The Many Eccentricities of Kim Jong Il Essay -- International Governme

Over the course of history, it can be determined that the most evil of dictators follow the same set of characteristics. Generally, these tyrants rule with an iron fist, deploying military power whenever they feel they should. They often funnel their state’s coffers into their own personal bank accounts, and it is common for dictators to force their people to treat them with the utmost reverence and respect. These traits are seen in rulers like Hitler, Stalin, Mugabe and Hussein. However, there is one dictator set apart from the rest--the North Korean former President Kim Jong Il. It is Il’s eccentricities, of which there are many, distinguish from the other members of Dictator’s Club. Kim Jong Il has been characterized by many renowned psychologists as narcissistic, antisocial, sadistic, paranoid, schizoid and schizotypal, as per what a â€Å"normal† dictator can be diagnosed with. However, he has also been typified as pteromerhanophobic, or deathly afraid of flying. This leads to his first eccentricity: his insistence of leaving North Korea only by armored train. The train spans seven rail-cars with two electric diesel cars to pull it along. Its windows are bulletproof, and though it does not seem to be armored, the fuselage of the cars is made from heavy metal plating. Though armored trains are not generally considered useful, and most are not in use, Il employed his regularly, using it to travel to such destinations as Moscow, Beijing and Siberia. A Russian emissary who traveled by the train described it as very ornate, and also disclosed that Il had had live lobsters airlifted daily to the galley car. Another traveler aboard the train said Kim Jong Il had multiple sets of pure-silver chopsticks stored aboard with which he might... ...w.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/northkorea/8965098/Kim-Jong-il-double-rainbows-fear-of-flying-and-Godzilla-10-things-you-might-not-know.html>. "No Motherland Without You." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 24 May 2012. Web. 25 May 2012. . Fuller, Graham. "Mad for the Movies: On Kim Jong-Il's Insane Obsession With Hollywood (and Elizabeth Taylor)." Artinfo. 19 Dec. 2011. Web. 25 May 2012. . Savage, Mark. "Kim Jong-il: The Cinephile Despot." BBC News. BBC, 19 Dec. 2011. Web. 25 May 2012. "Pteromerhanophobia." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 21 May 2012. Web. 27 May 2012. .