South Korea: justice authorizes the sale of the memories of Kim Il-sung, father of North Korea
The portrait of Kim Il-sung, first leader and founder of North Korea, in one of the eight volumes of his memoir republished in Seoul in April 2021, despite the ban since 1994. AFP - JUNG YEON-JE
Text by: RFI Follow
3 min
South Korean justice finally authorizes the publication of the memoirs of Kim Il-sung, founding father of North Korea and grandfather of the current leader of the country.
This decision comes as for the first time since the 1990s, the book entitled
Across the Century
had been sold in the South before being withdrawn from the shelves in the face of controversy.
Publicity
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With our correspondent in Seoul,
Nicolas Rocca
Several thousand pages divided into 8 volumes that keep spilling ink in South Korea.
Written in 1992, two years before his death, Kim Il-sung's memoir is an important reference in North Korea.
The first ruler of the country tells in a very romanticized way his childhood and his fight against the Japanese occupier.
Considered propaganda, the text is banned in South Korea.
In 1994 a publisher was arrested for printing the book.
The Supreme Court declared its possession illegal in 2011. When on April 1 a small publisher first made the text available without government permission, the controversy immediately began.
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To read also: Photograph: "UnPerson" or the departure of North Korea
"
Glamor
"
Soon enough, Kyobo, the country's leading book seller, decided to withdraw the memoirs for physical and internet sales.
Human rights associations wanted the book to be censored on all platforms, believing that it made the Kim family "
glamorous
" and did not respect the Constitution.
An interpretation that differs from the Seoul court which therefore rejected the request.
But the plaintiffs appealed against the judgment.
One of the lawyers said that the families of South Koreans kidnapped by the North during the Korean War could also file a complaint.
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See also: South Korea: the sending of propaganda leaflets to North Korea resumes
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