Singer, Komsomol member, beauty: the mysterious wife of the dictator of North Korea

The First Lady of the DPRK, Lee Sol Ju, is interested in the media no less than her dictator husband. And she knows how to effectively appear at public events, often trampling on the prim morals of North Korean moralists.

Since her appearance in public as the first lady of the DPRK in 2012, this beautiful young mother of three children has become a favorite of the world media. Little is known for certain about the girl, and her person is surrounded by an aura of mystery.

Source: Business Insider

Not much is known about the biography of Lee Sol Zhu. There is even less data that can be trusted. The Korean Wikipedia says that the future first lady was born on September 28, 1989 in the city of Chongjin, Hamgyong-Pukto province. Other sources are limited to the period 1985-1989 and indicate that the girl grew up in Pyongyang.

Her mother is a gynecologist, her father is the dean of a local university (according to other sources, a military man). But it can definitely be argued that the girl came from an intelligent, proud family, as indicated by the status of the institutions where she studied.

Lee Sol-joo graduated from the Kymson School of Art, a prestigious institution for children of the ruling elite. As a student, she wore expensive watches, then banned trousers and used a vacuum lunch box. Even then, Li Sol Zhu loved luxury, ignored taboos and saw no point in hiding her wealth. She gave the impression of a person who is not afraid to cause condemnation or envy.

In those years, Sol Zhu began her career as a singer. She participated in festivals and, according to rumors, visited South Korea as part of a support group that went to Incheon for the Asian Athletics Championships. Then she took vocal training in China, despite the fact that not every North Korean gets the opportunity to travel abroad.

Upon her return, the girl became a soloist in the popular ensemble "Ponchonbo", performing patriotic songs using electronic and stringed instruments. As you know, Kim Jong Il was a big fan of this band.

Lee Sol-joo's performance as part of the "Poncheonbo" ensemble.

At the end of 2011, Kim Jong Il died, and since April 2012, his son has ruled the country. Then Lee Sol Zhu appeared in public several times in the company of the newly—made ruler, which caused a wave of rumors about who his companion was - at the same time it turned out that she sings in an ensemble. And on July 25, 2012, state media announced that this girl was in fact "his wife, Comrade Lee Sol Joo."

It is not known exactly when Kim and Lee got married. Some sources report that the wedding took place in 2009, and the following year Lee gave birth to a child, others say that the couple did not meet until a classical music concert in 2010.

According to South Korean intelligence, Lee Sol Ju gave birth to her third child in February 2017. No official data has been received from the North Korean media. All that is known about the first child is that he was born in 2010. The second child of the North Korean leader is a girl Kim Ju—ae, born in 2013.

Lee stands out sharply among her compatriots by the way she dresses. If most women in North Korea should wear strict suits and behave as modestly as possible, then the first lady of this country allows herself to wear a skirt above the knee, heels, and even laugh loudly in front of everyone, holding her husband's arm.

Being an absolute beauty by North Korean standards, Lee Sol Joo tends to European and American fashion. With the appearance of his young wife in public, Kim Jong-un lifted the ban on North Korean women wearing trousers, platform shoes and costume jewelry, which shocked the ideological moralists of the country.

Lee Sol Ju was the first life partner of the North Korean leader who dared to cut her traditionally long hair and began to flaunt a short haircut.

Also, Lee Sol Ju allows himself to wear precious brooches instead of a badge with portraits of leaders, a mandatory accessory in the DPRK. This was explained by the fact that there are no other men in the world for her except her beloved Kim Jong-un.

The dictator's wife is known for her love of Western fashion: she has bags from the most expensive designers, such as Dior and Chanel. At the same time, her love of luxury goods has caused international criticism, because ordinary citizens of North Korea have been struggling with hunger, drought and poverty for many years.

Before Lee Sol Ju, North Korean leaders had never brought their wives out. For a country with a totalitarian regime, she shows amazing fearlessness and, unlike her predecessors, does not stand aside, whether it is a meeting of the General Staff or a trip with her husband to the dolphinarium.

Kim Jong-un, unlike his father and grandfather, has a hot-tempered and emotional character, which usually goes sideways for the leader of the country. But we can assume that a happy personal life — a beloved wife, three children — has a positive effect on the political decisions of the leader. So, in addition to intimidation and purging of the ruling elite, he implemented useful reforms.

It's not entirely clear what to expect in the future. But the residents of the DPRK, thanks to the changes of recent years, have a faint hope that life will not always be covered by continuous prohibitions. As for Lee Sol Ju, today she is a style icon for North Korean women, and tomorrow, ignoring traditions, she may become a threat to one of the last pillars of totalitarianism.