Global InformationKim Il Sung information
Eternal President Kim Il Sung | |
|---|---|
김일성 | |
 Kim c. 1960s | |
| General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea | |
| In office 12 October 1966 – 8 July 1994 | |
| Secretary | See list
|
| Preceded by | Himself (as Chairman) |
| Succeeded by | Kim Jong Il |
| President of North Korea | |
| In office 28 December 1972 – 8 July 1994 | |
| Premier | See list
|
| Vice President | See list
|
| Preceded by | Office established[a] |
| Succeeded by | Office abolished[b][c] |
| Chairman of the Workers' Party of Korea | |
| In office 24 June 1949 – 12 October 1966 | |
| Vice Chairman | See list
|
| Preceded by | Kim Tu-bong |
| Succeeded by | Himself (as General Secretary) |
| Premier of North Korea | |
| In office 9 September 1948 – 28 December 1972 | |
| First Vice Premier | Kim Il |
| Vice Premier | See list
|
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | Kim Il |
| Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army | |
| In office 5 July 1950 – 24 December 1991 | |
| Preceded by | Choe Yong-gon |
| Succeeded by | Kim Jong Il |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Kim Song Ju 15 April 1912 Namni, Heian'nan-dō, Korea, Empire of Japan(present-day Mangyongdae, Pyongyang, North Korea) |
| Died | 8 July 1994 (aged 82) Hyangsan Residence, Hyangsan County, North Pyongan Province, North Korea |
| Resting place | Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, Pyongyang |
| Nationality | North Korean |
| Political party | Workers' Party of Korea |
| Other political affiliations |
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| Spouses |
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| Children | 7, including Kim Jong Il, Kim Man-il, Kim Kyong-hui and Kim Pyong Il[2] |
| Parents |
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| Relatives | Kim family |
| Signature |  |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |
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| Branch/service |
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| Years of service |
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| Rank |
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| Unit | 88th Separate Rifle Brigade, Red Army |
| Commands | All (Supreme Commander) |
| Battles/wars |
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| Korean name | |
| Chosŏn'gŭl | 김일성 |
| Hancha | 金日成[3] |
| Revised Romanization | Gim Il(-)seong |
| McCune–Reischauer | Kim Ilsŏng |
| Birth name | |
| Chosŏn'gŭl | 김성주 |
| Hancha | 金成柱[3] |
| Revised Romanization | Gim Seong(-)ju |
| McCune–Reischauer | Kim Sŏngju |
Central institution membership
Other offices held
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Kim Il Sung[d][e] (/kɪm ɪlˈsʌŋ, -ˈsʊŋ/;[4] Korean: 김일성, Korean pronunciation: [kimils͈ʌŋ]; born Kim Sung Ju;[f][5] 15 April 1912 – 8 July 1994) was a North Korean politician and the founder of North Korea, which he led as Supreme Leader from the country's establishment in 1948 until his death in 1994. Afterwards, he was declared eternal president.
He held the posts of the Premier from 1948 to 1972 and President from 1972 to 1994. He was the leader of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) from 1949 to 1994 (titled as chairman from 1949 to 1966 and as general secretary after 1966). Coming to power after the end of Japanese rule over Korea in 1945 following Japan's surrender in World War II, he authorized the invasion of South Korea in 1950, triggering an intervention in defense of South Korea by the United Nations led by the United States. Following the military stalemate in the Korean War, a ceasefire was signed in July 1953. He was the third-longest serving non-royal head of state/government in the 20th century, in office for more than 45 years.
Under his leadership, North Korea was established as a totalitarian socialist personalist dictatorship with a centrally planned economy. It had very close political and economic relations with the Soviet Union. By the 1960s, North Korea had a slightly higher standard of living than the South, which was suffering from political chaos and economic crises. The situation was reversed in the 1970s, as a newly stable South Korea became an economic powerhouse which was fueled by Japanese and American investment, military aid and internal economic development, while North Korea stagnated and then declined during the same period.[6] Differences emerged between North Korea and the Soviet Union; chief among them was Kim Il Sung's philosophy of Juche, which focused on Korean nationalism and self-reliance. Despite this, the country received funds, subsidies and aid from the USSR and the Eastern Bloc until the dissolution of the USSR in 1991.
The resulting loss of economic aid negatively affected North Korea's economy, contributing to widespread famine in 1994. During this period, North Korea also remained critical of the United States defense force's presence in the region, which it considered imperialist, having seized the American ship USS Pueblo in 1968. This was part of an infiltration and subversion campaign to reunify the peninsula under North Korea's rule. Kim outlived his allies, Joseph Stalin and Mao Zedong, by over four and almost two decades, respectively, and remained in power during the terms of office of six South Korean Presidents and ten United States Presidents. Known as the Great Leader (Suryong), he established a far-reaching personality cult which dominates domestic politics in North Korea. At the 6th WPK Congress in 1980, his oldest son Kim Jong Il was elected to be a Presidium member and chosen to be his successor, thus establishing the Kim dynasty.
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).
- ^ Koh, Byung-joon (17 February 2021). "N.K. state media use 'president' as new English title for leader Kim". Yonhap News Agency. Archived from the original on 25 May 2021. Retrieved 17 February 2021.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Lee 2023was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ a b 김, 성욱 (23 October 2010). 김일성(金日成). 한국역대인물 종합정보 시스템 (in Korean). Academy of Korean Studies. Retrieved 7 November 2022.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Kim Il Sung". American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (Fifth ed.). n.d. Archived from the original on 29 January 2017. Retrieved 6 March 2017.
- ^ "Encyclopaedia Britannica Kim il-sung". encyclopaedia Britannica.com. Encyclopaedia Britannica Holding S.A.,Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. 3 January 2022. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
- ^ Kim, Duol (November 2021). "The great divergence on the Korean peninsula (1910–2020)". Australian Economic History Review. 61 (3): 318–341. doi:10.1111/aehr.12225. ISSN 0004-8992.