Song Hye-rim
성혜림
Yi Han-yong (nephew)
Song Hye-rim | |
Chosŏn'gŭl | 성혜림 |
---|---|
Hancha | 成蕙琳 |
Revised Romanization | Seong Hye-rim |
McCune–Reischauer | Sŏng Hyerim |
Song Hye-rim (Korean: 성혜림; 24 January 1937 – 18 May 2002)[1] was a North Korean actress, best known for being the one-time favored mistress of Kim Jong Il.
Early life and education
Song was born in Changnyeong, Keishōnan-dō, Korea, Empire of Japan (now in South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea). She entered the Pyongyang Movie College in 1955, but left the following year to give birth to a daughter. She later re-enrolled and graduated, having her film debut in 1960. She became a popular actress in the 1960s, appearing in movies including Onjŏngryŏng (온정령) and Baek Il-hong (백일홍).
Most accounts of Song are drawn from the memoirs of her sister, Song Hye-rang. Her former friend Kim Young-soon published her memoir I was Song Hye-rim's Friend, and revealed that she and her family were sent to a concentration camp for ten years after she found out Hye-rim's secret, namely, that she was Kim Jong Il's mistress, a fact that was hidden at the time even from Kim Il Sung. This resulted in death of her parents and children, and her husband was taken away to never be seen again. She managed to defect to South Korea in 2003.[2][3][4][5]
Personal life
Song began dating Kim Jong Il in 1968, after divorcing her first husband; she is believed to have been his first mistress. The birth of her son is said to have been kept secret from Kim Il Sung until 1975.[6]
Defection and death
External image | |
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Song Hye-rim's grave at Troyekurovskoye Cemetery in Moscow. |
Starting in the early 1980s, Song travelled to Moscow frequently for medical care. In 1996, Song was reported to have defected to the West, but intelligence officials in South Korea denied the story. She is reported to have died on 18 May 2002.[1][7] Some reports state she died in Moscow.[8][9]
See also
- History of North Korea
- Woo In-hee – North Korean actress (c. 1940–1981)
Notes
- ^ a b 北 김정남 생모 '성혜림의 묘'를 찾아 (in Korean).
- ^ "North Korean defector says Kim Jong Il stole her life". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ "A N.Korean life shattered by Kim Jong-il's secret". Reuters. 3 February 2010.
- ^ AFD
- ^ "North Korean Defector Reveals The Horrifying Conditions Inside Secretive State's Concentration Camps". Huffington Post. 12 October 2013. Retrieved 14 February 2017.
- ^ Lee (2005), par. 6
- ^ Empas (n.d.)
- ^ Lee (2005), sect. 4 par. 1
- ^ Michael Rank (18 February 2012). "North Korean secrets lie six feet under". Asia Times Online. Archived from the original on 17 February 2012.
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References
- 김정일의 동거녀 성혜림과 고영희. Daily NK (in Korean). 15 July 2005. Retrieved 23 May 2007.
- 성혜림. Empas 인물검색 (in Korean). Retrieved 23 May 2007.
- Lee, Ki-dong (이기동) (26 January 2005). 김정일, 외모닮은 김정운 칭찬. Choongang Monthly Magazine (in Korean). Archived from the original on 15 February 2017. Retrieved 23 May 2007.
External links
- L.A. Times piece on Song's childhood friend
- v
- t
- e
- Kim Il Sung (1912–1994)
- Kim Jong Il (1941–2011)
- Kim Jong Un (1983–)
- Kim-Kim (North Korea) (Kim Il Sung's Great-Great-Great-Great-Great Grandfather)
- Kim Gusta-Io I (Kim Il Sung's Great-Great-Great-Great Grandfather)
- Kim Ugu-io (Kim Il Sung's Great-Great-Great Grandfather)
- Sal Sol-jan (Kim Il Sung's Great-Great-Great Grandmother)
- Song-ryong Kim (Kim Il Sung's Great Great Grandfather)
- Hyon-jik Na (Kim Il Sung's Great Great Grandmother)
- Kim Ung-u (Kim Il Sung's Great grandfather)
- Lady Lee (North Korea) (Kim Il Sung's Great Grandmother)
- Kim Gusta-io II (Kim Il Sung's Great-Great-Great Uncle)
- Rak Ja-sel (Kim Il Sung's Great-Great-Great-Aunt)
- Kim Gus-tal (Kim Il Sung's Great-Great-Great Cousin)
- Kim Ul-ae (Kim Il Sung's Great-Great-Great Nephew)
- Jong-su Kim (Kim Il Sung's Great-Great Uncle)
- In-sok Kim (Kim Il Sung's Great-Great Uncle)
- Lee Bo-ik (Kim Il Sung's grandmother)
- Kim Bo-hyon (Kim Il Sung's grandfather)
- Kim Hyong-jik (Kim Il Sung's father)
- Kang Pan-sok (Kim Il Sung's mother)
- Kim Hyong-jik (Kim Il Sung's Uncle)
- Kim Hyong-rok (Kim Il Sung's Uncle)
- Kim Hyong-gwon (Kim Il Sung's Uncle)
- Kim Gu-il (Kim Il Sung's Uncle)
- Kim Hyong-sil (Kim Il Sung's Uncle)
- Kim Hyong-bok (Kim Il Sung's Uncle)
- Kim Jong-suk (Kim Il Sung's first wife, Jong Il's mother)
- Kim Yong-ju (Kim Il Sung's brother)
- Kim Chol-ju (Kim Il Sung's brother)
- Kim Song-ae (Kim Il Sung's second wife)
- Hong Il-chon (Kim Jong Il's first wife, divorced)
- Song Hye-rim (Kim Jong Il's first mistress)
- Kim Man-il (Kim Jong Il's brother)
- Jang Song-thaek (Kim Jong Il's brother-in-law)
- Kim Kyong-hui (Kim Jong Il's sister)
- Kim Young-sook (Kim Jong Il's wife)
- Ko Yong-hui (Kim Jong Il's second mistress, Jong Un's mother)
- Kim Pyong Il (Kim Jong Il's half-brother)
- Kim Ok (Kim Jong Il's third mistress)
- Kim Yo-jong (Kim Jong Un's sister)
- Kim Jong-chul (Kim Jong Un's brother)
- Kim Sul-song (Kim Jong Un's half-sister)
- Kim Jong-nam (Kim Jong Un's half-brother)
- Ri Sol-ju (Kim Jong Un's wife)
- Kim Ju-ae (Kim Jong Un's daughter)
- Kim Han-sol (Kim Jong-nam's son)