FORTUNE TELLING NORTH KOREA'S FUTURE

A South Korean fortune-teller in Pusan (originally found here).











If we can resort to P'yôngyang-ology, why not fortune telling?

A prominent fortune teller in Yangkang and Hamkyung Provinces has declared that power in the post-Kim Jong Il era will rest with “Mr. Jang”, according to a source. In North Korea, where belief in superstition is exceedingly common, the declaration has attracted attention.

“Mr. Jang” refers to Jang Sung Taek, Director of the Ministry of Administration of the Chosun Workers' Party and a leading figure in the Kim Jong Il regime.

If defector testimony is to be trusted, there are at least a few well known fortune tellers in the DPRK:

North Korean defectors and sources often mention a reliance on or belief in superstition. For example, in Dongkye Workers District, Baekam-gun in Yangkang Province, there is a well-known female fortune teller. She is 27 years old this year.

A North Korean defector from Yangkang Province commented, "I know her. People often seek her out when looking for a thief or lost animal. It is only possible for people to get to see her at night, because cadres who have a sick person at home visit her in the evening and take her to expel evil from their homes."

When the woman first became famous, the authorities tried to stop her activiities and security agents arrested her for spreading superstition. However, her father, who was set to be sent to a training camp, protested, "She doesn’t do this because she wants to. If she does not do this, her body aches, so what are we supposed to do?"