North Korea has intensified its cult of personality around Kim Jong Un, the General Secretary of the Workers’ Party, by installing large mosaic murals depicting scenes of his leadership in major city centers across the country. These Kim Jong Un murals not only replace the symbols venerating Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il but also serve as focal points for political events and rallies aimed at strengthening regime unity.
According to a Thursday report by NK News, based on satellite imagery and footage from North Korean state media, the regime has erected large mosaic murals of Kim Jong Un in at least eight of the 14 provincial capitals and special cities since 2024. These include Pyongyang, Nampo, Sinuiju, Hyesan, Hamhung, Wonsan, Sariwon, and Haeju. Recent satellite images have also revealed new murals being constructed in Rason, Kaesong, and Kanggye.
The new murals are believed to largely replace those of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il. NK News reported that in cities such as Nampo, Sinuiju, Hyesan, Wonsan, Sariwon, Haeju, and Rason, murals of previous leaders have been supplanted by those of Kim Jong Un, signaling an effort to consolidate loyalty around the current leader.
These mural sites and areas with political slogans are actively used for state-sponsored events. In May, a children’s loyalty pledge ceremony was held in front of a Kim Jong Un mosaic mural in Hamhung. Some locations previously featuring statues of former leaders have been repurposed as gathering spaces centered around the new Kim Jong Un murals.
Known as jjokmui murals in North Korea, these large-scale artworks are crafted from colored glass, tiles, or processed natural stones, fired at 1,200°C (about 2,192°F). The first Kim Jong Un mosaic mural was unveiled in 2022 at the Yeonpo Greenhouse Farm in South Hamgyong Province and has since proliferated nationwide.
NK News has identified at least 39 Kim Jong Un murals across the country, with the actual number likely higher, considering those not visible in satellite imagery or unreported by state media.
The report also highlights recent changes in North Korea’s propaganda approach, including the removal of references to Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il’s veneration from the constitution and the prominent display of Kim Jong Un’s portraits at major events instead of his predecessors’. This shift indicates a rapid realignment of North Korea’s personality cult system around Kim Jong Un. However, analysts suggest that rather than completely erasing the legacy of previous leaders, the regime is adjusting its propaganda to emphasize Kim Jong Un as the supreme authority while maintaining some symbolic connections to his predecessors.