Respected Mother Ko Yong-hui | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Takada Hime (1952-06-26)26 June 1952 Osaka, Japan |
| Died | 13 August 2004(2004-08-13) (aged 52) |
| Resting place | Taesongsan,Pyongyang, North Korea |
| Partner(s) | Kim Jong Il (1977–2004; her death) |
| Children | Kim Jong-chul Kim Jong Un Kim Yo Jong |
| Korean name | |
| Hangul | 고용희 |
| Hanja | 高容姬 |
| RR | Go Yonghui |
| MR | Ko Yonghŭi |
Ko Yong-hui (Korean: 고용희;Korean pronunciation:[ko̞.jo̞ŋ.βwi]; 26 June 1952 – 13 August 2004),[1][2][3] also spelledKo Young-hee, was themistress of North Korean supreme leaderKim Jong Il and the mother of his successor,Kim Jong Un. Within North Korea, she is only referred to by titles, such as "The Respected Mother who is the Most Faithful and Loyal 'Subject' to the Dear Leader Comrade Supreme Commander", "The Mother of Pyongyang", and "The Mother of GreatSongun Korea".[4][5][6]
Born inIkuno Korea Town ofOsaka, Japan,[7][8] Ko's birth date and Japanese name in Japanese official records are 26 June 1952 and Takada Hime (高田姫), respectively.[3] Her father, Ko Gyon-tek, worked in an Osaka sewing factory run by Japan's ministry of war,[9][10] a 16th-generation descendant of theJoseon scholar official,Ko Tŭkchong. Her mother is also Korean. She, along with her family, moved to North Korea in May 1961 or 1962 as part of a repatriation program.[3][11] In the early 1970s, she began working as a dancer for theMansudae Art Troupe inPyongyang.[12] Her younger sisterKo Yong Suk sought asylum from the U.S. embassy inBern,Switzerland, while she was living there taking care of Kim Jong Un during his school days, according to South Korea'sNational Intelligence Service; U.S. officials arranged Ko Yong Suk's departure from the country without consulting South Korean officials.[13]
It is thought that Ko and Kim Jong Il first met in 1972.[12] In 1981, Ko had a son namedKim Jong-chul, her first child with Kim. It was Kim's fourth child, after daughter Kim Hye-gyong (born 1968 toHong Il-chon), sonKim Jong-nam (born 1971 toSong Hye-rim), and daughterKim Sol-song (born 1974 toKim Young-sook). Kim Jong Il's second child with Ko, the present North Korean supreme leaderKim Jong Un, followed one to three years after Jong-chul.[14][15] Their third child,Kim Yo Jong, a daughter, was believed to be about 23 in 2012; however, the birth year of Kim Yo Jong is also given as 1987.[12]
On 27 August 2004, various sources reported that Ko had died inParis from an unspecific illness, probably ofbreast cancer; however, there are other reports, stating that she was treated in Paris in the spring of 2004 and flown back toPyongyang where she fell into a coma and died in August 2004.[16][17]
Under North Korea'ssongbunascribed status system, Ko's Korean-Japanese heritage made her part of the lowest "hostile" class. Furthermore, her father worked in a sewing factory for theImperial Japanese Army, which gave her the "lowest imaginable status qualities" for a North Korean.[3]
Prior to an internal propaganda film released after the ascension of Kim Jong Un, there were three attempts made to idolize Ko, in a style similar to that associated withKang Pan Sok, mother ofKim Il Sung, andKim Jong Suk, the first wife ofKim Il Sung and mother of Kim Jong Il.[18] These previous attempts at idolization failed and were stopped after Kim Jong Il's 2008 stroke.[3]
The building of acult of personality around Ko encounters the problem of her badsongbun due to her mother, even though it is usually passed on by the father.[19] Making her identity public would have undermined the Kim family's pure bloodline,[3] and after Kim Jong Il's death, her personal information, including her name, became state secrets.[18] Ko's real name and other personal details have not been publicly revealed in North Korea, and she is referred to as "Mother of Great Songun Korea" or "Great Mother".
In 2012, Kim Jong Un built a grave for Ko onTaesongsan.[20][21]
