Kim Il Sung Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! == Legacy == {{Further|North Korean cult of personality#Kim Il Sung}} {{Gallery | mode = nolines | align = center |Kim Il Sung Portrait-3.jpg| The [[Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il portraits|official posthumous portrait]] of Kim Il Sung, often seen in public areas | Kim Il-sung.jpg | Kim depicted as the [[Sun]] on a propaganda mural. The given name ''[[Il-sung]]'' means 'become the Sun'. Likewise, his birthday is called "[[Day of the Sun]]". | Paying Their Respects.jpg | The original statue of Kim Il Sung on [[Mansu Hill Grand Monument|Mansudae Hill]] (1972β2012). The one of [[Kim Jong Il]] was added much later. | Pyongyang Mural.jpg | A mural in [[Pyongyang]] of a young Kim Il Sung giving a speech }} Kim Il Sung was revered as a godlike figure within North Korea during his lifetime, but his personality cult struggled to extend beyond the country's borders.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Young|first=Benjamin R.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wRgfEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT99|title=Guns, Guerillas, and the Great Leader: North Korea and the Third World|date=6 April 2021|publisher=Stanford University Press|isbn=978-1-5036-2764-2|pages=99|language=en|quote=Kim Il Sung was a godlike figure within the DPRK but his personality cult struggled to extend beyond the North Korean borders.|access-date=25 November 2021|archive-date=25 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211125171903/https://books.google.com/books?id=wRgfEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT99|url-status=live}}</ref> There are over 500 statues of him in North Korea, similar to the many statues and monuments that Eastern Bloc countries erected of their leaders.<ref name=portal>{{cite book|last=Portal|first=Jane|title=Art under control in North Korea|publisher=Reaktion Books|year=2005|page=82|isbn=978-1-86189-236-2}}</ref> The most prominent are at [[Kim Il Sung University]], [[Kim Il-sung Stadium|Kim Il Sung Stadium]], [[Mansu Hill Grand Monument|Mansudae Hill]], Kim Il Sung Bridge and the Immortal Statue of Kim Il Sung. Some statues have reportedly been destroyed by explosions or damaged with graffiti by North Korean dissidents.<ref name="Rogue"/>{{rp|201}}<ref>{{cite web |url=http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2012/02/13/2012021301372.html |work=[[The Chosun Ilbo]] |title=N.Korean Dynasty's Authority Challenged |date=13 February 2012 |access-date=9 November 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120929195034/http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2012/02/13/2012021301372.html |archive-date=29 September 2012 }}</ref> ''YΕng Saeng'' ("eternal life") monuments have been erected throughout the country, each dedicated to the departed "Eternal Leader".<ref name="Controversy Stirs over Kim Monument at PUST (NK Daily)">{{cite web|url=http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk01500&num=6222|title=Controversy Stirs Over Kim Monument at PUST|work=[[Daily NK]]|date=9 April 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100412062252/http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk01500&num=6222 |archive-date=12 April 2010|access-date=24 April 2010}}</ref> Kim Il Sung's image is prominent in places associated with public transportation, especially his posthumous portrait released in 1994, which hangs at every North Korean train station and airport.<ref name=portal/> It is also placed prominently near the border crossings between China and North Korea.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Pulford|first=Ed|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oAulDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA233|title=Mirrorlands: Russia, China, and Journeys in Between|date=1 August 2019|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-1-78738-287-9|pages=233|language=en|quote=Although periodically closed when cross-border tensions rise, Tumen's bridge over to Namyang is also an attraction, one I was initially uncertain about visiting given the proximity of uniformed border guards and beaming portraits of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il on a building on the other side.|access-date=25 November 2021|archive-date=25 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211125171901/https://books.google.com/books?id=oAulDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA233|url-status=live}}</ref> At the border outside of [[Yanji]], South Korean tourists could pay the local Chinese residents for a picture taken against the scenery of North Korea beyond the [[Tumen River]], with the portrait of Kim Il Sung looming large at the background.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Chen|first=Xiangming|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4QHvOj4bZX4C&pg=PA167|title=As Borders Bend: Transnational Spaces on the Pacific Rim|date=4 February 2005|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers|isbn=978-0-7425-7081-8|pages=167|language=en|quote=Outside the city of Yanji, near the Tumen River, South Korean tourists could pay the local Chinese residents for a picture taken against the backdrop of North Korea, just across the water, with the giant portrait of the late leader, Kim Il Sung, looming large (Lawrence, 1999).|access-date=25 November 2021|archive-date=25 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211125171902/https://books.google.com/books?id=4QHvOj4bZX4C&pg=PA167|url-status=live}}</ref> Thousands of gifts to Kim Il Sung from foreign leaders are housed in the [[International Friendship Exhibition]].<ref name="age">{{cite news|url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/travel/north-korean-shows-off-leaders-gifts/2006/12/21/1166290663252.html|title=North Korean museum shows off leaders' gifts|agency=Reuters|date=21 December 2006|work=[[The Age]]|access-date=9 May 2018|archive-date=5 March 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130305184835/http://www.theage.com.au/news/travel/north-korean-shows-off-leaders-gifts/2006/12/21/1166290663252.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Kim Il Sung's birthday, "[[Day of the Sun]]", is celebrated every year as a [[public holidays in North Korea|public holiday in North Korea]].<ref name="ency_Birt">{{Cite book| chapter = Birthday of Kim Il-sung| publisher = Omnigraphics| via = TheFreeDictionary.com| title = Holidays, Festivals, and Celebrations of the World Dictionary| edition = Fourth| date = 2010| access-date = 3 May 2015| chapter-url = http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Birthday+of+Kim+Il-Sung| archive-date = 12 June 2022| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220612084452/https://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Birthday+of+Kim+Il-Sung| url-status = live}}</ref> The associated April Spring Friendship Art Festival gathers hundreds of artists from all over the world.<ref name="dail_Spri">{{Cite web|title=Spring Art Festival Off the Schedule |author=Choi Song Min |work=[[Daily NK]] |date=16 April 2013 |access-date=3 May 2015 |url=http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk01500&num=10491 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150313051634/http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk01500&num=10491 |archive-date=13 March 2015 }}</ref> There is a Kim Il Sung Park, a Kim Il Sung Alley, and a Kim Il Sung monument in [[Damascus]], [[Syria]].<ref>{{Cite web|url= https://koryogroup.com/blog/kim-il-sung-park-damascus-syria|title= Kim Il Sung Park Damascus Syria|date= 15 April 2019|publisher= Koryo Tours|access-date= 15 April 2021|archive-date= 15 April 2021|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210415154347/https://koryogroup.com/blog/kim-il-sung-park-damascus-syria|url-status= live}}</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. 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