The "Song of General Kim Jong-il" () is a marching song from
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 ...
. It was composed by Sol Myong-sun(설명순,1936-2012) and the words were written by Sin Un-ho(신운호,1941-March 24,2020) in 1997.
The song praises the "
Eternal General Secretary
The Eternal leaders of North Korea, officially the Eternal leaders of ''Juche'' Korea, refers to the practice of granting posthumous titles to deceased leaders of North Korea. The official title was established by a line in the preamble to the ...
",
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 ...
(who ruled from 1994 until 2011) as a part of
his cult of personality. During the presidency of
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 ...
, Kim Jong-il helped to run
his father's own personality cult. Although the "Song of General Kim Jong-il" is not as widely popular as the "Song of General Kim Il-sung" (nor was his cult as large as his father's), it is also played regularly in North Korea.
The song is played by the
North Korean state television at the start of broadcasts each day. It was also played after the telecast of
Kim Jong-il's memorial service on 29 December 2011.
Pyongyang FM Broadcasting
Pyongyang (, , ) is the capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is known as the "Capital of the Revolution". Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. According to the 2008 population ...
also plays a chime version of the first two lines of the song as its interval signal at the start of broadcasts.
According to North Korean sources, their satellite
Kwangmyŏngsŏng-2
Kwangmyŏngsŏng-2 ( ko, 광명성 2호, meaning Bright Star-2 or Lode Star-2) was a satellite launched by North Korea on April 5, 2009.
Prior to the launch, concern was raised by other nations, particularly the United States, South Korea and ...
, supposedly launched in a test on 5 April 2009, is broadcasting this song amongst other data.
An English version has been recorded by Ritta Dimek.
See also
*"
Song of General Kim Il-sung
The "Song of General Kim Il-sung" ( Korean: 김일성장군의 노래) is a North Korean marching song composed by Kim Won-gyun in 1946. As a part of an ongoing cult of personality, the song praising Kim Il-sung, North Korea's "Eternal Presiden ...
"
*
Music of North Korea
The music of North Korea includes a wide array of folk, pop, light instrumental, political, and classical performers. Beyond patriotic and political music, popular groups like Pochonbo Electronic Ensemble and Moranbong Band perform songs about eve ...
*
Propaganda in North Korea
Propaganda is widely used and produced by the government of North Korea (DPRK). Most propaganda is based on the ''Juche'' ideology and on the promotion of the Workers' Party of Korea.
The first syllable of ''Juche'', "ju", means the man; the ...
References
External links
*
"The Song of General Kim Jong-il" (mp3)at
Naenara
Naenara () is the official web portal of the North Korean government. It was the first website in North Korea, and was created in 1996. The portal's categories include politics, tourism, music, foreign trade, arts, press, information technology, ...
Lyrics in Englishat Naenara
Lyrics in Koreanat Naenara
North Korean songs
Propaganda songs
Propaganda in North Korea
Songs about Kim Jong-il
North Korean military marches
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