Chilgol () is a suburb of
Pyongyang
Pyongyang () is the Capital city, capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is sometimes labeled as the "Capital of the Revolution" (). Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. Accordi ...
in the
Mangyongdae District.
Chilgol is known as the place where
Kang Pan Sok, the mother 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 led as its first Supreme Leader (North Korean title), supreme leader from North Korea#Founding, its establishm ...
, North Korea's first
leader
Leadership, is defined as the ability of an individual, group, or organization to "", influence, or guide other individuals, teams, or organizations.
"Leadership" is a contested term. Specialist literature debates various viewpoints on the co ...
, was born in 1892 and spent her childhood.
The area features many buildings and fixtures related to Kim Il Sung's life. Kim attended Changdok School in Chilgol between 1923 and 1925. According to legend, Kang Pan Sok's father
Kang Ton-uk founded the school, although in reality it had been established by the missionary
Samuel A. Moffett. Kim Il Sung's desk, in the front of the classroom and left of the teacher, remains preserved there. There are statues for Kim Il Sung,
Kang Pan Sok, and Kang Ton-uk, and a marked spot where Kim Il Sung used to read among the trees outside. Also on the premises is
Chilgol Church, which Kang Pan Sok used to attend, sometimes with Kim Il Sung, and
Chilgol Museum of Revolutionary History. The museum houses Kang Pan Sok's possessions including kitchen utensils.
Kang Pan Sok Senior Middle School in Chilgol is named after her.
Although
Mangyongdae, also in Pyongyang, is traditionally considered the birthplace of Kim Il Sung, he wrote in his memoirs that he was in fact born in Chilgol where Kang Pan Sok had gone to give birth.
Chilgol is designated as a
Revolutionary Site, built up in July 1954.
The
Namchongang Trading Corporation is based in Chilgol.
nearby hosts a large strawberry farm.
See also
*
Chilgol Station
*
Samuel Austin Moffett
References
Works cited
*
*
*
{{coord missing, North Korea
Geography of Pyongyang
Historic sites in North Korea
Kim family (North Korea)