North Korea's ruling Kim dynasty has long promoted a narrative of sacred lineage, tracing its legitimacy to Mount Paektu, a volcano on the China-North Korea border. According to regime propaganda, the mountain served as a revolutionary hideout for Kim Il Sung and the birthplace of his son, Kim Jong Il. This 'Paektu bloodline' is presented as the sole reason for the succession of leadership, including Kim Jong Un, despite a lack of prior achievements.
However, the maternal lineage of Kim Jong Un, through his mother Ko Yong Hui, presents a starkly different picture, one that the regime actively suppresses. Ko Yong Hui was reportedly born in Osaka, Japan, in 1952, to parents who originated from Jeju Island, off the southern coast of South Korea. Her family were among the 'Zainichi Koreans,' ethnic Koreans who immigrated to Japan during Korea's colonial period under Japanese rule.
When Ko Yong Hui was around 10 years old, her family emigrated to North Korea. They were part of an estimated 93,000 Koreans who moved between 1959 and 1984, drawn by a resettlement program promising an idealized life with free healthcare, education, and employment. Initially, these returnees were viewed with some admiration for bringing goods from the capitalist South. However, they soon became known by the derogatory term 'jjaepo,' designating them as contaminated by foreign ideologies.
This background places Ko Yong Hui and her descendants into North Korea's rigid social hierarchy, known as songbun. The 'jjaepo' are categorized within the 'wavering class,' situated between the 'core' and 'hostile' classes. This classification subjects them to heightened state surveillance and often limits access to higher education and desirable career paths.
The state's promotion of the 'Paektu bloodline' as sacred makes the idea of the leader being a descendant of 'jjaepo' incompatible with the regime's carefully constructed image. Consequently, information about Ko Yong Hui's origins is scarce within North Korea, as her background fundamentally challenges the legitimacy of the Kim dynasty's self-proclaimed divine heritage.