the North Korean leader does not neglect at all. Rather, he goes so far as to establish a women’s band and select its singers himself, and he also named the band “Moranbong.”
Super talents
Aside from his realistic hobbies, according to his country’s media and the beliefs of his people, Kim possesses supernatural characteristics and abilities. It is said, for example, that he drove a car for the first time at the age of three, and that he competed in sailboat races at the age of nine. The story was also marketed that he and a team of archaeologists had discovered a cache of the legendary rhinoceros.
Kim’s legendary talents extend to all fields. He and a group of North Korean scientists invented a “miracle” drug, a single dose of which cures AIDS, certain types of cancer, the common cold, the effects of aging, and many other diseases.
Kim Jong-un on the summit of Paktu, the highest mountain in North Korea (AFP)
As a culmination of these supernatural powers, North Korean state television announced on one of the harsh winter days that as soon as the “leader” climbed one of the high peaks in the snow, the storm subsided and the sun shone. Thus, Kim will be able to control nature, according to his media assertions.
