Kim Il Sung

Supreme Leader of North Korea from 1948 to 1994

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We include updates on Juche, Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, Eternal leaders of North Korea, North Korean cult of personality, Death to America, 1990s North Korean famine, Where Are You, Dear General?, On-the-spot guidance, Day of the Sun, Yakov Novichenko, August faction incident, Battle of Pochonbo, Down-with-Imperialism Union, Baik Bong, Terenty Shtykov, Sinuiju Incident ... and more.

2024
Death to America
At a Quds Day rally in Dearborn, Michigan, some crowd members chanted 'death to America', which rally organizers later condemned as 'wrongful' and 'a mistake'.
June 19 2024 Vladimir Putin considered for the Order of Kim Il Sung (not yet confirmed)
May 2024
Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il portraits
Large portrait of Kim Jong Un displayed at the front of a training school for Workers' Party of Korea cadets, along with portraits of his predecessors in classrooms.
April 15 2024
Day of the Sun
The holiday was referred to as '4.15' or 'the April holiday' instead of 'Day of the Sun', potentially to strengthen Kim Jong Un's cult of personality while weakening Kim Il Sung's.
2021
Day of the Sun
Kim Jong Un returned to Day of the Sun celebrations, visiting his grandfather's mausoleum at the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun and attending a propaganda concert.
2020
Day of the Sun
Kim Jong Un was absent from Day of the Sun celebrations, which sparked speculation about his health.
2019
Kumsusan Palace of the Sun
The Kumsusan Guest Palace was constructed, which was later used by Chinese leader Xi Jinping during his visit.
2019 Kim Pyong Il officially retired from his diplomatic post and returned to North Korea.
2019 Investigative journalist Annie Jacobsen published 'Surprise, Kill, Vanish', detailing CIA claims about Kim Il Sung's potentially fabricated identity as a Soviet-controlled puppet leader.
October 2 2019
Kim Il Sung Stadium
4.25 SC became the first North Korean football club to reach an AFC Cup final, beating Hanoi FC from Vietnam at Kim Il-sung Stadium in front of 5,500 spectators.
June 2019
1990s North Korean famine
After a UN report of the worst harvests in over a decade affecting 40% of the population, South Korea enacted a plan to provide US$8 million in food aid to North Korea.
February 8 2019
Death to America
Ali Khamenei clarifies 'Death to America' slogan, stating it specifically means opposition to US politicians Donald Trump, John Bolton, and Mike Pompeo, not the American people.
2018
North Korean cult of personality
Satellite imagery revealed the existence of at least 11,200 outside monuments and murals dedicated to the Kim leaders.
2018
Where Are You, Dear General?
Travis Jeppesen documents the daily morning broadcast of the song, describing its sound as coming from an 'antiquated synthesizer' in his book 'See You Again in Pyongyang'.
November 2018
Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il portraits
First public display of a portrait of Kim Jong Un during a visit by Cuban president Miguel Díaz-Canel to Pyongyang.
November 4 2018
Death to America
Louis Farrakhan, leader of the Nation of Islam, led a 'Death to America' chant during a solidarity trip to Iran.
May 9 2018
Death to America
Iranian Parliament burned an American flag and chanted 'Death to America' following the United States' withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.
April 25 2018
Death to America
Iran announced the creation of a 'Death to America' emoji in a domestically produced messaging app.
2017
1990s North Korean famine
A demographic survey revealed the famine's long-term impact, showing significant population imbalance between males and females aged 20-24.
June 23 2017
Death to America
During Quds Day, protesters chanted 'Death to America' and 'Death to Israel'.
2016
1990s North Korean famine
UN Committee on the Rights of the Child reported a steady decline in infant mortality rate since 2008.
2015 Kim Pyong Il, son of Kim Il Sung and Kim Song-ae, became ambassador to the Czech Republic.
March 21 2015
Death to America
Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei backed and shouted 'Death to America' during a Nowruz (Persian New Year) public gathering.
March 29 2013
Death to America
During a public gathering in Pyongyang, North Korean attendees chanted 'Death to the U.S. imperialists' in support of Kim Jong Un's call to arms.
January 2013
1990s North Korean famine
Japanese Asia Press agency claimed over 10,000 people had died of famine in North and South Hwanghae provinces.
2012
Day of the Sun
Marked the centenary of Kim Il Sung's birth. Kim Jong Un gave his first public speech during the celebrations. North Korea conducted a failed missile test and introduced the new KN-08 missile in a parade.
2012
North Korean cult of personality
A 14-year-old girl drowned while attempting to save Kim family portraits during a flash flood. She was posthumously awarded the 'Kim Jong Il Youth Honor Award', and her school was renamed in her honor.
2012
1990s North Korean famine
The World Food Programme reported plans to send food to North Korea, to be processed locally and delivered directly to citizens.
April 2012
1990s North Korean famine
Tokyo Shimbun reported approximately 20,000 people had starved to death in South Hwanghae Province since Kim Jong Il's death in December 2011.
2011
Kumsusan Palace of the Sun
Kim Jong Il's body was also placed in a similar display near his father's remains after his death, continuing the memorial tradition at the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun.
2011
1990s North Korean famine
Former US President Jimmy Carter visited North Korea and reported that one-third of children were malnourished and stunted in growth due to food shortages.
2010 Kim Man-sik receives the Order of Kim Il Sung

This contents of the box above is based on material from the Wikipedia articles Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il portraits, 1990s North Korean famine, Where Are You, Dear General?, Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, Kim Il Sung, Day of the Sun, Kim Il Sung Stadium, North Korean cult of personality, Death to America & Order of Kim Il Sung, which are released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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