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SEOUL, South Korea – The father fell in love with a dancer. Now the son has fallen in love with a singer.
The talk of Seoul today is all about the 24-year-old ex-singer-turned-first lady of North Korea, Ri Sol-Ju, who
was officially mentioned by North Korean TV on Wednesday as the “comrade wife to Marshal Kim Jong Un.”
A new video was aired today of the two walking arm-in-arm, a rare lovey-dovey image which analysts in Seoul
say is aimed to make North Korea’s young leader appear “stable and fatherly.”
Kim Jong Un, 28, rose to power earlier this year after the death of his father Kim Jong Il last December.
His father never appeared in public with an official wife, but is known to have had four or five wives. Jong Un was
born to Jong Il’s fourth wife, a celebrity dancer named Koh Young-Hee.
The new lady in the spotlight, Ri, is a popular singer who was spotted performing on stage numerous times in the
past few years. There is still no confirmation on when they were married, but the two are known to have a child
together, according to the National Information Service, South Korea’s intelligence agency.
Ri is from an average family, graduated Geumsung 2 Middle School in Pyongyang and studied abroad in China
majoring in vocal music.
She has also visited South Korea in 2005 as a member of North Korean cheerleading team for the Asian Athletics
Championship held in Incheon, said the agency. Ri was one of the 90 cheerleaders back then who chanted “We
are one!”
The cheerleaders wore Nike caps, danced with South Korean college students, and attended a dinner party with
government officials. There’s speculation that she also might have participated in an inter-Korean teenagers’ event
in 2003 to plant trees.
But what has attracted the most attention in Seoul today is her beauty and sense of fashion. She wore colorful
green, burgundy, and yellow outfits, polka dot patterns, open-toe pumps, and even a chic brooch on one of her
dresses. North Korean women usually wear their traditional costume, or monotone black or grey suits to public
events.
“I was surprised because she was so up-to-date in fashion. My friends think she’s very pretty too,” said Hyun-Sun
Kim, 22, a nurse.
“I think Ri Sol Ju possesses a classic traditional Korean beauty, a round face and clean skin,” said Edward Han, 52,
a South Korean businessman. “And she’s got that image of an obedient wife which sure would be popular among
the elders especially.”
SEOUL, South Korea – The father fell in love with a dancer. Now the son has fallen in love with a singer.
The talk of Seoul today is all about the 24-year-old ex-singer-turned-first lady of North Korea, Ri Sol-Ju, who
was officially mentioned by North Korean TV on Wednesday as the “comrade wife to Marshal Kim Jong Un.”
A new video was aired today of the two walking arm-in-arm, a rare lovey-dovey image which analysts in Seoul
say is aimed to make North Korea’s young leader appear “stable and fatherly.”
Kim Jong Un, 28, rose to power earlier this year after the death of his father Kim Jong Il last December.
His father never appeared in public with an official wife, but is known to have had four or five wives. Jong Un was
born to Jong Il’s fourth wife, a celebrity dancer named Koh Young-Hee.
The new lady in the spotlight, Ri, is a popular singer who was spotted performing on stage numerous times in the
past few years. There is still no confirmation on when they were married, but the two are known to have a child
together, according to the National Information Service, South Korea’s intelligence agency.
Ri is from an average family, graduated Geumsung 2 Middle School in Pyongyang and studied abroad in China
majoring in vocal music.
She has also visited South Korea in 2005 as a member of North Korean cheerleading team for the Asian Athletics
Championship held in Incheon, said the agency. Ri was one of the 90 cheerleaders back then who chanted “We
are one!”
The cheerleaders wore Nike caps, danced with South Korean college students, and attended a dinner party with
government officials. There’s speculation that she also might have participated in an inter-Korean teenagers’ event
in 2003 to plant trees.
But what has attracted the most attention in Seoul today is her beauty and sense of fashion. She wore colorful
green, burgundy, and yellow outfits, polka dot patterns, open-toe pumps, and even a chic brooch on one of her
dresses. North Korean women usually wear their traditional costume, or monotone black or grey suits to public
events.
“I was surprised because she was so up-to-date in fashion. My friends think she’s very pretty too,” said Hyun-Sun
Kim, 22, a nurse.
“I think Ri Sol Ju possesses a classic traditional Korean beauty, a round face and clean skin,” said Edward Han, 52,
a South Korean businessman. “And she’s got that image of an obedient wife which sure would be popular among
the elders especially.”
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