The governor of Mykolaiv, of South Korean origin, protagonist of a dramatic resistance treated with irony: colorful socks in sight, unexpected jokes and movements (like a BMW with a builtin machine gun) update, entertain and organize the population on social networks defense of the line, which would lead the Russians into Odessa
Saturday recorded perhaps the darkest video of the past three weeks.
Russian troops fired missiles at our sleeping soldiers. The rescue operation is still ongoing, he wrote, referring to the massacre at the rockethit barracks in Mykolayiv, the Black Sea city 130 kilometers from Odessa.
But then Vitaliy Kim immediately resumed his sarcastic tone, familiar to all who know him: Tomorrow I will make shish kebab. Orcs, I don’t care about you guys, he wrote on Telegram and Instagram.
The shish kebab is a meat skewer, the orcs are the Russians who have been bombing and besieging Ukrainian cities, including yours, for 24 days.
Kim the head of the Mykolayiv regional administration. Until three weeks ago he was unknown, today he is the second most popular man in Ukraine after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The 40yearold South Korean became governor in November 2020. He was previously a building contractor and one of the owners of a famous nightclub in the city that also hosted karaoke. If it were just a war we would say an influencer was born. A fate similar to that of the President, his: in politics, he recently suddenly became a hero of the resistance for defending the city of Mykolaiv, a strategic place that if it fell into the hands of Russian soldiers would risk the road to Odessa, the country’s main port.
Since February 24, the day the war began, his province has been one of the hardest hit. There are constant bombings and hundreds of deaths. But the opposition to Putin’s regime appears to be resisting for now, thanks in part to the governor’s positive attitude, saying things like: The seventeenth day of the conflict and my good humor. We have freedom and we fight for it. The only thing they have is slavery.
In his videos with almost a million views he combines humor and a certain calm that makes him sovereign in the eyes of the citizens. He always starts showing the V in victory and says Good morning, we are from Ukraine, gestures and words that convey a sense of unity and strength.
in constant contact with the populace, which updates several times a day on social media with posts in which he describes the enemy’s movements, jokes about Russian soldiers comparing them to the orcs of the Lord of the Rings, and about pensions and the incoming aid informed .
He also organizes the resistance via social networks and gives practical advice to help the army. A few days ago, he called for tires to be stacked on street corners to create smoke screens in case Russian tanks might penetrate. He ended his video with a command: I’ll tell you when to light it.
They listen to him, they follow him, his presence soothes and cheers souls. It does unexpected things, it surprises. On March 14, he handed the police a convertible BMW in the colors of Ukraine and a machine gun attached to the trunk, a superhero car.
so loved that jokes go around town like when kim tells us we can sleep peacefully, we sleep peacefully. He often connects from his studio (sometimes barefoot, wearing hypercolored socks), where a family photo stands among Ukrainian flags and coats of arms, computers and weapons, with his wife Yuliya Vitalivna, two daughters Yevheniya and Oleksandra, and their son Ruslan.
Ugo Poletti, editor of the Odessa Journal, tells us that in Odessa he is not only considered a hero but also a sex symbol. Here you google whether you are married, he says.
The success in the city is understandable, because thanks to him and his people, the Russian army does not manage to reach the most desirable port. They don’t go through here, says Kim with a smile.
Poletti explains that the Mykolayiv governor also uses a rhetorical device dear to Ukrainians: mockery. Not everyone knows this, but this is a people with a deep sense of humor. It is no coincidence that Zelensky comes from a television series that makes fun of politics. Humor has two purposes today: to survive the war drama and to propagate against the Russians, Poletti explains again and again. Many video memes are circulating in the chats, in which Russian soldiers are mocked and ridiculed by the population. The farmers who pull the tanks with the tractor have become a cult. Laughing at them and making fun of them makes you feel stronger and less vulnerable, says Poletti.
After all, it was Kim who announced the strategy after the first bombings: First we were afraid, then we learned indifference. When we became indifferent, the Russians got scared and since then I’ve been able to sleep well at night. But be careful, he said: don’t confuse irony with underestimation, we know the situation is very serious.
March 20, 2022 (Modification March 20, 2022 | 13:13)
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