ABSTRACT
Kim Jong Il spent his childhood and adolescence experiencing the social upheavals that North Korea underwent at the time. These socio-political events – liberation, the Korean War, post-war reconstruction, North Korea’s complicated relations with the Soviet Union and China, the generation of the chuch'e idea, and political struggles among North Korean leaders – affected him in many ways. The fact that he was Kim Il Sung’s son made the young Kim more sensitive to these events than ordinary children in the society. His family life was inextricably entangled in North Korean politics and this situation naturally nurtured his interest in politics during his developmental years.
