Kim Jong Il: tiny tyrant, self-proclaimed internet expert
By Darren Murph 
posted Oct 5th 2007 10:44AM
posted Oct 5th 2007 10:44AM
While a great many individuals have an (understandable) beef with North Korea's polarizing leader, there's a decent chance that even more people would scoff at his latest comment. During summit talks this week with South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun, Kim Jong Il called himself an "internet expert," after which we assume the entire room erupted with laughter. Granted, the guy must have some sort of outside connection to still receive his tunes and booze once the US got involved, but suggesting that "only the industrial zone" be wired for web access is questionable at best.
Whatever you say, Yoda.
He must frequent 4chan..cause god knows that's where the interwebs experts live.
hahaha... nothing to say, just wanna laugh.
He needs to take a walk through their mine field
he probabry reads engadget and has a facebook
I hope you are right...
I think he might indeed feel that he is a foremost expert in Internet, because his military and academic hackers have been infiltrating other countries' computer systems...and I hope I'm wrong.
does he code HTML/JS/AJAX/CPP/PHP? I need a developer in India..plz send me the resume..
lol :D
code AJAX? I wasn't aware that was its own language now...
Expert at being made fun of on the internet?
i dont get it, is this news or propoganda?
More like offbeat news so we can have some fun.
the man should die. or get killed. period. this is my nostradamus forecast for 2008.
One wonders why a tyrant like this hasn't been dealt with by the worlds greatest super power... oh thats right... not much oil in north korea... and i forgot to mention that the said super power is allergic to communism.
But he is funny to laugh at. Lets give him some big shoes and a clown suite.
Thanks for preaching politics on a tech blog. Really getting you far. /sarcasm
Let's not forget that the same superpower has some serious trade ties to his main backer. And if we lose those trade ties no more cheap electronics!
Ah Nubaeus. I see your very well made point. So the rest of the comments which are meant in fun are completely related to technology? Everything is linked... politics has more to do with tech than you think. Especially industrial politics. Think about how easy it would have been for the iPhone to launch in Canada when it launched in the US if it weren't for company politics and differing regulations. Please step down slowly from your high horse.
Ah Boz,what I was going for was just a bit of a lack of sincerity. Everywhere else I go I have to hear pepople bitching about Bush, the war, health care, abortion etc. I come to Engadget to read about cool stuff involving technology and some other humerous things. So you can get off your high horse preaching to me about how politics are just as important to technology.
@Boz
Oh... I dunno, maybe we have been hesitant because he has has about 10,000 artillery cannons
Uggg... comment system.
@Boz
Oh... I dunno, maybe we have been hesitant because he has has about 10,000 artillery cannons less than 50 miles from Seoul.
And before you disparage America's motives, don't forget that north of 50,000 Americans died during the Korean War.
Additionally, try to keep up with the news... there was major N. Korea news this week. Read all about it!
We're a little busy right now, maybe you've noticed? Maybe France or Germany or Russia can pick up the ball on this one.
Or it could have something to do with the fact that if we invade North Korea it may very well set of another world war?
Why should the man not be able to claim that he's an internet expert? Is it something that only fatass Americans can claim?
Yes, because most of the people in this country that are experts tend to be fat.
Yeah, it's the fact that he's not american. That's the problem. It's not that he's a a widely despised despot, it's that he's not fat and american. You caught us. Only people in america can know anything about the intertubes. Everyone else thinks that the internet's some big truck.
or, alternatively, you're trying to find something to be offended by. There's really no way to tell...
here's an idea, rob:
go fuck yourself
See how that works, and then report back to us all.
surfing P@rn doesn't make you an internet expert!
The Great Leader is also a true Renaissance man- an athlete, a fashion designer, an artist, a fighter, an engineer, a chemist, a physicist, a biologist and so on.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDBCGNGAypY
Isn't he the "Dear Leader"? Dad was the "Great Leader"
Nuh uh!!
That was L. Ron Hubbard duh!!!
KJI's cult of personality not as strong as L Ron. L Ron had a pretty boat and big buildings.
In all seriousness, this man is a lunatic.
Pity the same claim cannot be made by ANY of his countrymen.
Ah but don't forget the legendary North Korean Hacker's School - their motto - 'Where the William Gibson Novel Protagonists of Tomorrow are being Trained Today!'
Seriously - if this thing exists and it offers fast net access and FOOD, every smart oriental math geek in the country will be pissing through concrete to get in. Some of them will be pathological communists. This could be very bad in the future.
I find his ideas fascinating, and would like to subscribe to his newsletter.
Kim Jong Il: king of the internet?
Dear Hans Brix: I'm so ronery, so ronery...
HERROOOO...man I can't take anything this guy says seriously after seeing Team America.
RIAA should start a full scale investigation on this "internet expert" instead of that single mom... Bet he's got everything from 2Pac to Bette Midler in his Commie iPod...
At least when he buys the "red" version of the iPod to show support for communism, he'll be giving a little back to humanity.
Al Gore taught him everything he knows....
First Al Gore never claimed to have 'created' the internet, merely that he introduced legislation that eventually moved the internet from military to civilian.
Second, I'm sure Kim Jong-il sadly is a tech person. It is already confirmed that he loves movies and telivision. It is not that hard to get involved in website creation (there are plenty of guides on the net) and browsing the internet. It is just sad he doesn't allow his people to do the same.
creating websites != internet expertise. knowing how to use the internet and claiming to be an expert is like learning to drive and claiming to be a car expert.
"During my service in the United States Congress I took the initiative in creating the internet. I took the initiative in moving forward a whole range of initiatives that have proven to be important to our country's economic growth and environmental protection, improvements in our educational system."
-- Al Gore.
Oh shut the hell up.
Kim also claimed to have played golf only once, scoring an 18 after all 18 holes.
"LLKoolJIl" FTW...h4x0rs rule!
Ah, Hans Brixt... What's up buddy?
"Ah, Hans Brixt... What's up, buddy?"
I don't think the chubby writers of a tech website are qualified to pass judgement on someone who, for better or worse, has managed to be in charge of an entire country.
As an interesting aside to some of the 'China' comments above, Enqadget is owned by Time Warner, which was started by Henry Luce, born in China in 1898 to an American missionary.
Small world!
Anyone, regardless of size or job, is allowed to pass judgment on someone who is as stupid as this guy. Check your history, he manages the entire country because ITS A COMMUNIST COUNTRY idiot. The people never asked him to "be in charge of the entire country".
Now, this skinny network security analyst is going to pass judgement. Luke you're a fucking idiot.
WTF is with people who think that someone's weight disqualifies their opinion?
"Chubby writers"?
Good thing none of histories greatest thinkers has been a little overweight.
Most of this blogs readers live in countries where every one is allowed to have an opinion regardless of their qualification's or physical stature :)
Furthermore Jong IL was basically given the country by daddy, who basically had it given to him by the Chinese and Russians at the end of WWII because he was one of the few Korean Communist leaders who managed to stay alive.
P.S. thanks for the Time Warner history lesson but Henry Luce didn't start Time Warner, he cofounded Time inc.which later merged with Warner Communications to form Time Warner but I still fail to see the relevance.
The skinny web developer has spoken!
I bet he's a 14 year old girl named Sun online.
guys, guys, rearry. if he is really a self proclaimed interweb expert then odds are he's reading engadget right now! (cause that's all it takes, isnt it?)
How does reading techie-wannabe blog make you an "internet expert"?
Engadget writers and editors don't even differentiate "internet" and "Internet".
"...polarizing leader." Hmmmmmm?? Can anyone out there think of any more of these on the planet? Hint:USA
I for one totally believe him. Just look at that guy, he must be a wizard!
He's more like a Korean version of Don King. That hair's just crazy.
What's wrong with humanity? Why are we having these idiots as our so called "leaders"...
We have this guy in Iran who says Holocaust is a myth, Hugo Chavez in Venuzuala who thinks everyone in the world is waiting to have him killed, this nut job in North Korea, George W in.... oops...
He also claimed that he could get a score of 19 on an 18 hole golf course.
I think his name was specifically chosen to confuse those who prefer using a sans-serif font.
Despite the comments in this article, Nobody truly knows what's going on in North Korea.
I believe he is an expert indeed. Most of users will lazily enter www blabla or even blabla.something to access a web site.
Kim Jong Il expertly covers all combinations of mail://..., ftp://... gopher:// KimJong://... spam:// crap://... until he discovers a four letters combination to hit the right protocol to access the web site.
Kim is a persistent leader who is capable of overcoming such an impossible difficulty. Whether it takes a year, 10 years or a century, he WILL get the right URL one day.
You must admit that nobody can achieve such a feat. Hats Off please.
I knew I seen him on WoW...
While these claims made by Kim Jong Il may sound silly to us, they have more to do with cultural differences and the way the koreans view their leaders than with the man himself.
The rulers of Korea have long been seen as gods or semi-gods by their people, Kim Jong Il is just continuing that tradition. The people of Korea may very well know it´s not true but with a bit of faith.. Kind of like Jesus walking on water or feeding hundreds of people with only two breads and two fishes.
It's sad that you can't differentiate North from South. South Korea basically hates North Korea and would love to see Jong Il's head on a platter of kimchi. The only reason people see him as something awesome is because that's all they know in fear. Brainwashed people glorify the master brainwasher... not a demi-god.