Kimjongilia is a flower named after North Korea

North Korea

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...

n leader Kim Jong-il

Kim Jong-il

Kim Jong-il, also written as Kim Jong Il, birth name Yuri Irsenovich Kim born 16 February 1941 or 16 February 1942 , is the Supreme Leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea...

. It is a hybrid cultivar

Cultivar

A cultivar'Cultivar has two meanings as explained under Formal definition. When used in reference to a taxon, the word does not apply to an individual plant but to all those plants sharing the unique characteristics that define the cultivar. is a plant or group of plants selected for desirable...

 of tuberous begonia

Begonia × tuberhybrida

Tuberous begonias are a group of Begonia cultivars, regarded as some of the most spectacular of the genus....

.

Contrary to popular belief, the Kimjongilia is not a national flower of North Korea. The national flower of the country is the magnolia

Magnolia

Magnolia is a large genus of about 210 flowering plant species in the subfamily Magnolioideae of the family Magnoliaceae. It is named after French botanist Pierre Magnol....

.

To commemorate Kim Jong-il's 46th birthday in 1988, Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

ese botanist

Botany

Botany, plant science, or plant biology is a branch of biology that involves the scientific study of plant life. Traditionally, botany also included the study of fungi, algae and viruses...

 Kamo Mototeru

Kamo Mototeru

is a Japanese horticulturist, creator of the variety of begonia Kimjongilia dedicated to North Korean leader Kim Jong-il.He is known for creating and maintaining a number of bird and flower theme parks in Japan, including the following....

 cultivated a new perennial begonia named "kimjongilia" (literally, "flower of Kim Jong-il"), representing the Juche

Juche

Juche or Chuch'e is a Korean word usually translated as "self-reliance." In the Democratic People's Republic of Korea , "Juche" refers specifically to a political thesis of Kim Il-sung, the Juche Idea, that identifies the Korean masses as the masters of the country's development...

 revolutionary cause of the Dear Leader. It was presented as a "token of friendship between Korea and Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

". The flower symbolizes wisdom, love, justice and peace. It is designed to bloom every year on Kim Jong-il's February 16 birthday.

Kimjongilia has spread widely throughout North Korea from the Korean Central Botanical Garden, and subsequently to over sixty nations, including the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 and Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

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On October 21, 2008, the Korean Central News Agency

Korean Central News Agency

The Korean Central News Agency is the state news agency of North Korea and has existed since December 5, 1946. KCNA is headquartered in the capital city of Pyongyang...

 announced a preservation agent had been developed that would allow the flower to keep in bloom for longer periods of time.

Another species of flower, Kimilsungia

Kimilsungia

Kimilsungia is a hybrid cultivar of orchid, Dendrobium 'Kim Il-sung'. Another flower, the Kimjongilia, is named after Kim Il-sung's son, Kim Jong-il. Contrary to popular belief, neither the Kimilsungia or the Kimjongilia are a national flower of North Korea...

, is named after Kim Jong-il's father and predecessor, Kim Il-sung

Kim Il-sung

Kim Il-sung was a Korean communist politician who led the Democratic People's Republic of Korea from its founding in 1948 until his death in 1994. He held the posts of Prime Minister from 1948 to 1972 and President from 1972 to his death...

.

Song

A song composed by several North Korean composers, also called Kimjongilia, was written about the flower:

The red flowers that are blossoming over our land

Are like hearts: full of love for the leader

Our hearts follow the young buds of Kimjongilia

Oh! The flower of our loyalty!

Further reading

• David Woodard, "Beautiful Kimjongilia", Der Freund 3, Axel Springer AG, 2005
• Pang Hwan Ju, Kimjongilia, Foreign Languages Publishing House, softcover, 100 pages