Photo: Mil.ru, CC BY 4.0

Kim Jong Un

1984 – present · age 42^[1][2]

Politics & Leadership

Fun Facts About Kim Jong Un

• Kim Jong Un attended a public school in Switzerland from 1998 to 2000, where he was registered under the name "Pak-un" or "Un-pak" as the son of a North Korean embassy employee.^[1]
• As a schoolboy in Switzerland, Kim was fascinated by the NBA and Michael Jordan, and school friends recalled that he spent hours making meticulous pencil drawings of Jordan.^[1][3][4]
• Reuters reported in 2018 that Kim had used a forged Brazilian passport to apply for visas, issued in the name "Josef Pwag."^[1]
• Kim is the first leader of North Korea to have been born a North Korean citizen: his father was born in the Soviet Union and his grandfather in Korea under Japanese colonial rule.^[1]
• For many years only one confirmed photograph of Kim was known outside North Korea, apparently taken when he was eleven; the first official image of him as an adult was released in 2010.^[1]
• Kim's 2018 and 2019 summits with Donald Trump were the first meetings between a North Korean and a US head of state.^[1][5][6]
• Kim Jong Un was alive at the same time as Jorge Luis Borges — their lives overlapped for 2 years (1984–1986).^[1][2][7][8]
• Kim Jong Un shares a birthday with Elvis Presley: both were born on January 8.^{[1][2][9][10]}

Kim Jong Un is a North Korean politician and dictator who has been serving as the supreme leader of North Korea since 2011, following the death of his father, Kim Jong Il. He is the third ruler from the Kim family to lead the country, which was founded by his grandfather Kim Il Sung. Kim holds the positions of general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) and president of the State Affairs Commission, as well as the highest offices in the Korean People's Army.^[1]

Contemporaries

Noam Chomsky

42 yr overlap

Wole Soyinka

42 yr overlap

Dalai Lama

42 yr overlap

Woody Allen

42 yr overlap

Francis Ford Coppola

42 yr overlap

Bob Dylan

42 yr overlap

Billie Jean King

42 yr overlap

Aung San Suu Kyi

42 yr overlap

Steven Spielberg

42 yr overlap

Oprah Winfrey

42 yr overlap

Rigoberta Menchú

42 yr overlap

Ai Weiwei

42 yr overlap

Their World

Questions About Kim Jong Un

When was Kim Jong Un born?

Kim Jong Un was born on January 8, 1984, and is alive today.

How old is Kim Jong Un?

Kim Jong Un was born on January 8, 1984, and turned 42 on January 8, 2026.

What is Kim Jong Un known for?

Kim Jong Un is known for: Supreme Leader of North Korea. Kim Jong Un is a North Korean politician and dictator who has been serving as the supreme leader of North Korea since 2011, following the death of his father, Kim Jong Il. He is the third ruler from the Kim family to lead the country, which was founded by his grandfather Kim Il Sung. Kim holds the positions of general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) and president of the State Affairs Commission, as well as the highest offices in the Korean People's Army.

Who was alive at the same time as Kim Jong Un?

Kim Jong Un's closest contemporary was Noam Chomsky. Their lives overlapped for 42 years.