Oh my god, this is outrageous.
I think I cried like this once when I fell on a blacktop and scraped my knee.... when I was 7.
I wonder how they went about this. Was there an announcement, "He is dead. Come out into public and weep, or be shot in your home."?
To be fair, the people there revere him as godlike. They are for the most part an atheist or non-religious people and there is no religious freedom, but since Kim Jong-il's father, Kim Il-sung, took control in 1948 the only way to really describe how average citizens view them (despite widespread poverty) is cult-like. North Korea is one of the most isolated and secretive countries in the world - only in the past few years have we learned more about it as finally select journalists and photographers have been allowed to enter the country.
State propaganda is pretty much the
only source of information they have. Virtually every single aspect of their lives is controlled by the government. Schools deify both Kim Jong-il and his father, and there is zero political opposition, freedom of the press or freedom of religion. The man did what he wanted and told people what he wanted them to believe, and having absolutely nothing to the contrary they believe it. For example, Jong-il's official biography lists "facts" about his life that include details about his birth, which occurred on a sacred mountain, and was heralded by a new star in the sky, a double rainbow and a swallow; h
e first picked up a golf club in 1994, at North Korea's only golf course, and shot a 38-under par round that included no fewer than 11 holes in one; and he wrote no fewer than 1,500 books in three years while attending university. He also reportedly spread the myth that he could control the weather with his moods, and in 2010 North Korean media reported that his clothing had set worldwide fashion trends. These are only a few examples. It seems ridiculous to us of course, but considering their circumstances, it's not hard to understand or sympathize with. In addition I'm going to assume that video was released by North Korean media, so it's very much propaganda as well. They're telling the world "Look how much people loved him, see how affluent we are." It's pretty fascinating tbh.