North Korean authorities issued a directive to change the official documentation and identity cards of the citizens named Kim Jong Un, according to The Washington Post.
The country issued the directive in 2011 — when Kim Jong Un came to power after the death of his father, Kim Jong Il.
In the directive, authorities asked to reject birth certificates of newborns named Kim Jong Un, according to a new report on a South Korean TV station.
“All party organs and public security authorities should make a list of residents named Kim Jong Un … and train them to voluntarily change their names,” read the document, which was revealed by the KBS TV station on Tuesday.
It also said authorities should make sure that there is no one making unnecessary complaints or spreading gossip … regarding this project.
The document had been obtained by a North Korean defector who reached South Korea in 2008. As is often the case with these sorts of revelations, its authenticity cannot be independently confirmed.
Both Kim's father and grandfather Kim Il Sung instituted the same vanity project, insisting on being the first and last holders of their names. The practice has echoes in the deep history of East Asian kingdoms but, like much else in North Korea, really ought not have a place in the 21st century.