North Korean Citizens Banned From Being Called Kim Jong-Un

North Korean Citizens Called Kim Jong-Un Ordered To Change Their Name
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Kim Jong-Un has banned the beleaguered citizens of North Korea from sharing his name, according to internal state documents obtained by South Korean media.

The directive, which is to be enforced by North Korean military and police officials, also includes the order to “train” anyone currently using the dictator’s moniker to adopt a different name.

“All party organs and public security authorities should make a list of residents named Kim Jong-Un... and train them to voluntarily change their names,” reads the Orwellian-style diktat.

Any newborn child bearing the name is to have their birth certificate rejected, while citizens currently using the name are to have identity cards and official documents, including school diplomas, changed to reflect their new appellation.

The document, which has not been independently verified, continued: “Authorities should make sure that there is no one making unnecessary complaints or spreading gossip... regarding this project.”

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Officials have been tasked with changing the name of citizens called Kim Jong-Un, according to a document obtained by South Korean TV

According to The Guardian, the order was issued in 2011, a year before Kim Jong-Un came to power, and follows a tradition instituted by the country's previous dictators – Kim’s father, Kim Jong-Il, and grandfather, Kim Il-Sung – who also banned public use of their name.

The 2011 edict sits in contrast with more recent orders emanating from Pyongyang, particularly a push by the regime to ensure male citizens wear only Kim's flamboyant haircut, as reported by the HuffPost in March.

According to the South Korean Times, the "fashion guideline" ordered by officials required all men to ask for the "Dear Leader's cut" at the barbers, a trimming characterised by a savage undercut giving way to a flaccid middle parting.

An anonymous source told the newspaper: "Our leader’s haircut is very particular, if you will. It doesn’t always go with everyone since everyone has different face and head shapes... It started from capital Pyongyang, and now spreading all across the country."

Kim Jong Un Visits The Troops
(01 of17)
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In this March 11, 2013 photo released by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) and distributed March 12, 2013 by the Korea News Service, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un greets military personnel at a long-range artillery sub-unit of KPA Unit 641 during his visit to front-line military units near the western sea boarder in North Korea near the South's western border island of Baengnyeong. (AP Photo/KCNA via KNS) (credit:AP)
(02 of17)
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In this March 11, 2013 photo released by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) and distributed March 12, 2013 by the Korea News Service, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un waves at military officers after inspecting the Wolnae Islet Defense Detachment, North Korea, near the western sea border with South Korea. (AP Photo/KCNA via KNS) (credit:AP)
(03 of17)
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In this March 11, 2013 photo released by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) and distributed March 12, 2013 by the Korea News Service, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, center, confers with military officers at a long-range artillery sub-unit of KPA Unit 641 during his visit to front-line military units near the western sea border in North Korea near the South's western border island of Baengnyeong. (AP Photo/KCNA via KNS) (credit:AP)
(04 of17)
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In this undated photo released by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) and distributed March 12, 2013 by the Korea News Service, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, second left, watches sturgeons in a pond at the Ryongjong Fish Farm in South Hwanghae, southwestern North Korea. (AP Photo/KCNA via KNS) (credit:AP)
(05 of17)
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In this March 11, 2013 photo released by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) and distributed March 12, 2013 by the Korea News Service, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un rides on a boat, heading for the Wolnae Islet Defense Detachment, North Korea, near the western sea border with South Korea. (AP Photo/KCNA via KNS) (credit:AP)
(06 of17)
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In this March 11, 2013 photo released by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) and distributed March 12, 2013 by the Korea News Service, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, third left, looks at South's western border island of Baengnyeong during his visit to the Wolnae Islet Defense Detachment, North Korea. (AP Photo/KCNA via KNS) (credit:AP)
(07 of17)
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In this March 7, 2013 photo released by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) and distributed March 8, 2013 by the Korea News Service, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, center, is welcomed by military personnel at a military unit on Jangjae islet, located in the southernmost part of the southwestern sector of North Korea's border with South Korea. (AP Photo/KCNA via KNS) (credit:AP)
(08 of17)
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In this March 7, 2013 photo released by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) and distributed March 8, 2013 by the Korea News Service, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, center, walks with military personnel as he arrives for a military unit on Mu Islet, located in the southernmost part of the southwestern sector of North Korea's border with South Korea. (AP Photo/KCNA via KNS) (credit:AP)
(09 of17)
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In this March 7, 2013 photo released by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) and distributed March 8, 2013 by the Korea News Service, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, center, uses binoculars to look at the South's territory from an observation post at the military unit on Jangjae islet, located in the southernmost part of the southwestern sector of North Korea's border with South Korea. (AP Photo/KCNA via KNS) (credit:AP)
(10 of17)
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In this March 7, 2013 photo released by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) and distributed March 8, 2013 by the Korea News Service, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, with military officials, gets a ride on a boat on his way to a military unit on Jangjae Islet, located in the southernmost part of the southwestern sector of North Korea's border with South Korea. (AP Photo/KCNA via KNS) (credit:AP)
(11 of17)
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This picture, taken by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on March 7, 2013 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (C) meeting with family of a soldier as he inspects Jangjae Islet Defence Detachment near South Korea's Taeyonphyong Island in South Hwanghae province, North Korea's southwestern sector of the front. (KCNA/AFP/Getty Images via KNS) (credit:Getty Images)
(12 of17)
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This picture, taken by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on March 7, 2013 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (C) inspecting Jangjae Islet Defence Detachment near South Korea's Taeyonphyong Island in South Hwanghae province, North Korea's southwestern sector of the front. (KCNA/AFP/Getty Images via KNS) (credit:Getty Images)
(13 of17)
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This picture, taken by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on March 7, 2013 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (C) waving to soldiers from a wooden boat as he inspects the Mu Islet Hero Defence Detachment near South Korea's Taeyonphyong Island in South Hwanghae province, North Korea's southwestern sector of the front. (KCNA/AFP/Getty Images via KNS) (credit:Getty Images)
(14 of17)
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This picture, taken by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on March 7, 2013 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (C) meeting with family of a soldier as he inspects Jangjae Islet Defence Detachment near South Korea's Taeyonphyong Island in South Hwanghae province, North Korea's southwestern sector of the front. (KCNA/AFP/Getty Images via KNS) (credit:Getty Images)
(15 of17)
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This picture, taken by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on March 7, 2013 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (C) inspecting Jangjae Islet near from South Korea's Taeyonphyong Island in South Hwanghae province, North Korea's southwestern sector of the front. (KCNA/AFP/Getty Images via KNS) (credit:Getty Images)
(16 of17)
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This picture, taken by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on March 7, 2013 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (C) inspecting the Mu Islet Hero Defence Detachment near South Korea's Taeyonphyong Island in South Hwanghae province, North Korea's southwestern sector of the front. (KCNA/AFP/Getty Images via KNS) (credit:Getty Images)
(17 of17)
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This picture, taken by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on March 7, 2013 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (C) posing with soldiers and their family members as he inspects Jangjae Islet Defence Detachment near South Korea's Taeyonphyong Island in South Hwanghae province, North Korea's southwestern sector of the front. (KCNA/AFP/Getty Images via KNS) (credit:Getty Images)