ABSTRACT How does the North Korean regime secure elite loyalty without institutional transparency or material redistribution? While existing studies have examined the use of Partizan narratives under Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il, this paper argues that Kim Jong Un introduces a significant discursive shift: the invention of “Kim Jong Un Partizans.” This symbolic construction enables the regime to naturalize legitimacy without a direct historical or revolutionary foundation, reframing memory politics as an elite‐binding technology under third‐generation rule. This study synthesizes discourse theory and authoritarian elite politics by showing how performative memory, staged through rituals and elite signals, helps produce common knowledge within a politically engineered epistemic enclosure. Using a qualitative case study and historical tracing, it analyzes 1496 articles from Rodong Sinmun (1960s–2021). The findings show how revolutionary narratives sustain dynastic rule across generations. This research contributes to understanding how authoritarian regimes perform legitimacy through symbolic power, elite interpellation, and discursive continuity.
Sohee Hwang (Fri,) studied this question.
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