Day of the Shining Star
Kim Jong-il was born in February 1941 to Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-suk in Siberia in the Russian Federal Republic, Soviet Union where his father had been in exile because of his guerilla activities. North Korean propaganda, however, dates Kim Jong-il's birth to 16 February 1942 and locates it at the Mount Paektu area in Korea, the mythical place of origin of the Korean people, where Kim Il-sung supposedly ran a guerilla camp. In reality, the guerillas were based in Manchuria at the time and Kim himself had been to the Soviet Far East before and after Kim Jong-il's birth.
Jong-il Peak
Initially, the peak was named Changsu. In 1930—1940, there was the secret camp of anti-Japanese guerrillas under with the rate of the Korean People's Revolutionary Army. According to the official North Korean historiography, Kim Jong-il was born there. In 1988, the peak was renamed to Jong-il, in honour of Kim Jong-il. A “Revolutionary Historic Site” was arranged at the territory of the former camp. Three granite plates with the name of peak, carved in red letters, were constructed on the southern rock. In 1992, for the Kim Jong-il’s 50ᵗʰ anniversary, a memorial plate with congratulatory ode “To the Shining Star” by Kim Il-sung was placed near the camp.