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.
Chilgol
Chilgol is known as the place where Kang Pan-sok, the mother of Kim Il-sung, North Korea's first leader, was born in 1892 and spent her childhood. The area features many buildings and fixtures related to Kim Il-sung's life. Kim attended Changdok School in Chilgol between 1923 and 1925. According to legend, Kang Pan-sok's father Kang Ton-uk founded the school, although in reality it had been established by the missionary Samuel A. Moffett. Kim Il-sung's desk, in the front of the classroom and left of the teacher, remains preserved there. There are statues for Kim Il-sung, Kang Pan-sok, and Kang Ton-uk, and a marked spot where Kim Il-sung used to read among the trees outside. Also on the premises is Chilgol Church, which Kang Pan-sok used to attend, sometimes with Kim Il-sung, and Chilgol Museum of Revolutionary History. The museum houses Kang Pan-sok's possessions including kitchen utensils. Kang Pan-sok Senior Middle School in Chilgol is named after her.