# Kim Jung-un in very serious condition **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 21, 2020, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kim-jung-un-in-very-serious-condition/852241 "2020-04-21T02:29:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2020, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kim-jung-un-in-very-serious-condition/852241/101 "2020-04-26T01:00:50Z")
The photo halfway down [this story](https://nypost.com/2020/04/25/north-korean-dictator-kim-jong-un-rumored-to-be-dead/amp/) is begging for a green tint and neck bolts. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2020, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kim-jung-un-in-very-serious-condition/852241/102 "2020-04-26T01:34:16Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > The photo halfway down [this story](https://nypost.com/2020/04/25/north-korean-dictator-kim-jong-un-rumored-to-be-dead/amp/) is begging for a green tint and neck bolts. “rumored to be dead, brain dead or just fine” yep, that’s about right as of now. It’s Schrödinger’s Tyrant. Until they bring him out in a box or not in one, we won’t know. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2020, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kim-jung-un-in-very-serious-condition/852241/103 "2020-04-26T02:06:44Z")
Maybe he went to the beach to recover from surgery and he’s OK. Also they are not even sure it’s his train and even if it is doesn’t mean he was/is there. ---
**Author:** ![Carryon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc29f/32.png) [@Carryon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carryon)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2020, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kim-jung-un-in-very-serious-condition/852241/104 "2020-04-26T21:44:01Z")
My first thought was he is in hiding from the coronavirus and the NK don’t want to admit how widespread it is. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2020, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kim-jung-un-in-very-serious-condition/852241/105 "2020-04-26T22:35:33Z")
South Korea says he is alive and well [North Korea leader Kim Jong Un is 'alive and well' South Korea says, amid mounting speculation | CNN](https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/26/asia/kim-jong-un-north-korea-health-intl/index.html) ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2020, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kim-jung-un-in-very-serious-condition/852241/106 "2020-04-26T22:42:33Z")
I saw a thing on Facebook that purported to be his funeral, but I have seen nothing in mainstream media confirming this. There was some speculation on the CBC though. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2020, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kim-jung-un-in-very-serious-condition/852241/107 "2020-04-26T22:56:04Z")
> [@Carryon](#): > > My first thought was he is in hiding from the coronavirus and the NK don’t want to admit how widespread it is. Maybe they’ll inject him with bleach. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2020, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kim-jung-un-in-very-serious-condition/852241/108 "2020-04-26T23:03:16Z")
> [@Carryon](#): > > My first thought was he is in hiding from the coronavirus and the NK don’t want to admit how widespread it is. Maybe they’ll inject him with bleach. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2020, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kim-jung-un-in-very-serious-condition/852241/109 "2020-04-26T23:19:47Z")
Satellite images show zero movement at his compound for five days, they are saying. Also, he failed to appear for a major national celebration. It simply didn’t occur. Curiouser and curiouser indeed. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2020, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kim-jung-un-in-very-serious-condition/852241/110 "2020-04-27T00:32:26Z")
I’m not a doctor, but isn’t it fairly unusual for someone in his 30s, even if grossly overweight to have developed diabetes and heart disease? I thought that stuff typically started popping up in the mid 40s. In any event, it seems as if _something_ is going on. Could be a heart attack or Covid-19 and he is recovering from it, with a good prognosis or a poor prognosis, or he is dead. If he is dead what sort of activity should we be seeing (as the SK news keeps reporting no unusual activity)? ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2020, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kim-jung-un-in-very-serious-condition/852241/111 "2020-04-27T01:02:36Z")
They are seeing strokes in some Covid patients in their 30s. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2020, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kim-jung-un-in-very-serious-condition/852241/112 "2020-04-27T01:50:53Z")
[Latest report is that he’s alive (again.)](https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3081648/kim-jong-un-alive-and-well-and-staying-wonsan-says-top-south) Check back in an hour? ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2020, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kim-jung-un-in-very-serious-condition/852241/113 "2020-04-27T02:29:13Z")
Would I be correct in thinking that Kim’s sister is probably not a likely successor to her brother due to gender attitudes in that culture? I’ve heard NK is even more patriarchal-to-misogynist than most Asian cultures traditionally tend to be. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2020, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kim-jung-un-in-very-serious-condition/852241/114 "2020-04-27T03:06:00Z")
There have been queens in Korean history, for example: > [@](#): > > Queen Seondeok of Silla ]; c. 595~610 – 17 February 647/January 8, Lunar Calendar) reigned as Queen Regnant of Silla, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, from 632 to 647. She was Silla’s twenty-seventh ruler, and its first reigning queen. She was the second female sovereign in recorded East Asian history and encouraged a renaissance in thought, literature, and the arts in Silla. In Samguksagi, Queen Seondeok was described as “generous, benevolent, wise, and smart”. > **[Queen Seondeok of Silla](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_Seondeok_of_Silla)** > > Queen Seondeok of Silla (Korean: 선덕여왕 .mw-parser-output .IPA-label-small{font-size:85%}.mw-parser-output .references .IPA-label-small,.mw-parser-output .infobox .IPA-label-small,.mw-parser-output .navbox .IPA-label-small{font-size:100%}Korean pronunciation: \[sʌn.dʌk jʌ.waŋ\]; c. 580 or 610 – 20 February 647/January 8, Lunar Calendar\[clarification needed\]\[citation needed\]) reigned as Queen Regnant of Silla, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, from 632 to 647. She was Silla's twenty-seventh rule In... ---
**Author:** ![installLSC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/54ee81/32.png) [@installLSC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/installLSC)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2020, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kim-jung-un-in-very-serious-condition/852241/115 "2020-04-27T03:13:00Z")
He’s becoming the new [Franco](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generalissimo_Francisco_Franco_is_still_dead) ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2020, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kim-jung-un-in-very-serious-condition/852241/116 "2020-04-27T04:37:32Z")
> [@Seanette](#): > > Would I be correct in thinking that Kim’s sister is probably not a likely successor to her brother due to gender attitudes in that culture? I’ve heard NK is even more patriarchal-to-misogynist than most Asian cultures traditionally tend to be. There was an article about this yesterday. It’s a clash between priorities: 1) The Kim family definitely wants to keep things in the family, 2) North Korea is indeed very patriarchal, and 3) Arguably none of the other Kims are as qualified as Yo-Jong, the sister, to hold power. Something’s gotta give. I don’t think the misogyny would be that hard to overcome. When you’re a Northerner and you know that defying your nation’s (female) ruler will get you burned alive or some other horrible death just as much as defying a male ruler, you’ll probably swallow any misgivings and go along with the show. Plenty of female rulers, like Bloody Mary, Queen of Scots, held on to power the brutal way. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2020, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kim-jung-un-in-very-serious-condition/852241/117 "2020-04-27T05:07:20Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > Bloody Mary, Queen of Scots A perhaps understandable conflation, since there were about as many Marys running around the British monarchy at one time or another as there are Kims in Korea, but although they were contemporaries and cousins they were not the same person.🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2020, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kim-jung-un-in-very-serious-condition/852241/118 "2020-04-27T05:11:56Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > A perhaps understandable conflation, since there were about as many Marys running around the British monarchy at one time or another as there are Kims in Korea, but although they were contemporaries and cousins they were not the same person.🙂 Agh, my bad. Whatevs. The bloody one. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2020, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kim-jung-un-in-very-serious-condition/852241/119 "2020-04-27T05:44:15Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > Agh, my bad. Whatevs. The bloody one. :smack: Mary I of England. Mary I of Scotland wasn’t quite as bloody, although she was involved in various murderous intrigues. ---
**Author:** ![pullin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c57346/32.png) [@pullin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pullin)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2020, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kim-jung-un-in-very-serious-condition/852241/120 "2020-04-27T11:05:37Z")
> [@Kent\_Clark](#): > > [Latest report is that he’s alive (again.)](https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3081648/kim-jong-un-alive-and-well-and-staying-wonsan-says-top-south) > > Check back in an hour? He was just pining for the fjords. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kim-jung-un-in-very-serious-condition/852241.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kim-jung-un-in-very-serious-condition/852241.md?page=7)