DPRK Kim Il Sung "loyalty" badges

[andrewcousar]

Hello everyone! This is my first time posting on this forum, and I wanted to share my collection of Kim Il Sung badges in the DPRK. One of the most recognizable symbols of the DPRK, these "loyalty" badges are required to be worn by every adult North Korean citizen. There is not much in the way of information about these badges out there, however nearly every badge I have seen pre-2012 has a small hole in the back. Ebay seems one of the only places to acquire these, outside of Dandong and other Chinese towns across the North Korean border. If anyone is interested I can post pictures of the reverse sides of the badges, as well as close ups. I'd love to see some photos of other collections if other users happen to also collect these badges, as I have only ever seen a handful of collections.

[Eric Gaumann]

Thanks for the info! And welcome to the show.

Add an Imgur link to the images since as you're new you can't post images yet (see the FAQs). Or, PM me and we can work out a way where I can post the images for you.

[andrewcousar]

Thanks for such a quick reply! I have added an Imgur link, hopefully the photo isn't too large. Thanks for the welcome!

[Britian_Jacky]

I didn't think eBay would have the real deal! Haha probably tourist pieces if they are of eBay. It's like the pilotkas with the patches, they are only for people going to places they haven't been to, to buy a souvenir. If they are real then wow I'm amazed.

[andrewcousar]

If I have some time I can post pictures of examples of fake Kim Il Sung badges for reference, but absolutely agreed that the majority of the on Ebay are fakes. The badges in my collection were collected over seven or so years, as the real ones on Ebay pop up pretty rarely. The easiest way to tell fake from real is the hole in the back, however the newer "double-Kim" badges seem to not share this feature with the older Kim Jong Il and Kim Il Sung era badges. The portraits on genuine examples are always crisp in detail, never blurry or poorly constructed. These pins are only allowed to be created by the North Korean state-sanctioned art institute, which draws upon the best and most talented artists to render images of the Kim family. Fakes are usually so bad that the difference is pretty easy to discern.

[andrewcousar]

Here's a few fakes for comparison:

[Britian_Jacky]

I see, I never knew that. Those fakes look really dodgy compared to the ones you have. They seem really cheap, even though they are from North Korea.

[Jeff V]

Can you post the reverse of the original and fakes?

[andrewcousar]

As requested here are photos of the reverse of the fakes, and of the originals. The first photo is a reverse shot of all the originals in my collection, the second photo is one I pulled off of eBay from a fake badge, and the third is a front and reverse shot of a fake badge I got burned on.

[Jeff V]

Thank you for those reverse images.
What would be your opinion on this piece?

[Jeff V]

reverse

[andrewcousar]

You're welcome! In my opinion, your piece is 100% real. From what I've seen, the "double-Kim" badge can either have a hole in the back (as with your piece), or have a blank reverse (as with mine). The portraits of real examples are always crisp, even the tiny circular badges. I'm not sure how exactly DPRK constructs the badges, but they may have shifted production methods after the death of Kim Jong Il/assumption of power by Kim Jong Un, as most badges made after this period simply don't have the hole in the reverse. Fortunately, fakes coming from China are still bad enough to be discernible from genuine badges, however there are a few convincing fakes out there (like my example).

[Jeff V]

Ok, thanks.