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SEOUL, South Korea – These are challenging times for Kim Jong Il – or at least his South Korean lookalike, who's been making a living impersonating the North Korean dictator.
"I get massive headaches. My blood pressure goes up every day," said Kim Young-Shik, who bears an uncanny resemblance to the Dear Leader.
I went to visit Kim at his cluttered print shop in the suburbs of Seoul, where he greeted me dressed in his trademark leisure suit and dark glasses.
"People now point at me in the street and accuse me of throwing bombs at Yeonpyeong Island," he told me. "I try and tell them I am sorry before they can say anything. I apologize for Kim Jong Il's provocative behavior."
Kim is the same height as the Dear Leader, has the same pot belly and unkempt hair, and he has perfectly mastered the gestures - the clapping, waving and that slightly awkward walk.
Ian Williams / NBC News
NBC News' Ian Williams meets Kim Young-Shik, a Kim Jong Il impersonator who works in Seoul, South Korea.
He's been hired for wedding and birthday parties, and for roles in advertisements and movies. During the years of the South Korea’s "Sunshine Policy," a period of cozying-up to the North, he would be applauded in the street, and people would line up for his autograph and to have their photographs taken with him.
But Pyongyang's recent aggression has changed all that, and Kim’s invitations are drying up. It’s no longer cool to have Kim Jong Il singing at your wedding. "People tell me to stop making them nervous. I just keep saying, ‘I'm sorry,’” he said.
Although, he still can't resist a bit of public performance, waving at passersby while we were talking to him. One elderly man glared back: "That's Kim Jong Il, that's Kim Jong Il. He's that dictator from the north," he muttered.
Kim the impersonator first got his break when he won an audition for a 1995 movie about the two Koreas coming together, unifying – and then nuking Japan. It ends with a large mushroom cloud over Tokyo.
The movie didn't do particularly well, but it did launch his career as Kim Jong Il, a career he fears is coming to a rapid close; he is considering hanging up his leisure suit and getting a makeover.
"I will have to get my hair permed soon to avoid looking like Kim Jong Il. The way people look at me is not friendly anymore. I want to avoid looking like him now."
Ian Williams / NBC News
Sitting in his office in a suburb of Seoul, Kim Young-Shik, a Kim Jong Il impersonator contemplates his career future.
In the bunker-like main office of his print shop, surrounded by photos of his version of Kim Jong Il, he is quietly contemplating the future. Customers come and go, quietly encouraging him to abandon the Dear Leader and follow a career as a singer and entertainer.
He knows that makes sense, and he's now learning to impersonate a famous Korean singer.
The real Kim Jong Il is starting to look sick and emaciated anyway, and Kim the lookalike is rather attached to his pot-belly.
"In the old days I'd go on a diet," he said, to keep up with appearances. Not now. "I don't want to do this anymore," he told me.
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Leave a Comment:
one of the many reasons it's not good to pretend to be one of the most hated people on the planet.
How bizarre. That would be like hiring a Hitler look-alike. HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!
Does anyone know the title of that movie mentioned in the article? A united korea nuking japan.
It's called "every movie ever made in Korea." You know, that didn't involve dragons...
Old Boy did not involve dragons or nukes. Very good movie.
Actually, that's the most interesting subtext of the article. It implies that, at least up until recently, people in South Korea didn't feel that negatively towards the real Kim Jung Il. That's interesting -- after all, they're his nearest neighbors. If there are people on the planet who don't (or at least didn't until recently) think of him as a paranoid incompetant megalomaniac, that's at least newsworthy.
Duh?
Too bad we can't swap the two... The impersonator would probably rule better. :P
Must be slow news day, writing news about the fake Kim Jong il.
Any news that makes you laugh is good news in my opinion. I'd rather see articles like this every day than another article about missing children or dead soldiers.
So what? Does this story really deserve to be the headline story of your homepage?????
News a little slow today?
What you want Bin? Not all news is bad, and something like this just might keep those political hack/clowns off the story. And it might just make those 9.6% (19%) unemployed feel better, knowing that they are not alone without a job.
Really, not a great story, but I'm just glad there isn't anything worse to put up there! Just keep that in mind.
True, true, but:
Obnoxious Stories Featured on Top Half of MSNBC's Homepage May Torpedo its Credibility
Phucking clown...
How much of a future can there be in being hung in effigy over, and over, and over again?
I hear there's a shortage of good Korean Elvis impersonators!
Sorry, but South Koreans applauded the guy they thought was the real Kim? I'm confused. Is he not hated in South Korea?
Please re-read the article. It is not that long and contains your answer.
Yeah, I mean, it's pretty much what the entire article is about...
I did read it. It says that before the bombings, he was applauded on the street of South Korea. Really? South Koreans loved Kim Jong Il before the bombings?
.....in my neighborhood there are fourteen guys on every block that look just like him.....now they may all have to get real jobs and leave the high flyin'celebrity impersonator gig behind......bummer, right?.....
 .
Wow. I never looked at it that way before. Now I'm depressed. Let's hope Sarah Palin doesn't become president and nuke North Korea... then what would poor Tina Fey do?
Heh, if Palin ever became president, Fey would be near the top of the "enemies to be sent to Guantanamo" list.
I would be more worried about Palin getting confused again and nuking Seoul.
Nice picture and I hope Robert Gibbs got a copy. He is not afraid of a person with a "laptop" but how about a desktop like this aspiring terrorist possesses?
Just what are you snorting? Your post makes no sense. Come to Las Vegas and see all the impersonators for only $150 a show.
Hey, there is always SNL! He could do a spoof with Sarah Palin who thinks that North Korea is our ally??? Down side, the commute to work would be hell.
I bet he'd get a little more sympathy if he switched to a prison uniform :)
Dear Kim Young-Shik:
You are cordially invited to Las Vegas Nevada where you can impersonate Kim Jong Il all you want and make good capitalist money. Just make sure that you put on a blond wig and Lady Gaga sunglasses when you leave the stage.
Actually, you should probably do that right now, since you might get shot in S. Korea.
Little do people realize is he is actually is Kim Jong II while the fake is in NK having a blast with American booze, lots of paid women and porn flicks just living it up.
Maybe this guy and a Sarkozy look alike could do an episode on Sarah Palin's Alaska. They could do a show on bear hunting from a helicopter with a 50 cal.
yup KimJong Wang walla walla bing bang.the real guy Kim Jon whatever the hell his name is,is a good porky pig inpersonator. god what fat little ugly porker,he is.is he chops or what?
usually i have nothing against fat people now do i make fun of them.but this piece of crap is an exception on the big S list.
dear leader?
dear idiot leader
dear megalomaniac leader
He should be parachuted into Kim Jong Il's palace, drug the dictator and take over the army. Then move the entire army up to the Yalu River to be stationed permanently there. Then have the DMZ turned into a peace park and invite all the relatives from South Korea back along with enterpreneurs and entertainers to have a massive peace party.
I hope he doesn't quit. I'm going to South Korea next year for business, and I think it would be a hoot to get a photo with him. Why is everyone mad at the look alike? He is not the one who is oppressing people.
I dunno...some pissed off folks can't get to Obama*, so they take it out on the next best thing...people who look like (or remind them) of him.
*see also: Osama Bin Laden, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Ryan Seacrest, etc. etc.
I almost murdered a Ryan Seacrest impersonator once...
This article may have an important sub-text. It notes a changing attitude of South Korea toward its northern family members. South Korea is no longer entertained by and laughing at the antics of Kim Jong Il. If the South becomes upset and decides to stop enduring the actions of North Korea, the US (and its 30,000 troops stationed in South Korea) could find itself in the midst of a massive war. North Korea could use its (limited) nuclear weapons or at least export them to raise funds or gain support. North Korea is an ally with China who has a massive military and holds much US debt. Regardless of which side won, the devistation would be huge.
None of this is 'Fluff.'
Stay away from the DMZ, hazard to your health...............HAAAAAAAAAAAA