Possibly the Most Dangerous of the Three

     Kim Il Sung started it all in 1945 when he arrived in North Korea to take over the country under Soviet guidance.  He established the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and became "The Great Leader."  He was known by various other titles as well.  During the Korean War he was glorified in songs and referred to as changun, an ancient title for the highest ranking knight.  Changsu is knight in Korean, and Kim Il Sung chose to be called changun, he couldn't be just a lowly knight!  Changun can also be interpreted as marshal, the highest rank in the military.  Later Kim Il Sung changed his title to tae wonsu, the great marshal or generalisimo!  Wonsu is a more modern term for marshal, not quite as archaic as changun. 
     At least Kim Il Sung fought both as a Korean Freedom Fighter guerrilla and as a Soviet Red Army officer, and he held the rank of general in both forces.  But his progenies are not to be denied the glory as well.  Neither his son Kim Jong Il nor grandson Kim Jong Un, the present leader ever served in the military, although both held the title of Commander in Chief of the Army, and Kim Jong Il attended the Kim Il Sung University, which is a military academy!  Kim Jong Il was awarded the title of wonsu posthumously, but his son Kim Jong Un took the title himself at age 28 and is called not only  "marshal" of the army, but "The Supreme Leader."  So, grandfather who started it all was "The Great Leader,"  father was "The Dear Leader," and he, the youngest is, "The Supreme Leader!"
     Kim Il Sung had been a leader of men since his early 20s when he was a Korean Freedom Fighter.  By the time he was in his 30s and in the Soviet Red Army, he was a seasoned officer, accustomed to leading men.  He may have been cruel, even murderous at times, but he did have experience leading men.  His son Kim Jong Il had no such experience.  All leadership positions were handed to him as a birthright!  What separated him from his father was that he was even more cruel and had a completely unpredictable temper.  He is said to have been very intelligent and calculating person, but you wouldn't know it by his actions.  Some of the things he did just did not make any sense, even for a vicious and cruel individual!  Unlike his father who had but an 8th grade Chinese education, Kim Jong Il was university trained both at home and abroad.  It is said that he studied in Switzerland and Malta.  He thought he knew the west intimately, and that is what made him even more dangerous!
     The best educated of the three (the grandfather, the father, and the son), is Kim Jong Un.  He did undergo international schooling in Switzerland and studied at various places in Europe.  It is hard to determine exactly where, since he always enrolled in schools under assumed names!  So, of the three, Kim Jong Un has had more exposure to the west, from the time he attended middle school in Switzerland in the 1990s until the early 21st Century!
     They say that a little bit of knowledge is dangerous.  Many believe that is precisely the case with Kim Jong Un.  He thinks he knows the west!  There is no one to contradict him in North Korea.  Even if someone knew better, they would be very foolish to "correct" the all knowing "The Supreme Leader!"  To do so would be at the risk of ending up in one of those horrid camps or simply being whisked away and shot!  So, in that sense he is much more dangerous than his grandfather, who did rely on advice of others, or his father, who may have been a nut, but did not know the west and would seek advice in that area.
     Unlike his grandfather and father, Kim Jong Un is very secretive about his private life.  He married Ri Sol Ju but no one knew about it for a couple of years.  Ri would sometimes appear with him, then disappear.  She gave birth to a daughter in 2012, then disappeared only to reappear recently.  Kim Jong Un is known to have several mistresses as well, but no one knows for sure who they are.  He may have very well "gotten rid" of them after he tired of their company.  Like his father, he spends lavishly and enjoys luxury items.  His father had 4 Billion U.S. dollars in a Luxembourg bank by the time he died.  Jong Un inherited that money and of course has been adding to it! Not long ago, to establish his complete control over the government, he arrested and killed his own uncle who he claimed was corrupt and not faithful to the communist party!  It was not enough to just kill his uncle, he had his aunt, nephews and nieces, all killed.  He ordered that there be no trace of that family branch so all men, women, and children that were related were wiped out!
     It appears that Kim Jong Un is also trying to remove traces of his father's influence on the country.  He does not seem to want to have anything to do with his father's legacy.  It seems he is so much into himself that he wants all credit to himself.  He is smart enough to realize that he can't do that with his grandfather, the founder of the country, so his granddad has been left alone, but his father appears to be fair game for criticism.  It is ironic, because he was his father's favorite.  He physically resembles his father both facially and in body shape!  His father noted that and that is one reason why he was designated the successor.  But it seems young Jong Un wants everything to himself and doesn't care if he besmirches his father's reputation!  He is said to be very intelligent, but also paranoid, suspicious of others and has a very cruel streak.  In short, he is not a very nice guy and in some ways, worst than his father!  He would not hesitate to bring his country to total destruction if only to prove his point or gain some sort of twisted moral victory!  He is by far, the most dangerous of the three Kims of North Korea.
     A final note on this bizarre and murderous family.  It seems that both Kim Jong Il and Kim Jong Un favor an unattractive hair style that is colloquially known as gakkdooki in Korea.  The distinctive shaved sides and a somewhat bushy top is a hair style that had been popular with Korean gangsters, the kkangpae, since the early 20th century!  In short, anyone sporting that ugly hair style is considered bad medicine, a tough guy, some one not to mess with.  Whether intentionally or not, it seems that both Kim Jong Il and son Kim Jong Un are identified with that hair style.  Now it could simply be that they have had bad barbers, who knows.  But both the late Kim Jong Il and the current Kim Jong Un favor that hair style.  On the other hand, may be their hair was/is just impossible to style any other way!