Kim Jong Un impersonator a big hit on University of Illinois campus

Walbert Castillo | USA TODAY College

Show Caption Hide Caption Kim Jong-un impersonator, a big hit on the U. of Illinois campus Kim Jong-un impersonator, a big hit on the U. of Illinois campus

When Kim Jong Un isn’t preoccupied with his role as supreme leader of North Korea, he likes to take selfies on the street, shoot some hoops and barhop for a good time on the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign campus. Well, at least someone who looks a lot like the real Kim Jong Un does.

Minyong Kim — also referred to as “Dragon” — is an international student studying international business at the University of Illinois. He also likes to impersonate the supreme leader of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea — and it’s gained him ardent admirers on the U. of Illinois campus.

To prep for the role, he’s made a few key physical adjustments, from getting a trapezoid-shaped haircut to putting on weight and even purchasing a black Mao suit.

“He’s very outgoing and very different,”says Nick Pugesek, Kim’s floormate. “I mean, for someone to go through with being Kim Jong Un and having to deal with the day-to-day things that go along with (it). … I went out with him one night (and) we had to have gotten stopped at least 30 times. It was just hilarious how he went along with it.”

The 25-year-old student was born in a working-class family in Seoul, South Korea, and enrolled into the U. of Illinois in 2009. Since Kim had to fulfill his military service mandated by South Korea, he packed his bags in 2010 and served under the Republic of Korea Air Force for two years.

Though Kim returned to the U. of Illinois campus in 2012, he decided to take a gap year and return to South Korea to work as an SAT teacher to help alleviate the costs of college tuition for his parents.

The impersonator’s road to stardom began while working at the educational facility in South Korea. Since the instructors were required to dress up for Halloween, he chose to dress up as Kim Jong Un. Because the costume was a “huge success” at the party, he says he wanted to take it out onto the streets, which eventually led to starring in commercials, movies and dramas in South Korea.

Kim’s first commercial aired in April 2015, featuring him and a Barack Obama impersonator named Reggie Brown, who also attended the U. of Illinois. The commercial advertised eNuri, an online electronic store in South Korea, and featured both of them lip-syncing a cover of All By Myself by Eric Carmen.

“I meet impressionists all the time. Some people are good at it, and some people aren’t. Some are just lookalikes, but they can’t really impression,” Brown says. “Some people really embody it, and it was really cool to see that in Dragon, especially for someone who isn’t a trained actor. He’s got what it takes … it’s going to take him a long way in the business if he chooses to continue to portray his character.”

Though Kim has not had any opportunities for acting in the U.S., he says his sole reason for impersonating the supreme leader of North Korea on campus is to make people happy.

“The college life is very hard and stressful, if people can laugh for a while for 10 seconds, I’ll be happy with it,” Kim says. “Walking on campus, people have asked me if I take can take a photo more than 100 times a day. Maybe some people will think that I feel uncomfortable with that, but I’m not. I’m totally okay with taking photos with them and having new friends.”

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While Kim may be dressing up as Kim Jong Un for comical reasons, Kevin Kuk, co-president of Liberty in North Korea U. of Illinois chapter — a nonprofit organization that rescues North Korean refugees who have escaped from North Korea — thinks otherwise.

“It’s really awesome that he wants to make people happy, but at what cost? He’s desensitizing an issue that’s touching over 20 million people and he’s kind of laughing about it,” Kuk says. “He’s trying to get the world to laugh about it. I think that’s a little irresponsible, but at the same time he has a pretty noble reason for doing it.”

Kim says he does not support Kim Jong Un’s politics, but finds common ground with the supreme leader of North Korea through basketball and his love for the Chicago Bulls.

Kim will return to Seoul after he graduates this semester and will pursue his dreams of opening his own teaching institution called “Dragon English,” which will focus on a college-based curriculum to prepare students for school in the United States.

“As Kim Jong Un becomes older, I will also become older, so I can do it for the next 20 or 30 years, nobody knows,” Kim says. “Of course I won’t do commercials or movies for the purpose of my life … I’m quite interested in teaching students and learning the business based on that, but I would also like to be in dramas, comedy shows and commercials.”