Mangyongdae Funfair, September 2009
And apparently he wasn’t very impressed:
On Wednesday, KCNA reported that newly anointed leader Kim Jong Un had visited an amusement park where he scolded park officials for poor upkeep of the park, according to the Yonhap News Agency in South Korea.
The criticism from the young leader was the first publicly reported rebuke since he inherited leadership of the country in December, and a rare occurrence in the history of the normally laudatory “inspection tours” taken by his father, Kim Jong Il, and grandfather Kim Il Sung, who ruled before him.
Kim’s criticism of the Mangyongdae Funfair in Pyongyang was strong and detailed, going so far as to describe the state of the grounds by the Viking ride as “pathetic,” Yonhap said.
He found problems with the roller coaster, the paint on the rides and the safety of the waterpark, the report said, and instructed officials to draw a lesson from touring the site and take it as a warning of the need for a “proper spirit of serving the people.”
No mention if Kim actually rode the roller coaster of death itself, however, or just observed the falling screws from the safety of the platform. If he did, he probably would have mentioned the non-functioning safety restraints (then again, it is likely his handlers didn’t recommend a ride on it for that very reason).
From Philip:
I doubt that Kim, the big fat slob, could even fit on the roller coaster. He’s the only fat guy in North Korea.
It’s quite disgraceful how the dictator finds time to examine fun park rides, while the nation starves. North Korea is the real life Truman show. Why should the masses rebel when they have been convinced that they live in paradise, with the best leader in the world, who incidentally slaughters anyone who dares to disagree. It’s s bit scary!