Among the many mysteries surrounding North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, the secrecy around his mother stands out as one of the most carefully guarded secrets. In his 15 years of rule, he has never once publicly mentioned her by name. The legitimacy of his dictatorship rests heavily on the concept of the "Mount Paektu" bloodline—a lineage tied to the mythical founder of the Korean people. Yet the identity of his mother, Ko Yong Hui, poses a direct threat to that very foundation.
The Enigmatic Mother of Kim Jong Un
Ko Yong Hui was born in Osaka, Japan, in 1952 to parents originally from Jeju Island, now part of South Korea. Her family were Zainichi Koreans—immigrants who had moved to Japan during its colonial rule of the Korean peninsula from 1910 to 1945. When Ko was about ten years old, her family emigrated to North Korea as part of a resettlement scheme that lured approximately 93,000 Koreans between 1959 and 1984. The program promised free healthcare, education, and jobs, but in reality, migrants were stigmatized as "jjaepo"—a derogatory term for those contaminated by foreign, dangerous ideologies.
North Korean society operates under a strict hierarchical classification known as songbun, often compared to a caste system. The jjaepo belong to the "wavering class," situated between the core and hostile classes. They face heavy state surveillance and are often denied admission to prestigious universities or promising careers. This background stands in stark contrast to the sacred Paektu bloodline that the Kim dynasty has long promoted to legitimize their rule. As analyst Kim Hyung-su of the Northern Research Association explains, "The [regime's] Paektu bloodline is seen as sacred. So the idea of the leader being a jjaepo's son is unimaginable."
The Shadow of Mount Paektu
The Paektu bloodline mythology begins with Mount Paektu, the volcanic mountain on the China-North Korea border believed to be the birthplace of Dangun, the mythical founder of Korea's first kingdom. North Korean founder Kim Il Sung reportedly used the mountain as a hideout during his anti-Japanese guerrilla activities. His son, Kim Jong Il, was said to have been born on those sacred slopes, despite evidence suggesting he was actually born in Russia. For decades, the mountain has been used to legitimize the Kim dynasty. Ryu Hyun-woo, an exiled North Korean diplomat, wrote in his book Kim Jong Un's Secret Vault: "Kim Jong Un became heir in his 20s despite having no achievements, solely because of the Paektu bloodline."
Yet Ko Yong Hui's origins paint a different picture. Hundreds of miles from Mount Paektu lies Osaka, where Ko was born. Her parents were from Jeju Island, making her family part of the diaspora that had lived under Japanese colonial rule. This reality directly contradicts the pure Korean lineage the regime insists upon. If North Koreans were to learn that their supreme leader is the son of a jjaepo, it could shatter the regime's ideological foundation.
A Controversial Background
Ko Yong Hui managed to escape the fate of most Zainichi Koreans when she caught the attention of Kim Jong Il, who was then being groomed for succession. Intelligence reports show that he was already married to Kim Young Sook, the daughter of a high-ranking military official, in a union arranged by his father. He also had two other mistresses: Sung Hae-rim and Kim Ok. Despite this, Ko—a member of the elite Mansudae Art Troupe—captured Kim Jong Il's interest due to her "natural beauty and dancing skills," according to Yoji Gomi, a Japanese reporter who published a book on Ko in 2025.
Reports suggest that Kim fell passionately in love with Ko, and they went on to have three children: Kim Jong Nam (with Sung Hae-rim), Kim Jong Chul, and Kim Jong Un. However, children born out of wedlock face severe stigma in North Korea. While Kim's official wife resided in Pyongyang, Ko and her children were tucked away 210 kilometers (130 miles) in the coastal town of Wonsan, living in secrecy. Though she never married the supreme leader and their union was not acknowledged by the regime, Ko lived what Gomi calls a "Cinderella-like life." Yet, she was "never recognized as a daughter-in-law by Kim Il Sung," wrote Ryu. Had Kim Il Sung approved, photos of him with his grandchildren would have been widely circulated, says Dr. Cheong Seong-chang of the Sejong Institute.
A Cinderella Life in Secrecy
After Kim Il Sung's death in 1994, Kim Jong Il became North Korea's supreme leader, and Ko Yong Hui assumed the role of de facto first lady. She accompanied her husband on military inspections and befriended his entourage. According to Kenji Fujimoto, Kim's former chef, Kim Jong Il would even seek her opinion before making policy decisions. Despite this influence, state media never mentioned her name. An official documentary produced in 2011 showed footage of Ko accompanying Kim on local tours, but it never revealed her name or her songbun. The documentary was only shown to senior party officials in June 2012, according to Dr. Cheong, but it was later leaked and spread among ordinary citizens via smuggled USB drives. "As it spread… people's curiosity about Ko Yong Hui skyrocketed, so the regime quickly recalled [the documentary]," Dr. Cheong explains. Her background could call the regime's legitimacy into question.
In 2004, Ko died of breast cancer at a hospital in Paris. Her death went unremarked by North Korean state media, a stark contrast to the lavish state funerals given to other members of the Kim family.
The Path to Succession
The question of how a mistress's second son—and Kim Jong Il's youngest—ended up inheriting power is central to understanding the regime's inner workings. Kim Young Sook, Kim's official wife, gave birth to two children, but both were female, thus ineligible for succession. Among the other mistresses, Sung Hae-rim bore Kim Jong Nam, the firstborn son. For a time, Jong Nam appeared to be the likely heir. He studied abroad for more than a decade, was fluent in English and French, and was known for a jet-setting lifestyle. However, he fell out of favor due to his questioning of hereditary succession and advocacy for reform. In 2017, he was assassinated in Malaysia with a lethal nerve agent.
Kim Jong Chul, the older brother from Ko, was ruled out as an heir because of a severe opium addiction, according to former diplomat Ryu. With no other viable male heir, Ko Yong Hui actively positioned her second son, Kim Jong Un, for succession. This was done on the advice of Ko's sister, who warned that if her son did not become the next leader, their family would be at risk. Kim Jong Un quickly became his father's favorite due to his leadership potential and competitive nature. Although he briefly studied in Switzerland, he was far more insulated than his half-brother Kim Jong Nam. When Kim Jong Il died in 2011, the 27-year-old Kim Jong Un secured his place on the throne.
Kim Jong Un has since entrusted great power to his sister, Kim Yo Jong, who is believed to head the influential propaganda department. However, the question of his parentage continues to hang over him. Analysts believe this is why his birthday has not been declared a national holiday, unlike his grandfather's and father's. Drawing attention to his birth could raise thorny questions about his mother and why he was raised outside Pyongyang.
A Controlled Narrative
The secrecy surrounding his mother may also explain why Kim Jong Un was quick to publicly present his wife, Ri Sol Ju. Unlike his mother, Ri is believed to have come from an upper-middle-class family in Pyongyang with good songbun. A former singer of a prestigious performance group, she studied classical singing in China in her youth—an indicator of elite status. "The sense of illegitimacy and resentment Kim Jong Un experienced because of his mother's background paradoxically became a powerful motivation for him to publicly reveal his wife Ri Sol Ju and daughter Ju Ae at an early stage," says Gomi. These public displays could stem from a "perceived 'deficiency'" surrounding his mother's origins.
What would happen if the origins of Kim Jong Un's mother ever became widely known? Ryu warns: "If it becomes known that his mother was of ethnic Korean origins from Japan, it would not only shake his legitimacy but also destabilize the hereditary system at its roots. It would have the impact of a nuclear bomb on North Korean society."
Source:MSN News