# Fame.am profile — machine-readable export
# Canonical URL: https://fame.am/person/kim-jong-il
# Generated: 2026-08-31T15:55:18.744Z

schema: https://schema.org/Person
url: "https://fame.am/person/kim-jong-il"
name: "Kim Jong-il"
slug: "kim-jong-il"
description: "North Korea's second supreme leader ruled a totalitarian state for seventeen years, presiding over famine, nuclear armament, and the militarization of society under his \"Songun\" doctrine. He inherited absolute power from his father in 1994 and passed it to his son in 2011, cementing the Kim dynasty's three-generation grip."
tagline: "Supreme Leader of North Korea from 1994 to 2011"
image: "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Kim_Jong-il_on_August_24%2C_2011.jpg?width=1200"
gender: "male"
category:
  name: "Politicians"
  slug: "politicians"
profileType:
  name: "Politician"
  slug: "politician"
birthDate: "1941-02-16"
deathDate: "2011-12-17"
livingStatus: "DECEASED"
scores:
  popularity:           77.67
  momentum:             3.747384937238493
  historical:           29.767992
  currentAttention:     25.27637477585176
  sourceConfidence:     65
  profileCompleteness:  65
  trendDirection:       "STABLE"
ranks:
  global:   null
  country:  null
  category: 183
tags:
  - name: "Politicians"
    slug: "politicians"
  - name: "Politician"
    slug: "politician"
  - name: "Politics"
    slug: "politics"
  - name: "Film Directing"
    slug: "film-directing"
  - name: "Movies"
    slug: "movies"
  - name: "Voice Acting"
    slug: "voice-acting"
  - name: "20th Century"
    slug: "20th-century"
platforms:
  - platform:  "IMDB"
    url:       "https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0453535/"
    handle:    "nm0453535"
sources:
  - url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Jong-il"
    title: "Wikipedia"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q10665"
    title: "Wikidata"
    type:  "WIKIDATA"
  - url: "https://pantheon.world/profile/person/Kim%20Jong-il"
    title: "Pantheon 2.0"
    type:  "DATABASE"
  - url: "https://am.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E1%8A%AA%E1%88%9D_%E1%8C%86%E1%8A%95%E1%8C%8D_%E1%8A%A2%E1%88%8D"
    title: "ኪም ጆንግ ኢል"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://an.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Jong-il"
    title: "Kim Jong-il"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%83%D9%8A%D9%85_%D8%AC%D9%88%D9%86%D8%BA_%D8%A5%D9%84"
    title: "كيم جونغ إل"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://arz.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%83%D9%8A%D9%85_%DA%86%D9%88%D9%86%D8%AC_%D8%A7%D9%8A%D9%84"
    title: "كيم چونج ايل"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://ast.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Jong-il"
    title: "Kim Jong-il"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://azb.wikipedia.org/wiki/%DA%A9%DB%8C%D9%85_%D8%AC%D9%88%D9%86%D9%82_%D8%A7%DB%8C%D9%84"
    title: "کیم جونق ایل"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://az.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_%C3%87en_%C4%B0r"
    title: "Kim Çen İr"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://bar.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Jong-il"
    title: "Kim Jong-il"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://bat_smg.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_D%C5%BEiuong_Ils"
    title: "Kim Džiuong Ils"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://ba.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9A%D0%B8%D0%BC_%D0%A7%D0%B5%D0%BD_%D0%98%D1%80"
    title: "Ким Чен Ир"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://bcl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Jong-il"
    title: "Kim Jong-il"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://be_x_old.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9A%D1%96%D0%BC_%D0%A7%D1%8D%D0%BD_%D0%86%D1%80"
    title: "Кім Чэн Ір"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://bg.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9A%D0%B8%D0%BC_%D0%A7%D0%B5%D0%BD_%D0%98%D1%80"
    title: "Ким Чен Ир"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://bn.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%A6%95%E0%A6%BF%E0%A6%AE_%E0%A6%9C%E0%A6%82_%E0%A6%87%E0%A6%B2"
    title: "কিম জং ইল"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://br.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Jong-il"
    title: "Kim Jong-il"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://bs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Jong-il"
    title: "Kim Jong-il"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Jong-il"
    title: "Kim Jong-il"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://cdo.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Jong-il"
    title: "Kim Jong-il"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://ceb.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Jong-il"
    title: "Kim Jong-il"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://ckb.wikipedia.org/wiki/%DA%A9%DB%8C%D9%85_%D8%AC%DB%86%D9%86%DA%AF_%D8%A6%DB%8C%D9%84"
    title: "کیم جۆنگ ئیل"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_%C4%8Cong-il"
    title: "Kim Čong-il"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://cy.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Jong-il"
    title: "Kim Jong-il"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Kim_Jong-il"
    title: "Wikiquote"
    type:  "WEBSITE"
  - url: "https://es.wikiquote.org/wiki/Kim_Jong-il"
    title: "Wikiquote"
    type:  "WEBSITE"
  - url: "https://he.wikiquote.org/wiki/%D7%A7%D7%99%D7%9D_%D7%92'%D7%95%D7%A0%D7%92-%D7%90%D7%99%D7%9C"
    title: "Wikiquote"
    type:  "WEBSITE"
  - url: "https://hu.wikiquote.org/wiki/Kim_Dzsongil"
    title: "Wikiquote"
    type:  "WEBSITE"
  - url: "https://it.wikiquote.org/wiki/Kim_Jong-il"
    title: "Wikiquote"
    type:  "WEBSITE"

# bio (long form, separated for readability)
bio: |
  Kim Jong Il became heir apparent to North Korea's leadership by the early 1980s, accumulating key military and party posts before succeeding his father Kim Il Sung in 1994. He assumed power during economic collapse triggered by the Soviet Union's dissolution, leading to a catastrophic famine that killed hundreds of thousands before subsiding in the late 1990s. Kim responded by elevating the military's role through "Songun" policies that made the army the organizing force of daily life, even as he attempted limited economic reforms like the 2003 Kaesong Industrial Park. In October 2006, North Korea detonated its first nuclear device under his watch. After disappearing from public view in 2008, Kim moved quickly to position his third son Kim Jong Un as successor before dying on 17 December 2011, whereupon he was declared "Eternal General Secretary" and "Eternal Chairman," his titles preserved in death as the dynasty passed to its third generation.