Kim Jong-il Dead, Chinese Netizen Reactions

While Chinese online news portals closed their reports and articles about former North Korean leader Kim Jong-il’s death to commenting by Chinese netizens, users on Chinese social networks like China’s most popular Twitter-like microblogging service Sina Weibo actively forwarded and commented on the news…

From Sina Weibo:

@新浪视频: On the scene photograph of North Koreans sobbing upon hearing of Kim Jong-il’s death. Facing North Korean Central News Television cameras, they thanked Kim Jong-il for the happy life he has brought them, and express extreme grief and disbelief at the leader’s sudden passing. They could not hide their sadness, beating their chests and stamping their feet wailing, overwhelmed with sorrow.

The above microblog post and attached video has been forwarded/reposted (“re-tweeted”) over 23.5k times so far and currently has over 5,600 comments.

Comments from Sina Weibo:

商道共赢：

When the great Chairman Mao passed away, we also cried uncontrollably, thinking the sky had fallen. Fact is that the sky didn’t fall…

马超2011微博：

Either [they] were deceived or it is out of fear.

DL_Kevin:

Too bad his son wasn’t blown up.

碎鑫微博：

Seeing the reactions of the North Korean people, and then seeing the comments of so many [Chinese] netizens, I suddenly feel at a loss. Do we need hero worship/cult of personality? Do we need religion/conviction? …North Korea may be lacking material wealth, but it has a strong spiritual strength! Whereas us, we’re the complete opposite! While we chased after material wealth, we lost what is actually most valuable, a spiritual conviction!

DamienMacluke：

Kim Jong-il passed away. Seeing scenes of North Koreans choking on their tears is really moving!

余清峰：

A personality cult is at least better than corruption and degeneration!

太宗秀：

[They] don’t dare to not cry! If they don’t cry, they’ll all be shot dead, and those that cry too softly have to go mine coal!

光电365地盘：

I can’t respect those media that criticize Kim Jong-il. They only dare to criticize Kim Jong-il is because they know Kim won’t deploy the military to their countries and slaughter them like Imperialist America, because he won’t use financial hegemony to cut off their financial resources, nor would he buy off other media to go criticize these media. So criticizing Kim Jong-il is the safest thing to do, because they won’t be beaten or criticized, they won’t be fired or go bankrupt. And they can be financially rewarded by Imperialist America.

吃出一條血路：

Our country has also been as SB before.

kaiakfun：

Sad, but I don’t know who I should be sad for, for ourselves, for the North Koreans, for the Kim family dynasty, or for all of the above.

谭风月：

Seeing this scene, I’m once again reminded of 1970s China.

匕手雕弓：

People should be kinder. With regards to the death of a leader of a sovereign country and friendly neighbor, at least [the comments] shouldn’t be a bunch of irresponsible nonsense! [Everyones] sensibilities have all gone to America.

1李锐:

I can completely understand the North Koreans, as this is what a great country looks like. This is what a great united people looks like. American imperialism simply cannot defeat it.

cement：

35 years ago we were also like this, the same, so familiar.

心声丶：

Like this, a country’s leader and soul is gone. I trust their tears are real.

秦彧的微博：

To the wumao: In contrast, there is a country where the bureaucracy and ruling party, from top to bottom, from the highest to the lowest official, where if their entire clan and three generations were all to suddenly explode and die, there would still be no one to cry. [Instead] The markets may run out of for flour, pork, and leek as well as vinegar [ingredients for dumplings] stock and firecracker/firework factories may also profit greatly. That legendary country is called a certain China.

干爹_鐵拳喇叭：

People like this should die more.

我是小禹RAIN：

I hate dictatorships! Refuse brainwashing! Disgusting formalism! It is human rights and freedom that are the basis of human existence!

鱼非文：

When Chairman Mao died, our people were also like this. Now that their spiritual leader is gone, they are not far from corruption and money worship/materialism.

yaofang102：

Back then when Grandpa Mao passed away, Chinese people were also like this! In 20 years, North Koreans will think back to just how stupid/foolish they were at this point in time!

芥末敦儿：

The history of the North Korean people is of suffering. This people have always been caught between larger more powerful countries. What North Korea experiences today is not something that can be so easily explained with “dictatorship”, and North Korea has constantly been demonized!

From Sina Weibo:

@新华社快讯： North Korean Central News Agency reported on the 19th that North Korea’s Supreme Leader Kim Jong-il passed away on the 17th.

The above has been forwarded/reposted (“re-tweeted”) over 23.5k times so far and currently has over 5,600 comments.

Comments from Sina Weibo:

月明风清2618_6fv：

After Kim Jong-il has passed, Kim Jong-un becomes the world’s youngest dictator, and will not be far behind Gaddafi.

金错刀:

2011 has indeed been an amazing year.

坷凡：

North Korea’s loss, is a greater loss for China!

亮剑99988：

North Korea is just a lousy country! Because of how extremely ignorant the nation’s people are.

喜欢安静的赵：

Does this have even “half a mao” [any] to do with me?

周家小川：

Fatty Kim, lay your heart to rest and go, North Korea’s people from this point on will no longer have to live in suffering.

DaanHan：

Actually, the general has boarded to arks… [alluding to the movie 2012]

真相不可围：

If the dictatorship system dies, how great that would be, poor long-suffering North Koreans.

皇甫赛骞：

South Korea isn’t going to go on a 3-day holiday is it?

RokeyQye曦：

Sigh, the geo-political situation is going to change. Hope China won’t be affected.

新闻早晚茶：

I feel sad for North Koreans. South Koreans have such good lives while the lives of North Koreans are so dismal despite them both once being one country. Now that this dictator has died, I hope the North Korean people’s bright future is also coming.

灆海天箜：

Are the North Koreans really sad or pretending to be sad? If they support their master so much, how come there are still so many people who risk death to sneak into South Korea? That Korean Central News Agency whatever is about the same as CCAV, it simply cannot reflect the people’s true thoughts/sentiments.

晓疯子_：

Finally there is a place I can see comments…

一厅白雪：

For me, this is a piece of good news. For North Koreans, this is an unknown future.

sunway2506787085：

I won’t comment on anything else but before he died, he was still working making official visits! At the very least he was continuously and genuinely working hard for his own motherland! Do you know how many government officials we still have that are like this? Didn’t so many of our government officials die from eating too much?

From Sina Weibo:

@正经大猫: Help me spread a cold joke: Kim Jong-il passed away on the 17th, and the 24th will be the 7th day after his death, and the whole world sings together: “金哥bye，金哥bye，金哥on the way~”

The above has been forwarded/reposted (“re-tweeted”) over 47k times so far and currently has over 5,000 comments.

金哥 translated means “Brother Kim”, referring to Kim Jong-il, but is pronounced in Chinese as “jin ge“. Try pronouncing it out loud. It a bad Chinese pun of “Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way~”

More: chinaSMACK posts about North Korea »