( CNN ) -- Most of us do n't know much about Kim Jong Il , the reclusive North Korean leader who died Saturday . But thanks to a cult-favorite blog , we do know this : That country 's `` Dear Leader '' spent countless hours visiting stores , factories and plantations and gazing stoically from behind his trademark sunglasses upon various things -- soldiers , machinery , livestock and lots and lots of food . The Tumblr-hosted blog , `` Kim Jong Il Looking at Things , '' gathers propaganda photos of the departed dictator from the state-run Korean Central News Agency and has built a steady following since it was launched in October 2010 . The founder of Tumblr , David Karp , even named it as one of his favorite sites . The blog is run by JoÃ£o Rocha , 26 , an art director for a Lisbon , Portugal design firm . Rocha said Monday he has about 375 unposted photos of Kim Jong Il in his archives and is leaning toward keeping the blog going . `` I do n't have a favorite but I like the ones where he 's smiling the best , '' Rocha wrote in an e-mail to CNN . `` There 's a certain humanity in them , I find . '' In the first 12 hours or so after Kim 's death was announced , the blog has gotten more than 1.4 million page views , up from an average monthly total of about 500,000 , he said . Rocha has posted a poll on his site 's Facebook page , asking fans whether he should continue the blog . As of Monday afternoon he had received more than 3,300 `` yes '' votes and fewer than 100 `` nos . '' He said he got the idea for the blog last year after seeing a gallery of similar Kim Jong Il photos on the Boston Globe 's website . Rocha found the images `` just too surreal to be true '' and `` thought it deserved a blog of its own . '' With rule of North Korea expected to pass to Kim 's son , Kim Jong Un , a copycat blog has already appeared showing similar images of the younger Kim . But Rocha does n't seem to mind . `` That 's how the Internet works . Out with the old and in with the new , '' he wrote . Rocha does n't think the new blog 's subject carries the same ironic weight , though . `` You need that absolute evil that Kim Jong Il personified so well to make it funny . Kim Jong Un lacks that . '' Kim Jong Il 's bizarre life as pop-culture icon . In the 14 months since he launched the blog , Rocha has posted hundreds of images of North Korea 's dictator , flanked by an ever-present entourage and peering at everything from bubble gum to sausage . But asked what , if anything , his blog has revealed about North Korea and he draws a blank . `` They have very clean factories is probably the only thing I can say . The rest remains a mystery . ''
Creator of popular photo blog about Kim Jong Il says he will likely keep project going . North Korea has been under U.N. sanctions since 2006 for its nuclear and missile programs. A copycat blog has already appeared showing similar images of Kim Jong Un .