Fratricide

In the Bible, the first murder of a human being is Cain killing Abel, a man killing his brother. Antigone is a story where Oedipus’ two sons Eteocles and Polynices fight for royal authority but die as they stab each other with knives. According to myth, the ancient Rome was founded by twin brothers Romulus and Remus. Later Romulus killed Remus and took over the country.

The story does not end in a myth. In reality, the political history is mired in numerous fratricides. Brothers are close to each other but also competitors. Lee Bang-won, a son of King Taejo in the Joseon Dynasty, killed his half-brother Bang-seok and Bang-beon to become King Taejong. Confucian scholars, as they couldn’t criticize directly, slandered King Taejong indirectly by downgrading Li Shimin, Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty. Li also carried out a Xuanwu Gate Incident where he killed his real brothers. Prince Gwanghae, the fifteenth king of the Joseon dynasty, dethroned Queen Mother Inrnok and transported his half-brother Prince Yeongchang to kill him. King Gwanghae’s action was a decisive factor that the descendants came to downgrade him.

The DNA of Kim Il Sung hereditary dictatorship in North Korea was also expressed ultimately, as in the Kim Jong Il regime there was a relatively mild form of overseas exile of half-brother Kim Pyong Il, and in the Kim Jong Un regime murder of half-brother Kim Jong Nam. Among France’s three ideologies of liberty, equality and fraternity, the latter originates from the word "fraternité." It is the start of democracy to change fratricide to fraternity.

James Romm, an ancient Rome expert and professor at U.S.-based Bard College, posted a column on the LA Times in March 2014 where he said North Korea resembles Rome 65 years before Christ. He added that Kim Jong Un killed his uncle and supporter Jang Song Taek which is the same as Emperor Nero in Rome murdering Senecahis teacher, adviser and philosopher. Kim Jong Un's killing his half-brother is increasingly resembling Nero who killed both his mother and half-brother. There are concerns that Kim's actions could nuclear bomb the Korean Peninsula just as a similar madness fired Rome.