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Hyon Song-wol

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Hyon Song-wol
Born 1977 (age 48–49)
Nationality North Korea
Occupation nanny, singer/dancer, politician
Known for Kim Jong-un's first girlfriend, mother of one of his children

Hyon Song Wol is a highly placed North Korean woman, who is currently a diplomat and politician.[1] Rumors have linked her, romantically, to Kim Jong-un, North Korea's leader.[2]

The pair met when Kim was just a teenager.[3] She is believed to have worked as a kind of nanny to Kim, and his younger sister, Kim Yo-jong, when they studied in Switzerland.

His father did not approve of Kim's relationship with her, and he married Ri Sol-ju.

After Kim's father died, she was appointed to positions in the North Korean government, only for outside commentators to see her disappear.[4] Some commentators speculated that she had lost favor, and been quietly executed. However, in 2018, she re-appeared. She has even been seen at events where Kim was accompanied by his daughter, but not by his wife.

entertainment career

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North Korea has an establishment that scouts the countryside for teenage girls and young women, who are beautiful and talented, who undergo trainninng, and are then employed to entertain high officials, and other VIPs. After her work in Switzerland Hyon was recruited to serve as a singer/dancer, rising to be the lead singer of North Korea's most important troupe of singer/dancers. Foreign commentators, who studied her career, characterized her as "North Korea's Beyonce", or as "North Korea's Lana del Rey".

resumption of her relationship with Kim Jong-un

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In 2012, in the months after his father's death, and Kim's assumption of power, observers commented on a young woman who appeared beside him, at public events, speculating that she was Hyon Song-wol, the woman he was known to have loved, as a teenager, that his late father would not let him see.[5]

Political career

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North Korea's leadership cadre is almost exclusively male. Kim Yo-jong, the leader's sister, and Hyon Song-wol, are notable exceptions. They were both part of North Korea's delegation to the 2018 Winter Olympics, held in South Korea.[6]

[7]

rough work

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[8]

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References

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  1. ↑ Rick Gladstone (2014-05-19). "Cheating Death, and the Rumor Mill, in North Korea". The New York Times. Seoul, South Korea. Retrieved 2026-02-26. Yet to many across the border in South Korea, Ms. Hyon’s performance was most surprising because she appeared at all. Voluminous news reports there, and throughout much of the world, asserted months ago that she had been machine-gunned to death on orders of the North Korean leader, said to have been her onetime boyfriend.
  2. ↑ "North Korean leader's daughter known by wrong name: expert". The Korea Times. 2023-11-16. Archived from the original on 2023-11-16. Retrieved 2023-11-16. 'Kim’s first child is a son, and his name is Il-bong,' Choe said, adding that he is an illegitimate child and his mother is North Korean singer-turned-politician Hyon Song-wol. 'Kim’s youngest child is believed to be five years old or less. It remains unknown whether that child is a girl or a boy, but the child was born out of wedlock, too. The mother of that child is a Korean Japanese pianist. She is known by her first name Ryo-sim. But I don’t have any further details about her,' he added.
  3. ↑ Michael Havis (2024-04-12). "Is this Kim Jong Un's secret lover? North Korean pop star rumoured to have given birth to his love-child is spotted out with the tubby dictator". Daily Mail. Archived from the original on 2024-04-12. Retrieved 2026-02-26. Choe said that Hyon served the future tyrant and his sister, Kim Yo-jong, as a nanny-cum-caretaker, but a relationship formed and continued on their return to North Korea.
  4. ↑ Eric Talmadge (2018-01-22). "Back from the dead: An 'executed' North Korean pop diva takes the Olympic spotlight". The Associated Press. Pyongyang, North Korea. Retrieved 2026-02-26. Democratic People’s Republic Of — Just a few years ago, she was reportedly executed by a North Korean firing squad. Now, Pyongyang’s top pop diva is a senior ruling party official and a surprise headliner in the run-up to the South Korean Winter Olympics.
  5. ↑ Peter Popham (2012-07-11). "Is Kim Jong-un's mystery woman a long-lost love?". The Independent. Archived from the original on 2012-07-11. Retrieved 2012-07-11. South Korean intelligence sources claim that she is Hyon Song-wol, a locally famous pop singer who, fronting the Bochonbo Electronic Music Band, had a string of local hits in the early 2000s.
  6. ↑ Jessica McBride (2018-02-09). "Hyon Song Wol & Kim Jong-Un: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know". Heavy Sports. Retrieved 2026-02-26. Hyon Song Wol is part of an all-girl band in North Korea that is called Moranbong. The band was “was hand-picked by leader Kim Jong Un.” She is considered one of North Korea’s most powerful women.
  7. ↑ Mark Memmott (2012-07-10). "Is Kim Jong Un's Mystery Woman The 'Excellent Horse-Like Lady'?". National Public Radio. Archived from the original on 2012-07-11. Retrieved 11 July 2012-07-11. Though there's still a chance that the woman is Kim's sister, the Korea JoongAng Daily reports that the consensus seems to be that she is Hyon Song-wol, 'former vocalist of the Bochonbo Electronic Music BandBochonbo Electronic Music Band.' The band's biggest hit: Excellent Horse-Like Lady, from 2005. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  8. ↑ Choi, Kyung-woon (31 January 2018). "NIS Pins Down Age of N.Korean Bandleader". NK Chosun. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
  9. ↑ Lee, Young-jong (9 July 2012). "Is Hyon the new first lady of NK?". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  10. ↑ "Is Hyon the new first lady of NK?". Korea JoongAng Daily. 8 July 2012. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
  11. ↑ "N.Korea Confirms Mystery Woman Is Kim Jong-un's Wife". The Chosun Ilbo. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
  12. ↑ "Kim Jong-un's Ex-Girlfriend 'Shot by Firing Squad'". The Chosun Ilbo. 29 August 2013. Retrieved 29 August 2013.
  13. ↑ "North Korean singer rumoured to have been executed appears on TV". Agence France-Presse via The Guardian website. 14 May 2014. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
  14. ↑ "Kim Jong Un's Ex-Lover Hyon Song-Wol 'Executed By North Korean Firing Squad After Making Sex Tape'". Huffingtonpost.co.uk. 29 August 2013. Retrieved 17 May 2014.
  15. ↑ Tania Branigan in Beijing and Justin McCurry in Tokyo (23 September 2013). "North Korea criticises 'reptile media' for saying Kim Jong-un ordered executions | World news". theguardian.com. Retrieved 17 May 2014.
  16. ↑ "Executed singer alive and well, Pyongyang TV shows — The West Australian". Au.news.yahoo.com. 17 May 2014. Retrieved 17 May 2014.
  17. ↑ "North Korean singer "executed by firing squad" shows up alive and well in Pyongyang | NK News — North Korea News". NK News. NK News. 16 May 2014. Retrieved 17 May 2014.
  18. ↑ Terrence McCoy (19 May 2014). "Another good Kim Jong Un story dies as 'executed' girlfriend lives". The Washington Post. Retrieved 1 June 2014.
  19. ↑ Qin, Amy (8 February 2018). "North Korean Orchestra Gives an Emotional Concert in the South". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 9 February 2018.
  20. ↑ "N. Korean band leader appears in China after execution rumors". 11 December 2015. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  21. ↑ "Choe Ryong-hae elected to N.K. ruling party's central military commission". Yonhap News Agency. 8 October 2017.
  22. ↑ "Leader of all-female N.K. band appears as delegate to inter-Korean talks". Yonhap News Agency. 15 January 2018. Archived from the original on 13 November 2018.
  23. ↑ "Kim Jong-un meets North Korean orchestra that performed at Winter Olympics". EFE. 13 February 2018.
  24. ↑ Shim, Elizabeth (14 September 2020). "North Korea musician Hyon Song Wol more visible amid typhoon, pandemic". UPI.
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