[lee martell]

I’ve heard that the number eight is valued by many Chinese as a lucky number, one that brings good fortune. Not surprising that Kim Jong Un wants to acquire the number in this form.
I’m guessing that North Korea may have similar numerologic customs and beliefs as the Chinese.

[reed13k]

Usually in china the odd numbers are considered more lucky - this is why most pagodas have 3, 5, 7, or 9 levels.

4 is considered unlucky in nearly every asian culture - this is due to the pronunciation being very similar to the word for death. In some places in the east you will not see a 4th floor of a building similar to not seeing a 13th floor in some places in the west.

I’ve not heard of any specific connotation related to eight, although most (but not all) pronunciations, ba, are similar to the word for father, ba or pa.

[TigerLikesRooster]

Each Korea is in different sphere of influences. S. Korea is more exposed to Western culture. In time S. Koreans have come to adopt number seven as a lucky number. N. Korea is under China/Russia influence. I have not heard (so far) that N. Koreans embraced number 8 as their lucky number.