“…What about the hearings on North Korea in which he made repeated references to ‘Kim Jong the Second’? In order to prevent any repetition of this idiotic gaffe, Helms’ staff propped up a piece of card on which was clearly written the pronunciation ‘Kim Jong ILL.’ The senator from North Carolina duly made the adjustment, referring thenceforth to the North Korean despot as ‘Kim Jong the Third.’ ”
– From the late polemicist Christopher Hitchens’ obituary on Jesse Helms (Slate magazine, July 7, 2008)
Quoted in the Daily Beast–
Perry Botches Kim Jong-Il’s Name
“At this point, Rick Perry’s general knowledge of history and current events is just laughable. The GOP Presidential hopeful had yet another “oops” moment today, this time referring to the late North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Il as “Kim John the Second.” Perry made the gaffe in an email which was posted on his website, then subsequently corrected. Interestingly enough, Perry incorrectly referenced his name three times, but then used the correct “-Il” once. Another interesting observation is that Perry wrote in the email that he was “a vicious dictator,” but then referenced him three times as though he were a monarch.”
December 19, 2011 6:52 PM