10 Things You Didn't Know About Kim Jong Il

1. Most people say he was born in Siberia in 1941, when his father, Kim Il Sung, was in exile. The "official" account states that he was born in 1942 in a log cabin on a mountain, and there was a double rainbow to mark the occasion. His name as a child was "Yura."

2. His younger brother drowned in a pond in 1948; his mother died a year later.

3. He rode a motorcycle to high school.

4. He graduated from Kim Il Sung University in 1964 with a degree in political economy.

5. He has allegedly written over 1,000 books and six operas and designed a tower to commemorate his father.

6. He did not allow his voice to be broadcast until 1992.

7. He has at least six children by three different mothers and perhaps more.

8. He sleeps only four hours per day.

9. He wears platform shoes to mask his short stature.

10. He likes movies. A lot. He is said to own over 20,000 and claims to have watched every Oscar winner.