Kim Jong-il was a fashion icon
In 2010, North Korean media reported that Kim’s distinctive clothing had set worldwide fashion trends, with his trademark zip-up khaki tunic and matching trousers spreading across the globe faster than David Beckham’s latest outfit. While we can’t say for certain on the birth one, we can safely say this has never happened.

These are the ridiculous things North Korean kids have to learn in school 4
Every single person in North Korea voted for Kim Jong-un
In Kim Jong-un’s first election, he achieved a voter turnout of 100% – and every person voted for him. This is actually better than his father Kim Jong-il, who only achieved 99.9%. While it is legal to vote for another candidate, the fact that you have to vote in front of a state official makes it rather unlikely that this will ever happen.

Kim Jong-il was the best golfer in the world
In 1994, North Korean media reported that Kim Jong-il had shot a 38 under-par round on an 18-hole golf course. Not only this but five shots were holes-in-one – and it was his first time ever playing the sport. If this wasn’t enough sporting talent, he also seemingly scored a perfect 300 in bowling.

These are the ridiculous things North Korean kids have to learn in school 6
Kim Jong-il wrote 1,500 books at university
According to his official biography, the former leader, who spent three years attending the Kim Il-sung university in Pyongyang, wrote more than a book a day while he was studying. And there was us thinking finishing that dissertation was pretty good going.

The leaders are gods
The official biography of Kim Jong-il claimed that, as a perfect being, he never needed to use the toilet. It was confirmed in a book by North Korean concentration camp survivor Kang Chol-hwan, who wrote in his memoir, The Aquariums of Pyongyang, “To my childish eyes and to those of all my friends, Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il were perfect beings, untarnished by any base human function. I was convinced, as we all were, that neither of them urinated or defecated. Who could imagine such things of gods?”

Kim Il-Sung was a war hero
He is credited with almost single-handedly defeating the Japanese at the end of the occupation of Korea (ignoring Soviet and American efforts) and with rebuilding the nation after the Korean War. The fact that he failed to conquer the South of the peninsula is conveniently overlooked.