Inside Kim Jong Un’s Bizarre Orders: From Weight Gain to Archery Warfare

North Korea’s Kim Jong Un’s Absurd Orders
Such as Archery, Weight gain
The economic crisis continues

It has been transmitted that North Korean officials diligently take notes on Kim Jong Un’s directives. They have no choice but to comply with the orders of the absolute leader, but it’s said that not all of Kim’s directives are wise or beneficial to the country.

In May 2015, Kim Jong Un inspected the Shinchang Fish Farm under the 810th military unit. The farm, established under Kim Jong Il’s directive, breeds species such as sturgeon, trout, and leather carp.

While it’s absurd that a Revolutionary Liberal Arts Room was set up at the fish farm, Kim Jong Un, after touring the facility, reportedly ordered the creation of a mosaic mural depicting Kim Jong Il, even specifying its location.

Three years later, in 2018, mosaic murals depicting Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il were unveiled at North Korean factories such as the Cheonnaeri Cement Factory, Chongjin General Foodstuff Factory, and the Taedonggang Foodstuff Factory.

In July of that year, he ordered the fully-grown North Korean soldiers to gain more weight.

Currently, North Korea is suffering from severe malnutrition, and the average height of North Korean men and women falls short compared to South Korea. Recent comparisons between the average heights of South Korean men and North Korean defectors revealed that North Koreans are 1.2 to 3.1 inches shorter, and South Korean women have even surpassed the height of North Korean men.

At that time, Kim Jong Un visited the 4th Corps on the western front, where many soldiers suffered from malnutrition. Seeing their condition, Kim ordered a 100-day nutritional supplement project, directing the soldiers, around 5.6 feet tall, to gain weight up to 132 lbs within 100 days.

It has been confirmed that in the past, he gave orders to utilize archery in warfare.

In June 2010, after watching a soccer game of the 3117th military unit, Kim Jong Un stated in his guidance, “Arrows do not make noise when shot, ensuring stealth,” and ordered the use of bows in a war against South Korea.

He also ordered regular troops to train in horseback riding during an inspection of a cavalry unit and, out of the blue, emphasized swimming practice.

Also, in 2013, it was reported that he said, “The first mission of the military unit’s combat operation plan is to protect the portraits and the facilities for the idolization of the Kim family.”

These absurd orders are ongoing.

North Korea’s Korean Central Television reported that Kim Jong Un’s special instructions were included when introducing the Ryugyong General Ophthalmic Hospital in the Munsu area, Pyongyang. Kim ordered that the design process should include carving human eye shapes.

Initially, they planned to include a cross mark in the middle of the eye shape to indicate a hospital, however after Kim personally inspected the construction site, they used the color of glass similar to the iris, making it more like a real human eye.

Also, Yangdok Hot Spring Resort in South Pyongan Province has a dedicated space for boiling eggs. This was also Kim Jong Un’s idea. At the opening, North Korean residents praised Kim in an interview with Korean Central Television, saying, “He arranged for our people to bring soy sauce and salt pots to taste eggs according to their preference.”

Meanwhile, North Korea’s economic level continues to languish at the bottom globally.

According to the 2024 Bertelsmann Transformation Index report recently released by the German research institute Bertelsmann Stiftung, North Korea’s level of democratic and market economy transition ranked 131st out of the 137 countries surveyed.

In particular, the living conditions of North Korean residents appear to have worsened significantly. According to data released by the Bank of Korea in South Korea, North Korea’s economic growth rate in 2020 was -4.5%, the lowest since 1997, and total foreign trade volume decreased by 73.4% and 17.3% compared to the previous year in 2020 and 2021, respectively.

While Kim Jong Un and the Workers’ Party are trying to calm public sentiment and boost economic growth by building factories in local regions and distributing tractors, they are receiving criticism for their show-off efforts and negative external evaluations that will likely end in vain.