It’s widely speculated that Kim Jong Un, the leader of North Korea, turned 40 years old recently. However, in typical fashion for the secretive state, there was no official confirmation or fanfare regarding this milestone birthday. While the world watches closely, the exact age of Kim Jong Un remains shrouded in a veil of secrecy.
This lack of acknowledgement is a stark contrast to how North Korea celebrated the birthdays of Kim Jong Un’s predecessors. His father, Kim Jong Il, and grandfather, Kim Il Sung, both had birthdays that were grand, national events, and these days are still commemorated as public holidays in North Korea. This raises the question: why the silence around Kim Jong Un’s 40th birthday, if indeed January 8th is the correct date as many believe?
The precise date of Kim Jong Un’s birth has never been officially declared by North Korea. Nevertheless, the 8th of January has emerged as the widely accepted date among North Korea observers and analysts. Hints about this date have surfaced over the years. For instance, in 2020, North Korean officials acknowledged receiving birthday wishes from then-US President Donald Trump in January, though they avoided specifying the exact day.
Further reinforcing the January 8th date was a rather unusual event in 2014 when former US basketball star Dennis Rodman serenaded Kim Jong Un with “Happy Birthday” in front of a large audience in Pyongyang. This public display, although unconventional, added weight to the speculation surrounding the January birthday.
Experts propose various theories to explain North Korea’s silence on Kim Jong Un’s birthday. One prominent theory, put forward by Gilsup Kwak of the One Korea Center, points to the background of Kim Jong Un’s mother, Ko Yong Hui. Reportedly born in Japan, her heritage could be a sensitive issue in North Korea, where distrust of Japan, stemming from its colonial rule over Korea from 1910 to 1945, is still prevalent. Highlighting Kim Jong Un’s birthday could inadvertently draw attention to his maternal lineage, potentially undermining the carefully constructed narrative of his bloodline purity and leadership legitimacy. In this context, keeping the birthday low-key might be a deliberate strategy to avoid unwanted scrutiny.
However, other explanations exist. It’s possible that Kim Jong Un prefers to emphasize the idolization of his ancestors rather than himself, projecting an image of humility and downplaying his own personality cult in comparison to his father and grandfather. Alternatively, some experts suggest that age perception within the North Korean elite could be a factor. Older members of the ruling class might still view Kim Jong Un as relatively young, despite reaching 40. Interestingly, Kim Jong Il’s birthday only became a national holiday when he turned 40, suggesting a possible parallel in how age milestones are treated within the Kim dynasty’s leadership.
In conclusion, while circumstantial evidence strongly suggests Kim Jong Un’s 40th birthday falls on January 8th, North Korea’s continued silence leaves the question of “How Old Is Kim Jong Un?” somewhat open-ended in the official narrative. Whether due to political sensitivities, image management, or internal dynamics within the North Korean leadership, the mystery surrounding Kim Jong Un’s age persists, adding another layer to the enigma of the hermit kingdom and its leader.
