Children in North Korea are reportedly to be taught that Kim Jong-un learned to drive at the age of three, as part of a new school subject entirely dedicated to his life and “revolutionary works”.
Teachers will be expected to teach the outlandish claim as fact, according to a new teacher’s manual reported via the UPI agency in South Korea’s TV Chosun.
Among other elements of Kim’s “history” to be taught is the episode when, aged nine, he apparently “raced the chief executive of a foreign yacht company who was visiting North Korea at the time”.
According to the teacher’s manual, Kim won the race “despite the odds”.
The indoctrination of such absurd statements into the future citizens of North Korea represents a level of propaganda beyond the everyday stories that fill the regime-controlled news outlets, usually involving Kim visiting a broad range of sites requiring varied expertise and offering his own “field guidance”.
It chimes more closely with the stories that were told of his father, Kim Jong-il, before his death. State media used to report that the “Dear Leader” bowled a perfect 300 in his first match at Pyongyang Lanes, and that he scored five holes in one and 38 under par in his first round of golf.
Lee Seok-young, the South Korean director of Radio Free Chosun which regularly covers North Korea, told UPI the teacher’s manual raises worrying questions as to how teachers are possibly expected to deliver such incredible statements to students in a school setting.
