Who Is This Woman and, More Importantly, Who Is Her Husband?
By M.-L.
@MALUSE (69388)
Germany
May 4, 2020 1:58pm CST
You may see this headline as sexist. Why should a woman be defined through her husband? Can't she be seen as an independent entity who is, firstly, the woman who she is with a name of her own and, secondly, married and the wife of someone?
I agree with you on principle. Yes, of course, this is the way it should be. But no rule without exception. The name of this woman is Ri Sol-ju. Does this ring a bell? I bet it doesn't.
Now, wake up and harken: Her husband is North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un. Hah! Does this name ring a bell? I bet it does! Not only 'a' bell but several, a whole glockenspiel so-to-speak.
Furthermore, I bet you didn't even know that he was married. The couple is believed to have three children whose gender is not known to the public, though. She has accompanied her husband on travels abroad, but besides that not much else is known about her.
The First Lady of North Korea was born c. 1985-90 (no exact date is known). "Ri's family is reportedly from the political elite; her mother is the head of a gynecology ward and her father is a professor. She is said to have graduated from Geumsung 2 Middle School in Pyongyang and studied abroad in China majoring in vocal music." (WIKIPEDIA).
I'm not an expert when it comes to music. I'm more for the visual arts. Yet, I must confess that I think she has a beautiful voice. "In September 2012, Kenji Fujimoto, the former personal sushi chef of Kim Jong-il, said he met Ri on a recent trip to North Korea. He described her as "just so charming... I cannot describe her voice, it's so soft..." (ibidem)
I'm adding a video of one of her performances so that you can render your own judgement (the singing lasts a bit more than two minutes). Look at the English translation of the lyrics. The topic of the song is definitely different from what is sung in other countries!
9 people like this
9 responses
@Cristi_Ichim (3711)
• Bucharest, Romania
9 May 20
She does have a good voice. And you were right, I never heard of her. As for the idea that women should not be defined only through their man, that is definitely true. As a society we should move on from our ancient beliefs to more progressive and modern ones.
1 person likes this
@Cristi_Ichim (3711)
• Bucharest, Romania
9 May 20
@MALUSE Sorry. I had some full 2019 and 2020 years so far. And I have been using certain social media sites too much in my spare time which was very few anyways. I admit I kinda chose chatting elsewhere than here but you know that I will never forget or leave this site like forever.
@MALUSE (69388)
• Germany
9 May 20
@Cristi_Ichim No need to apologise! There are certainly things in life which are more important than myLot.
But it's nice to have another European in the community which is dominated by US Americans and Asians.
1 person likes this
@LindaOHio (161373)
• United States
4 May 20
Her voice was quite a surprise as was the tone of the song...soldiers and the motherland!
1 person likes this
@MarshaMusselman (38725)
• Midland, Michigan
9 May 20
She's beautiful. I'm not surprised that her existence is kept silent. Many Asian women have to walk behind their husbands even in America and one customer kept slapping his wife until a cashier told him to stop. I rarely see them her and more unless they come in early.
@JudyEv (328822)
• Rockingham, Australia
5 May 20
I knew he was married but thought it happened quite recently. She is certainly lovely.