The Kippumjo or Gippeumjo is an alleged collection of groups of approximately 2,000 women and girls that is maintained by the leader of North Korea for the purpose of providing pleasure, mostly of a sexual nature, and entertainment for high-ranking Workers' Party of Korea officials and their families, as well as occasionally distinguished guests. The SouthKorean newspaper Chosun Ilbo said that the group that used to perform for Kim Jong-un's father, Kim Jong-il, was disbanded shortly after the elder Kim's death in December 2011. The members supposedly were made to sign a pledge of secrecy in exchange for money and gifts. According to the paper, the women who worked as entertainers received an amount of money worth $4,000 before returning to their hometowns. The girls in the squad would also receive compensation in the form of home appliances. Little is known outside North Korea about the Gippeumjo, but information has gradually emerged through the accounts of North Koreans who have defected, particularly Kenji Fujimoto and Mi Hyang.
Etymology
The first two syllables of the name, , is a native Korean word meaning joy or happiness. The suffix jo is a Sino-Korean word which describes a group of people, roughly analogous to the terms "squad" or "team". Kim Il-sung is believed to have established this corps of women in the belief that having sexual relations with young women would increase his jing and have the effect of enhancing his life force, or gi.
History
The Gippeumjo were reported to have been established in 1978, during the administration of Kim Il-sung. The first group was recruited by Lee Dong-ho, the First Vice Director of the Department of United Front of the WPK, for the purpose of entertaining Kim at the Munsu Chodaeso. In 2015 the recruiting and training of Gippeumjo were administered by the Fifth Department of Staff of the Organic Direction of the Party. The practice was said to have been maintained by Il-sung's son, Kim Jong-il, until his own death in 2011. In April 2015, Kim Jong-un was reportedly seeking new members for his own Gippeumjo, after his father's group of girls was disbanded in December 2011.
Girls from throughout the country are recruited to be Gippeumjo members according to government criteria. After being selected, they undergo a rigorous training period, with some Haengbokjo members being sent overseas for massage training. Gippeumjo members typically leave at age 22 or 25. At that time they are often married to members of North Korea's elite—and are also sometimes paired off with military officers seeking wives—and their former membership in the Gippeumjo is kept secret.
