North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu (Amnok) and Tumen rivers, and South Korea to the south at the Korean Demilitarized Zone. North Korea's border with South Korea is a disputed border as both countries claim the entirety of the Korean Peninsula. The country's western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eastern border is defined by the Sea of Japan. North Korea, like its southern counterpart, claims to be the legitimate government of the entire peninsula and adjacent islands. Pyongyang is the capital and largest city.
Kim Jong Il was a North Korean politician who was the second supreme leader of North Korea. He led North Korea from the death of his father Kim Il Sung in 1994 until his own death in 2011, when he was succeeded by his son, Kim Jong Un. Afterwards, Kim Jong Il was declared Eternal General Secretary of the WPK.
Kimberly Denise Jones, better known by her stage name Lil' Kim, is an American rapper. She was born and raised in New York City and lived much of her adolescent life on the streets after being expelled from home. In her teens, she would freestyle rap, influenced by fellow female hip-hop artists like MC Lyte and the Lady of Rage. In 1994, she was discovered by fellow rapper The Notorious B.I.G., who invited her to join his group Junior M.A.F.I.A.; their debut album, Conspiracy, generated two top 20 singles in the United States and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
Juche, officially the Juche idea, is the state ideology of North Korea and the official ideology of the Workers' Party of Korea. North Korean sources attribute its conceptualization to Kim Il Sung, the country's founder and first leader. Juche was originally regarded as a variant of Marxism–Leninism until Kim Jong Il, Kim Il Sung's son and successor, declared it a distinct ideology in the 1970s. Kim Jong Il further developed Juche in the 1980s and 1990s by making ideological breaks from Marxism–Leninism and increasing the importance of his father's ideas.
Kim Victoria Cattrall is a British and Canadian actress. She is known for her portrayal of Samantha Jones on HBO's Sex and the City (1998–2004), for which she received five Primetime Emmy Award nominations and four Golden Globe Award nominations, winning the 2002 Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress. She reprised the role in the feature films Sex and the City (2008) and Sex and the City 2 (2010), as well as in a cameo on the spin-off series And Just Like That... (2023).
Kim is the most common surname in Korea. As of the 2015 South Korean census, there were 10,689,959 people by this name in South Korea or 21.5% of the population. Although the surname is always pronounced the same, dozens of different family clans use it. The clan system in Korea is unique from the surname systems of other countries. Kim is written as 김 in both North and South Korea. The hanja for Kim, 金, can also be transliterated as 금 which means 'gold, metal, iron'. While romanized as Kim by 99.3% of the population, other rare variant romanizations such as Gim, Ghim, and Kin consist of the remaining 0.6%.
Kim Jong-nam was the eldest son of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il. From roughly 1994 to 2001, he was considered the heir apparent to his father. He was thought to have fallen out of favour after embarrassing the regime in 2001 with a failed attempt to visit Tokyo Disneyland with a false passport, although Kim himself said his loss of favour had been due to advocating reform.
Kim Wilde is an English pop singer. She first saw success in 1981 with her debut single "Kids in America", which peaked at No. 2 in the UK. In 1983, she received the Brit Award for Best British Female solo artist. In 1986, she had a UK No. 2 hit with a reworked version of the Supremes' song "You Keep Me Hangin' On", which also topped the US Billboard Hot 100 in 1987. Between 1981 and 1996, she had 25 singles that charted within the Top 50 of the UK Singles Chart. Her other hits include "Chequered Love" (1981), "You Came" (1988), and "Never Trust a Stranger" (1988). In 2003, she collaborated with Nena on the song "Anyplace, Anywhere, Anytime", which topped the Dutch and Austrian charts.
Gail Kim is a Canadian retired professional wrestler, currently signed to Impact Wrestling, where she serves as a producer. In Impact Wrestling she was the inaugural and record setting seven-time Knockouts Champion and she also was a one-time Knockouts Tag Team Champion where Madison Rayne was her tag team partner winning the belt alongside her. She is also known for her two stints in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), where she won the WWE Women's Championship in her first match.
Kim Jong Un is a North Korean politician who has been supreme leader of North Korea since 2011 and the leader of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) since 2012. He is the third son of Kim Jong Il, who was North Korea's second supreme leader from 1994 to 2011, and Ko Yong Hui. He is a grandson of Kim Il Sung, who was the founder and first supreme leader of North Korea from its establishment in 1948 until his death in 1994.
Kourtney Kardashian Barker is an American media personality and socialite. In 2007, she and her family began starring in the reality television series Keeping Up with the Kardashians. Its success led to the creation of spin-offs including Kourtney and Khloé Take Miami and Kourtney and Kim Take New York. After she and her family made the decision to end their show after 20 seasons in 2021, they began appearing in an all new reality television series titled The Kardashians on Hulu in 2022.
The Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) is the sole ruling party of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, commonly known as North Korea. Founded in 1949 from the merger of the Workers' Party of North Korea and the Workers' Party of South Korea, the WPK is the oldest active party in Korea. It also controls the Korean People's Army, North Korea's armed forces. The WPK is the largest party represented in the Supreme People's Assembly and coexists with two other legal parties making up the Democratic Front for the Reunification of Korea. However, these minor parties are completely subservient to the WPK and must accept the WPK's "leading role" as a condition of their existence. The WPK is banned in the Republic of Korea under the National Security Act and is sanctioned by the United Nations, the European Union, Australia, and the United States.
Kimberly Noel Kardashian is an American media personality, socialite, and businesswoman. She first gained media attention as a friend and stylist of Paris Hilton, but received wider notice after the sex tape Kim Kardashian, Superstar, which she filmed in 2003 with her then-boyfriend Ray J, was released in 2007. Later that year, she and her family began to appear on the E! reality television series Keeping Up with the Kardashians, which aired until 2021. Its success led to the formation of the spin-off series Kourtney and Kim Take New York (2011–2012), Kourtney and Kim Take Miami (2009–2013), and Hulu's The Kardashians (2022–present).
Kim Petras is a German singer and songwriter based in Los Angeles, California. Between 2016 and 2020, she released music as an independent artist under her own imprint, BunHead Records, before signing with Amigo and Republic Records in 2021.
Kim Il Sung was a Korean politician and the founder of North Korea, which he ruled from the country's establishment in 1948 until his death in 1994. Afterwards, he was declared its eternal president. His birth name was Kim Song Ju (김성주).
Kim Possible is an American animated action comedy television series created by Bob Schooley and Mark McCorkle for Disney Channel. The title character is a teenage girl tasked with fighting crime on a regular basis while coping with everyday issues commonly associated with adolescence. Kim is aided by her clumsy best friend, Ron Stoppable, his pet naked mole rat Rufus, and teenage computer genius Wade. Known collectively as Team Possible, Kim and Ron's missions primarily require them to thwart the evil plans of the mad scientist–supervillain duo Dr. Drakken and his sidekick Shego, as well as other foes.
Kim Soo-hyun is a South Korean actor. One of the highest-paid actors in South Korea, his accolades include four Baeksang Arts Awards, two Grand Bell Awards and one Blue Dragon Film Award. From 2012 to 2016 and in 2021, he has appeared in Forbes Korea Power Celebrity 40 list. He was selected as Gallup Korea's Television Actor of the Year in 2014 and was featured by Forbes in their 30 Under 30 Asia list of 2016.
Kim Yoo-jung is a South Korean actress. She debuted as a model for a confectionery brand at the age of four. After her acting debut in 2003, she became one of the most in-demand child actresses in Korea. She gained public attention for starring in television series Dong Yi (2010), Moon Embracing the Sun (2012), May Queen (2012), Golden Rainbow (2013), Secret Door (2014) and Angry Mom (2015). She also starred in the films Commitment (2013), Thread of Lies (2014), and Circle of Atonement (2015). She hosted music show Inkigayo from November 2014 to April 2016.
BTS, also known as the Bangtan Boys, is a South Korean boy band formed in 2010. The band consists of Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V, and Jungkook, who co-write or co-produce much of their material. Originally a hip hop group, they expanded their musical style to incorporate a wide range of genres, while their lyrics have focused on subjects including mental health, the troubles of school-age youth and coming of age, loss, the journey towards self-love, individualism, and the consequences of fame and recognition. Their discography and adjacent work has also referenced literature, philosophy and psychology, and includes an alternate universe storyline.
Sweet Home (Korean: 스위트홈) is a South Korean streaming television series starring Song Kang, Lee Jin-wook, and Lee Si-young. Based on the Naver webtoon of the same name by Kim Carnby and Hwang Young-chan, which recorded over 2.1 billion net views, the series was released on Netflix on December 18, 2020. The second season is scheduled to be released on December 1, 2023. A third season is also in production.
