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 Koo
Kim was born on August 29, 1876, in Teot-gol (텃골), Baek-un-bang (백운방), Haeju, South Hwanghae Province, Korea, the only son of a farmer Kim Soon-young (김순영) and his wife Kwak Nack-won (곽낙원). His name at birth was Kim Changahm (; ). When he was nine years old, he started to study Chinese classic texts such as "Zizhi Tongjian", and "Great Learning" at local seodangs.