The “Theory of Kim Il-sŏng the Impostor”:

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This is a historiographical study of the ‘theory of Kim Il-sŏng the impostor’ – a concept which existed in South Korean academic community in the second half of the 20th century. It claimed that the man who at the time ruled North Korea was not the same person as the Manchurian guerrilla of the 1930s, but rather a fraudster who stole his name. This article shows the roots of this urban legend: it mostly originated from the fact that, indeed, had several other people used the alias ‘Kim Il-sŏng’ as well. For decades this theory had a substantial influence on the South Korean perception of the North, partially thanks to the efforts of one South Korean academic, who made the support of this theory the central point of his entire research career. Even when it was rejected by the academic community is was still supported by a number of die-hard South Korean conservatives. The story of this hypothesis proves that urban legends usually are a twisted reflection of real facts, that a disproved hypothesis can still persist if it fits ideological preferences of a certain group, and that support of just one academic for a theory proven false can increase its period of survival for decades.