Jong-il Peak () is one of the peaks of Mount Sobaek, south-east of

Paektu Mountain Paektu Mountain (), also known as Baekdu Mountain and in China as Changbai Mountain ( zh, s=长白山, t=長白山; Manchu: Golmin Šanggiyan Alin), is an active stratovolcano on the Chinese–North Korean border. At , it is the highest moun ...

. The height is 5,899 ft (1,798 m). It is located near the shore of Sobaek Stream, in Samjiyon County,

Ryanggang Province Ryanggang Province (Ryanggangdo; ko, 량강도, ''Ryanggang-do'', ) is a province in North Korea. The province is bordered by China (Jilin) on the north, North Hamgyong on the east, South Hamgyong on the south, and Chagang on the west. Ryangga ...

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...

. The main rocks of the peak are

trachyte Trachyte () is an extrusive igneous rock composed mostly of alkali feldspar. It is usually light-colored and aphanitic (fine-grained), with minor amounts of mafic minerals, and is formed by the rapid cooling of lava enriched with silica and al ...

rhyolite Rhyolite ( ) is the most silica-rich of volcanic rocks. It is generally glassy or fine-grained (aphanitic) in texture, but may be porphyritic, containing larger mineral crystals (phenocrysts) in an otherwise fine-grained groundmass. The mineral ...

and

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...

. The southern slope is a cliff about 328 ft (100 m) height, at the foot of the rock of 30–35° slope is a thick layer of scree, which is connected with the alluvial soil of the valley of Sobaek Stream. The flat northern slope is connected with Saja Peak. The Eastern slope is steeper than the western. At the Chŏng-il Peak, which is surrounded by dense forest, over 300 species of plants grow, including 16 species of trees and 40 species of shrubs. There are

Manchurian Fir ''Abies holophylla'', also called needle fir or Manchurian fir, is a species of fir native to mountainous regions of northern Korea, southern Ussuriland, and China in the provinces of Heilongjiang, Jilin, and Liaoning. It is an evergreen conif ...

Jezo Spruce ''Picea jezoensis'' (sometimes misspelled ''Picea yezoensis''), the dark-bark spruce, Ezo spruce, Yezo spruce, or Jezo spruce, is a large evergreen tree growing to 30–50 m tall and with a trunk diameter of up to 2 m. It is native to northeast ...

and Olgan Larch growing around the peak, and well as

Royal Azalea ''Rhododendron schlippenbachii'', the royal azalea, is a species of '' Rhododendron'' native to the Korean Peninsula and adjacent regions of Manchuria ( Liaoning, Nei Mongol), Japan, and the Russian Far East. It is the dominant understory shrub ...

Rhododendron mucronulatum ''Rhododendron mucronulatum'', the Korean rhododendron or Korean rosebay (; RR: Jindalrae), is a rhododendron species native to Korea, Mongolia, Russia, and parts of northern China. It is a deciduous shrub that grows to in height, with elliptic ...

and Japanese Rowan on the southern slope. Initially, the peak was named Changsu. In 1930–1940, there was the of anti-Japanese guerrillas under with the rate of the . According to the official North Korean historiography,

Kim Jong-il Kim Jong-il (; ; ; born Yuri Irsenovich Kim;, 16 February 1941 – 17 December 2011) was a North Korean politician who was the second supreme leader of North Korea from 1994 to 2011. He led North Korea from the 1994 death of his father Kim ...

was born there. In 1988, the peak was renamed in his honor. A " Revolutionary Historic Site" was arranged at the territory of the former camp. Three granite plates with the name of peak, carved in red letters, were constructed on the southern rock. In 1992, for the Kim Jong-il's 50th anniversary, a memorial plate with congratulatory ode "To the Shining Star" by

Kim Il-sung Kim Il-sung (; , ; born Kim Song-ju, ; 15 April 1912 – 8 July 1994) was a North Korean politician and the founder of North Korea, which he ruled from the country's establishment in 1948 until his death in 1994. He held the posts of ...

was placed near the camp. It is one of the most important sites of Paektu. Since 1988, 200,000 North Koreans have visited the peak each year "to chant the oath of loyalty to Kim Jong-il". There are lot of literary works in North Korea carolling Jong-il Peak. O Yŏng-jae has writing about the peak in 6th chapter of "Sons of the people" (1991). "Oh, Jong-il Peak" by Chŏn Byŏng-gu (1989) and "Thunder over Jong-il Peak" by An Jong-ho were dedicated to the peak. The

Pochonbo Electronic Ensemble The Pochonbo Electronic Ensemble is an orchestra from North Korea. It is famous for its performances of revolutionary and folk songs. They have been reported to be one of the country's most popular groups.

also released the song "Snowstorm on Jong-il Peak" in 1998.

References

External links

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정일봉(正日峰)
in cybernk.net Mountains of North Korea {{NorthKorea-geo-stub