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| Former classmates have given a rare insight into North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un's teenage years in Switzerland. / Korea Times file |
By Lee Han-soo
Former classmates have given a rare insight into North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un's teenage years.
The hermit kingdom leader attended Liebefeld-Steinholzli Schule, a Swiss boarding school, between 1998 and 2000.
Although not much has been revealed about Kim during this time, his former classmates have spoken out about his likes and dislikes.
Kim is known to have attended the high school under the alias Park Un, claiming to be a son of a North Korean embassy employee in Bern, Switzerland, according to the Washington Post.
His classmates recall that an entourage accompanied Kim wherever he went.
He was also obsessed with U.S. basketball and was a fan of Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls.
His classmates recall that Kim was actually good at playing basketball.
"He was tough and fast, good at both shooting and dribbling," said Marco Imhof. He hated to lose. Winning was very important."
Kim's wardrobe consisted mainly of Nike brands including Air Jordans for shoes and tracksuits.
He was also very fond of action films starring Jackie Chan and liked to eat Swiss cheese.
Although Kim might have been a talented sports player, he was behind academically. According to a Telegraph article, Kim failed natural sciences and barely got passing grades for most classes.
He also seemed to hate cold spaghetti. A friend recalls him in a fit of rage after being served lukewarm spaghetti by embassy staff.
Kim left the school in 2000.
"We thought he was ill or something and would soon be back," said Nikola Kovacevic. "I hope he is a good dictator, but dictators are usually not that good."
