Finally, the statue we've been waiting for:
[Photo: David Guttenfelder / AP]
Coat flying open, reins in hand, Kim Jong Il is depicted astride a galloping horse in a larger-than-life statue unveiled Tuesday as part of birthday celebrations for the late North Korean leader....
Tuesday's widely anticipated unveiling of the 18-foot-tall (5.7 meters) statue took place amid a fervent propaganda campaign to build up the man who led the nation for 17 years as his son and successor, Kim Jong Un, takes over the country's helm.
Kim Jong Il postage stamps, commemorative coins and gold medals have been rushed into production in the weeks before the birthday newly dubbed "Day of the Shining Star." Slogans have been carved on the sides of mountains in honor of his birthday, and a new song composed in his honor.
State media has reported a series of supernatural events: Mountains glow crimson, double rainbows, a family of bears weeps by the side of a road, hundreds of shrieking magpies hover over mourning sites.
They've certainly captured the essence of the man there.
[This is only the latest in a long line of masterworks by Pyongyang's hugely successful Mansudae Art Studio. Who can forget their stunning African Renaissance in Senegal? I can't help wondering if Boris Johnson is now regretting his decision to hand the construction of a suitably dramatic centrepiece for the Olympic Park to the comparative lightweight Anish Kapoor. A statue of the Mayor of London himself - perhaps on his bike, waving, hair brushed by the wind - might, as conceived by the genius of the Mansudae style, have produced something truly memorable.]
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