Day of the Sun

Day of the Sun
Korean name
Chosŏn'gŭl 태양절
Hancha 太陽節[1]
Revised Romanization Taeyangjeol[2]
McCune–Reischauer T'aeyang-jŏl[3]

A flower exhibition of Kimilsungias on the Day of the Sun at the Kimilsungia-Kimjongilia Exhibition House
Also called Sun's Day[4]
Observed by  North Korea
Significance Birth of Kim Il-sung (1912)
Observances Visits to statues of Kim Il-sung and his mausoleum, fireworks, performances, sports competitions, folk dances.
Date 15 April
Next time 15 April 2017 (2017-04-15)
Frequency annual
First time After being designated on 8 July 1997
Related to Day of the Shining Star (16 February), Loyalty Festival (between 16 February and 15 April), Sun Festival (throughout April), April Spring Friendship Art Festival

The Day of the Sun (Korean: 태양절) is an annual public holiday in North Korea on 15 April, the birth anniversary of Kim Il-sung, founder and president of North Korea.[5] It is the most important national holiday of the country.[6]

Kim Il-sung's birthday, which had been an official holiday since 1968, was renamed Day of the Sun in 1997, three years after his death. The name takes its significance from the name of the leader. Il-sung is Korean for "become the Sun".

North Koreans commemorate the holiday by visiting locations that have a connection with the life of the leader, such as thousands of statues scattered across the country, or Mangyongdae, his birthplace in the capital Pyongyang. The most important observances take place in the capital, including visits to Kumsusan Palace of the Sun where Kim Il-sung's body lies in rest, and Mansu Hill Grand Monument, which features a very high statue of the leader.

The state seeks to provide its citizens with more food and electricity than is normally available, but success is not always guaranteed. Children, in particular, receive candy and other gifts attributed to love shown by the leaders.

Festivities are not confined to the date. Commemorations occur since 16 February, which is the birthday of Kim Jong-il, during what is known as the Loyalty Festival. Celebrations in April around the Day of the Sun are called the Sun Festival. The day itself is followed by two days of rest, making it a three-day holiday.

Background

Kim Il-sung was born on 15 April 1912 in the village of Mangyongdae, which is now a suburb of North Korea's capital Pyongyang.[7] He has been long identified with the Sun[8] and is frequently called "Sun of the nation".[9] He adopted his name Il-sung (Chosŏn'gŭl: 일성; MR: Il-sŏng), meaning "become the Sun"[10] before the early 1930s as one of his noms de guerre.[11]

History

Kim Il-sung's birthday has been designated as a holiday in North Korea since 1968, and in 1974 it was promoted the most important holiday of the country.[9] It was designated as "The Day of the Sun" on 8 July 1997, the third anniversary of the death of Kim Il-sung,[8] in a resolution by the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, the Central Military Commission, the National Defence Commission,[12] the Central People's Committee and the Administration Council of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.[13] On the same occasion, North Korea adopted the Juche calendar which begins on the year of Kim Il-sung's birth. The purpose of the Day of the Sun was to celebrate "the greatest festival for the Korean nation," and to initiate a holiday which would be of equal importance to North Koreans as Christmas is in many other places.[8]

Every fifth and tenth anniversary is marked with more pronounced celebrations than usual.[9] 2012 marked the centenary of the birth of Kim Il-sung. On the Day of the Sun that year, current leader Kim Jong-un gave his first public speech.[14] Massive military parades are held on the Day of the Sun and the country's most advanced weapons are displayed.[15] In 2012 North Korea conducted a failed missile test[14] and the new KN-08 missile was introduced in a parade.[9]

Celebration

Crowds of people are gathered in a stadium with fireworks.
Arirang Festival mass-games are often held on the Day of the Sun.
Women dressed in traditional outfits dance with men on the street.
Women dress in Chosŏn-ot (hanbok) for dancing folk dances on the Day of the Sun.

Preparations take more than a month. Through April there are exhibitions, fireworks, song and dance events, athletics competitions, Juche idea seminars and visits to places connected with Kim Il-sung's life,[3] including his birthplace in Mangyongdae.[4] Some of these events take several days. Foreign art groups and dignitaries are invited to visit North Korea during this time around the day itself known as Sun Festival.[3] The annual Kimilsungia festival[16] and the April Spring Friendship Art Festival (held since 1982)[17] are also held at around the time of the Day of the Sun. The latter typically features foreign performers from some 20 countries whose televised performances are an anticipated and well-liked rare glimpse of foreign culture for North Koreans.[18] It also includes the Pyongyang Marathon.[19]

As early as midnight on the morning of Day of the Sun,[6][20] people lay commemorative wreaths and floral baskets at thousands of statues of Kim Il-sung around the country.[5][16] The demand for flowers is huge. The market — mostly operating informally — is estimated to worth 600,000–1,200,000 dollars just for the Day of the Sun. Artificial flowers are favored for their low cost.[21] In the evening, youth dress in hanbok to participate in folk dances.[16][20]

The main observances take place in Pyongyang. Flowers are laid in front of Kim Il-sung's statue on Mansu Hill.[5] People pay respects at the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun where his body lies in state.[5] In particular, leader Kim Jong-un has paid his respects at the palace every year.[22] Pyongyang also often hosts the Arirang Festival mass-games to coincide with the celebration of the Day of the Sun.[5] There has been an evening fireworks display in Pyongyang since 2009 and its design has been attributed to Kim Jong-un.[23]

The state serves special foods such as meat and liquor[16] as well as necessities to the people on the Day of the Sun to signal that all well-being is thanks to the care of the leader.[3] The state tries to maintain stable supply of electricity for the day to allow people to watch television, while theaters show special movies.[16] The food situation varies.[2] According to North Korean defector Kim Hyun-hwa: "The Sun Festival is one of the few occasions during which everyone can eat to their heart's content. Even those who go hungry on a regular basis usually manage to obtain three meals on this day. This is because North Korea marks it as the biggest holiday for the Korean people."[20] However, in 2015 the state reportedly failed to distribute rations and did not deliver middle-school uniforms that schoolchildren were expecting to receive.[12]

Children under the age of 12 receive bags of one kilogram (2.2 lb) of candy and cookies at ceremonies at school. Upon receiving this gift, they have to bow in front of portraits of Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il in the classroom and say: "Thank you, the Great Leader Grandfather! And, thank you Father!" Schoolchildren also prepare performances well in advance. On the 11th through 12th their teachers choose the best ones for the Day of the Sun.[24] The Day of the Sun is one of the few occasions on which the Korean Children's Union admits new members.[14]

Government and business offices, banks, and retail close for the Day of the Sun.[25] The Day of the Sun is followed by two days of rest, making it a three-day holiday.[6] The day following the Day of the Sun typically features political meetings in which the Ten Principles of the ideological system are sworn allegiance for.[16]

Loyalty Festival

A similar holiday exists for 16 February, the birthday of former leader Kim Jong-il, known as Day of the Shining Star[2] (Kwangmyŏngsŏng-jŏl).[3] The two-month period between the Day of the Shining Star and the Day of the Sun is known as the Loyalty Festival Period and festivities occur throughout.[4]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 극(克) (in Korean). 보스톤코리아 [Boston Korea]. 12 April 2010. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 Lee Sang Yong (17 February 2015). "Special Holiday Snacks 'Hard As Rocks'". DailyNK. Translated by Jiyeon Lee. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Jae-Cheon Lim (24 March 2015). Leader Symbols and Personality Cult in North Korea: The Leader State. Taylor & Francis. p. 38. ISBN 978-1-317-56740-0. Retrieved 3 May 2015 – via Google Books.
  4. 1 2 3 Donald L. Baker (2008). Korean Spirituality. University of Hawaii Press. p. 149. ISBN 978-0-8248-3233-9. Retrieved 3 May 2015 – via Google Books.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Birthday of Kim Il-sung. Holidays, Festivals, and Celebrations of the World Dictionary (Fourth ed.). Omnigraphics. 2010. Retrieved 3 May 2015 – via TheFreeDictionary.com.
  6. 1 2 3 Calum MacLeod (26 April 2013). "Korean defectors recall 'Day of the Sun'". USA TODAY. Contributing: Jueyoung Song, Duck Hwa Hong. Retrieved 6 April 2015.
  7. ↑ Corfield, Justin (2014). "Kim Il Sung". Historical Dictionary of Pyongyang. Anthem Press. p. 79. ISBN 978-1-78308-341-1.
  8. 1 2 3 Hy-Sang Lee (2001). North Korea: A Strange Socialist Fortress. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 220. ISBN 978-0-275-96917-2. Retrieved 3 May 2015 – via Google Books.
  9. 1 2 3 4 "N. Korea Celebrates 'Day of the Sun'". KBS World Radio. 16 April 2015. Retrieved 3 May 2015.
  10. ↑ Martin, Bradley K. (1 April 2007). Under the Loving Care of the Fatherly Leader: North Korea and the Kim Dynasty. St. Martin's Press. p. 48. ISBN 978-1-4299-0699-9. Retrieved 14 May 2015 – via Google Books.
  11. ↑ Jae-Cheon Lim (24 March 2015). Leader Symbols and Personality Cult in North Korea: The Leader State. Taylor & Francis. p. 88. ISBN 978-1-317-56740-0. Retrieved 3 May 2015 – via Google Books.
  12. 1 2 Lee Sang Yong (15 April 2015). "Day of the Sun Passes Much Like Any Other Day". Daily NK. Translated by Jonathan Corrado. Retrieved 3 May 2015.
  13. ↑ "Resolution on exalting President Kim Il Sung's life and feats forever". web.archive.org. KCNA. 9 July 1997. Archived from the original on 12 October 2014. Retrieved 11 September 2015.
  14. 1 2 3 Christopher Richardson (13 June 2013). ""Be Prepared!" Reflections On The North Korean Children's Union". Sino-NK. Retrieved 3 May 2015.
  15. ↑ Rothwell, James (15 April 2016). "As North Korea celebrates birthday of founding leader Kim Il-Sung, escape is harder than ever". The Telegraph. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
  16. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Ralph C. Hassig; Kong Dan Oh (2009). The Hidden People of North Korea: Everyday Life in the Hermit Kingdom. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 298. ISBN 978-0-7425-6718-4. Retrieved 3 May 2015 – via Google Books.
  17. ↑ Choi Cheol Hee (27 March 2008). "North Korea Changes Its Annual Spring Festival to a Biennial Event". DailyNK. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
  18. ↑ Choi Song Min (16 April 2013). "Spring Art Festival Off the Schedule". DailyNK. Retrieved 3 May 2015.
  19. ↑ Justin Rohrlich (12 April 2014). "What to expect at the Pyongyang Marathon". NK News. Retrieved 3 May 2015.
  20. 1 2 3 "N. Korea observes sanctified state holiday". NEW FOCUS International. 16 April 2014. Retrieved 3 May 2015.
  21. ↑ "Private flower producers profit on Kim Il Sung's birthday". DailyNK. Translated by Jonathan Corrado. 25 April 2016. Retrieved 25 April 2016.
  22. ↑ "Kim Jong-un pays tribute to grandfather on birth anniversary". Business Standard. IANS. 15 April 2016. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
  23. ↑ "North Korea Newsletter 358 (April 16, 2015)". Yonhap News Agency. 16 April 2015. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
  24. ↑ Yoo Gwan Hee (15 April 2009). "Kim Il Sung's Birthday Is Still Biggest Holiday". DailyNK. Retrieved 6 May 2015.
  25. ↑ North Korea Society and Culture Complete Report. Petaluma, CA, USA: World Trade Press. 2010. p. 4. ISBN 978-1-60780-406-2. Retrieved 3 May 2015 – via ProQuest ebrary.
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