An excerpt from "Princess Goes to School," depicting the fictional daughter of a North Korean leader. (Naver)
An excerpt from "Princess Goes to School," depicting the fictional daughter of a North Korean leader. (Naver)

A South Korean webtoon featuring a protagonist widely seen as resembling the only publicly known child of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has sparked controversy over claims it softens the image of the Kim regime.

The Naver series, Princess Goes to School, follows a fictional high school girl named Kim Seol, who is unaware she is the daughter and potential successor of North Korea’s ruling family.

The webtoon is billed as a romantic comedy centered on her relationship with a young black-ops agent assigned to protect her, a setup far removed from the real-life family’s secrecy.

Though the storyline and character profiles are fictional, many viewers say the parallels are too close to the North’s ruling dynasty to ignore.

Some also argue that portraying a North Korean “princess” as a sympathetic, charismatic heroine risks normalizing the repressive regime.

The backlash has been swift: users have flooded the comments section with negative reviews, leaving the series with an average rating of 1.92 out of 5 stars as of Tuesday. Only one episode has been released since its debut on Thursday.

In the webtoon, South Korean intelligence agents repeatedly intervene to protect Kim Seol from assassination attempts, while she is portrayed as popular and romantically pursued by classmates.

Comparisons have also been drawn between Kim Seol and Kim Ju-ae. Though she has not been formally designated as Kim Jong-un’s successor, Kim Ju-ae is the only child publicly acknowledged through state media appearances.

South Korea’s National Intelligence Service once believed Kim Jong-un had an older son born in 2010 and another in 2017, but the agency has since dropped those assessments due to a lack of evidence.

Believed to have been born in early 2013, Kim Ju-ae has made multiple public appearances in recent years. The NIS said in 2024 that she appears to be receiving training consistent with succession grooming.


minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com