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.
Kim Jong-chang
Kim was born on 13 October 1948 in Yecheon, Gyeongsangbuk-do near the Sobaek Mountains. He was raised by his mother and paternal grandfather after losing his father to the Korean War at the age of two. He studied primary, middle, and high school in his hometown; he states that his home room teacher at Daechang High School left an indelible mark on him during his formative years. He matriculated at Seoul National University as an undergraduate in 1967, graduating in 1971 with a degree in commerce. He passed the State Administration Examination for Civil Servants in 1970 while in his senior year.