A digital illustration of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un holding a guitar and speaking to a group of five soldiers who are taking notes.

The Note Korea Story.

Search “Kim Jong-un” and scroll through the results. Look for notebooks, and a clear pattern emerges: the Supreme Leader, flanked by generals, officials and aides. Every single one of them clutching a notebook, pen poised, ready to capture his wisdom for posterity.

This isn't an accident. It's on-the-spot guidance. A practice started by his grandfather, Kim Il-sung, back in the 1950s. Wherever the leader goes, profound insights follow, and someone had better be writing it down. It's propaganda, sure. But it's also the most committed note-taking culture on Earth.

Note Korea was born as a tribute to the world's most diligent and committed (if not exactly voluntary) note takers on earth.

Because whether you're following a supreme leader, or just trying to survive your Monday meeting, the principle holds:

Take notes. Your life depends on it.

Here are some links on the topic.

Just to name a few:

BBC: Why is Kim Jong-un always surrounded by people taking notes?

NK News: Kim Jong Un visits factory project for 7th time ahead of first-year deadline

ABC News: North Korea's weapon-test claim attempt to get U.S. back to table: Analysts

Reuters: North Korea's Kim Jong Un calls South Korea a foreign, hostile country

Japan Times: North Korea’s Kim and Russia’s Putin reaffirm ties on Korean Liberation Day