Weird Facts About Kim Jong Il

World's greatest golfer was particular about his rice
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 19, 2011 9:17 AM CST
Weird Facts About Kim Jong Il
Kim Jong Il, in 2002.   (AP Photo/Katsumi Kasahara, File)

As the obituaries of Kim Jong Il pour in, it's hard to miss the fact that he was a profoundly weird guy. The Daily Mirror lists 17 bizarre tidbits about him:

  • A former chef said staff had to make sure the grains of rice he ate were the same size and color.
  • He kidnapped two South Korean film directors in 1978 because he thought all the filmmakers in his own country were awful. (He was a film buff with a reported collection of 20,000 foreign films. Loved Rambo.)

  • When he had to take painkillers after falling off a horse, he made a handful of his staff take the same medication.
  • He imported more than $500,000 worth of Hennessy per year and insisted that things like roast donkey and live lobsters be flown in fresh to his train during travels. (While his nation starved.)
  • His official bio at various times claimed he was the world's greatest golfer (five holes-in-ones on his very first round!), could control the weather with his mood, and ... did not defecate.
Click for the full list. (More Kim Jong Il stories.)

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