The Dictator Files: Kim Il-sung (Hard)

On April 15th, 1912, Kim was born with this name. He would later give himself the name Il-sung in 1935

Born the same day the Titanic sunk, Kim's birthday would be revered in North Korea, with it being the one of the most widely celebrated holidays. It would be referred to with this name, in reference to Kim's name Il-sung

Despite championing atheism throughout his rule of North Korea, he was raised by a family that was influenced by this religion

As Korea was under Japanese occupation since 1910, Kim participated in small anti-Japanese guerrilla groups in this region of China, which bordered Korea

As the Korean Communist Party's influence was relatively weak, Kim joined this Communist group instead. He was a member of this group until 1946

In 1937, Kim reportedly headed a successful guerrilla attack along the Korean border against Japanese forces. This battle is often praised in North Korean propaganda, with the name even being used for a popular musical group within the country

By the early 1940's Kim was driven out of China by Japanese forces, causing him to take refuge in this Communist superpower. While there, he would get the connections necessary for him to assume power in North Korea after World War II

In 1948, the state of North Korea was established with this official name

In 1949, this North Korean Communist group merged with its South Korean counterpart to form this group, which would be the ruling Party of North Korea

On June 25th, 1950, Kim ordered the invasion of South Korea under Syngman Rhee. Within a short amount of time, the Korean People's Army advanced to this defense line within South Korea

However, a United Nations force led by the United States managed to push back the Korean People's Army back near the border of China. This led Mao Zedong to order an attack force known as the People's Volunteer Army led by this Chinese general to intervene to save Kim

In 1953, Kim purged this man, who was one of the main leaders of the Domestic Faction that consisted of members of Communist groups in South Korea, blaming him for the war's outcome. He would later be executed in 1955 under accusations of espionage

This movement, named after a mythical winged horse was launched in the mid to late 50's in order to boost economic development in North Korea. The movement resulted in an increase in production, but the resulting products were of poor quality

In 1956, Kim faced this major power struggle when members of the Soviet and Yan'an factions of North Korean leadership attempted to oust Kim from all positions. However, the coup failed and many members of the two factions were purged, further strengthening Kim's power

In 1958, this man, who was one of the main leaders of the Yan'an faction that had strong ties with China was purged from all government positions due to his supposed involvement with the attempted coup

Throughout the 1960's as the relationship between China and the Soviet Union deteriorated, resulting in this event, Kim attempted to play both sides by staying neutral in order to receive aid from both countries. However, relations with China began to worsen after Kim was denounced during the Cultural Revolution

Around 1967, members of Kim's loyalist Guerrilla faction attempted to undermine Kim by attacking his cult of personality, pushing for greater economic reform and installing Pak Kum-chol, the ringleader of the attack as Kim's successor. The coup failed, making it the last true challenge to Kim's rule

In the later 1960's Kim intensified his attempts to reunify the Korean peninsula by force. This led to an increase of border skirmishes around this area on the peninsula, along with attempted amphibious landings along the South Korean coastline such as the Uljin-Samcheok Landings

In 1968, inspired by the North Vietnamese attempt to reunify their country, Kim sent a team of 31 commandos to launch an attack on the South Korean presidential residence in order to assassinate this president and destabilize the South. The attack failed

In 1968, the North Korean navy seized this American spy ship. After negotiating with the Americans, the crew of the ship was released, however the ship still resides as a tourist attraction in Pyongyang

On August 18th, 1976, two United Nations Command officers were killed by North Korean soldiers after attempting to cut down a tree along the border. In retaliation the American and South Korean force launched Operation Paul Bunyan as a show of force, succeeding in cutting down the tree

In the late 1970's abductions of foreign nationals to North Korea increased. Other than South Korea, this country was targeted frequently by the North.

From the 1960's until the early 1970's this man, the brother of Kim was seen to be his successor. However, in 1974, he was demoted to Vice Premier and pushed aside. Unlike Kim, he managed to live to the age of 101, dying in 2021

Instead, Kim began grooming this man, who was his son to become his successor. He was referred to in the North Korean media as the "Party Center" until he was formally declared in 1980 as Kim's successor

To help legitimize his successor within the military, Kim relied on the support of this man, who held influential positions with the army as well as being one of the few people alive who served under Kim in Manchuria

In 1983, an attempt to assassinate South Korean president Chun Doo-hwan was made in this Burmese city by detonating a bomb within the revered Martyrs mausoleum. The attempt failed, leading to the complete termination of diplomatic relations between the two countries

This title, was used to refer to Kim as the great or supreme leader of North Korea. After Kim's death, it was also used to refer to his son

In 1955, this political idea was referenced by Kim. With the help of Hwang Jang-yop, who eventually became the highest level North Korean defector, this concept was further developed in the 1970's to represent North Korea's beliefs of self-reliance and loyalty to the leader

Within North Korea, this caste system was created, putting people into three categories, the Core Class, the Wavering Class, and the Hostile Class where class status was determined by familial background as well as a family's supposed loyalty to the state

Under Kim, these rehabilitation colonies were formed within North Korea. They served as force labor camps for political prisoners as well as those deemed as hostile to the regime

Due to North Korea's increasing isolation from the world along with natural disasters and the country's inability to adopt economic reforms led to this type of disaster by the time of Kim's death, continuing until around 1998

From 1993 until his death a year later, Kim started this crisis as it was becoming more apparent that North Korea was getting closer to developing nuclear weapons. Although the crisis ended with an agreement negotiated with former president Jimmy Carter, North Korea conducted a nuclear weapons test in 2006

On July 8th, 1994, Kim died of a heart attack. Like Lenin and Mao, he would be embalmed, being placed in this structure in Pyongyang. It would be the largest mausoleum of any former Communist leader, with it later containing the embalmed remains of his son after his death in 2011