Kim Jong-il, the late North Korean leader, will be laid to rest in a two-day funeral during Wednesday and Thursday.
His policy of "songun" or "military first" was intended to make the nation a nuclear power even at the cost of his people's lives. Thousands of North Koreans died of famine and malnutrition after Kim Jong-il assumed office. But over the years, Kim Jong-il was able to build a cult of personality around him and the local media always tried to mythify his acts.
Song Byeok, an artist who was once Kim Jong-il's staunch supporter, has captured some rare aspects of the "Dear Leader"; his whims, fancies and even his perversions. Byeok later defected to south Korea and produced several satirical paintings on Kim Jong-il, one of history's most notorious dictators.
Byeok's strokes capture certain darker traits of Kim Jong-il's personality here:
An artwork titled "Marilyn Monroe" by North Korean defector painter Song Byeok, which satirizes North Korean leader Kim Jong-il , is seen at his atelier in Seoul December 23, 2011.ReutersNorth Korean defector and painter Song Byeok poses with his work during an interview with Reuters at his atelier in Seoul December 23, 2011ReutersNorth Korean defector Song Byeok, who once proudly drew the "Dear Leader" in propaganda paintings and then became a slave labourer in one of the reclusive state's notorious prisons, has now turned to mock a ruler who led his country into famine, isolation and economic ruin.ReutersNorth Korean defector and painter Song Byeok explains his works during an interview with Reuters at his atelier in Seoul 26/12/2011ReutersAn artwork titled "Marilyn Monroe" by North Korean defector painter Song Byeok, which satirizes North Korean leader Kim Jong-il , is seen at his atelier in Seoul December 23, 2011.ReutersNorth Korean defector and painter Song Byeok uses a brush with his right hand, from which part of his index finger was lost while being confined in a labour camp in North Korea, at his atelire in SeoulReuters
