A dictator`s speech

Nazi leader Adolf Hitler was an outstanding orator. His lethargy in paperwork had one exception: speech. Hitler biographer Ian Kershaw, the author of “Hitler: Hubris” and “Hitler: Nemesis,” said, “When it came to preparing his speeches, which he composed himself, he would withdraw into his room and could work deep into the night several evenings running, occupying three secretaries taking dictation before carefully correcting the drafts.” Hitler`s speeches were neither banal nor pedantic and delivered his message clearly to the German public. To find a gesture to ensure a strong impact, he studied the gesture in pictures in advance.

Soviet dictator Josef Stalin was not a good speaker, however. He used to read a script when he gave a speech. His speeches were boring in contrast to Hitler’s. Stalin was not confident of his appearance and preferred portraits to pictures. Most of his pictures were fabricated, explaining why his pictures or portraits seem unnatural. There was a huge gap in dictatorship between the western tradition in Germany and the eastern tradition in the former Soviet Union.

New North Korean leader Kim Jong Un delivered his first public speech Sunday at a military parade celebrating the centennial birthday of his grandfather and the country`s founder Kim Il Sung. The younger Kim`s role model is his grandfather rather than his late father Kim Jong Il. Kim Jong Il gave his lone public speech at a military parade in 1992 when he said, “Be there glory on the heroic (Democratic People`s Republic of Korea) soldiers.” The former reclusive leader and wanna-be artist might have preferred not to give a speech at all if unable to deliver a good one. His father Kim Il Sung gave speeches often, starting with his first in Pyongyang after Korea became independent, and used to read a New Year’s address until his late years.

Kim Jong Un seemed to mimic his grandfather’s low voice at his speech on Sunday, but failed to deliver as well. Like Stalin, he simply read a script. Suffering from a lack of confidence probably, he shook his body to relieve his nervousness. The speech was a boilerplate from an outsider’s perspective and boring at almost 20 minutes. The scene looked like the show of the good old days with the background of a long-range missile and a group of soldiers in white manteaus.

Editorial Writer Song Pyeong-in (pisong@donga.com)