Kim-Jong-Un can now turn back time, is there anything he can’t do?
Next Friday is the day that North Korea change their time by dropping it 30 minutes behind it’s current time.
Up until now, North Korea and South Korea have had the same time zone, nine hours ahead of GMT.
This was set during Japanese rule in what was a unified Korea in 1910-1945.
The creation of Pyongyang time is supposed to ‘root out’ the legacy of the Japanese colonial period which North Korea is not too proud of according to the North’s official Korean Central News Agency.
“The wicked Japanese imperialists committed such unpardonable crimes as depriving Korea of even its standard time while mercilessly trampling down its land with 5,000-year-long history and culture and pursuing the unheard-of policy of obliterating the Korean nation,” the KCNA dispatch said.
The new time zone will activate on Saturday, August 15 which is also the 70th anniversary of Korea’s liberation from Japanese rule at the end of World War II.
The aim of the new time zone is apparently to get behind anti-Japan nationalistic sentiments to boost the popularity of the young ruler Kim Jong Un.
Many Koreans, particularly the elderly population, hold a deep resentment to Japan for how Koreans were treated during the war.
Many were forced to become front line soldiers, work in slave labour conditions or work as prostitutes in brothels run by the Japanese military.
South Korea has said they are currently sticking to the same time zone as Japan as it is more practical.
Most countries in the world are separated by an hour with just a few countries opting for a half hour differentiation including Iran and Myanmar.
Hat-tip to Business Insider
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