Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il badges are lapel pins with portraits depicting either one or both of the Eternal Leaders of North Korea, Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il. The badges have been common since the late 1960s, and are produced by the Mansudae Art Studio. There are more than 20 different designs, some of which are more common than others. Common examples include red flag-shaped pins depicting either Eternal President Kim Il Sung or Eternal General Secretary Kim Jong Il, smaller circular pins with the same portraits on white backgrounds (often with silver or gold edging), and larger flag-shaped pins depicting both leaders.
The badges were inspired by Chairman Mao badges worn by Chinese revolutionaries and citizens during the rule of Mao Zedong. Unlike their Chinese counterparts, which were never compulsory to wear, the North Korean badges have been an important part of North Korean attire for most of their history. As such, they are culturally more important than Mao badges ever were,[1] and are a key part of North Korea's cult of personality.[2] According to Jae-Cheon Lim, the badges are:
[a] formative symbol depicting the North Korean leaders. ... Wearing a leader badge is an identity symbol showing that North Koreans belong to their leader, thus distinguishing themselves from foreign citizens. Unlike other leader symbols, the badge is portable. ... Thus it is a symbol fulfilling the idea that the leaders are always with the people.[3]
- ^ Hoare, James E. (2012). "Badges". Historical Dictionary of Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Lanham: Scarecrow Press. p. 57. ISBN 978-0-8108-7987-4.
- ^ Hokkanen, Jouni (2013). Pohjois-Korea: Siperiasta itään [North Korea: East of Siberia] (in Finnish). Helsinki: Johnny Kniga. p. 19. ISBN 978-951-0-39946-0.
- ^ Lim 2015, p. 32.