North Korean State Affairs Commission Chairman Kim Jong Un took a commemorative photo with participants of the 4th Battalion Commander and Battalion Political Instructor Conference on November 21 last year, according to a report by the Korean Central News Agency on the 22nd of the same month. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

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North Korean State Affairs Commission Chairman Kim Jong-un marks his forty-first birthday. Although it has not yet been made an official holiday like his predecessors, he is accelerating efforts to establish his own independent cult of personality, drawing attention.

According to the Ministry of Unification on the 8th, this day is known as Chairman Kim's birthday. Although North Korean authorities have not officially announced his birthday, it was indirectly confirmed through North Korean media reports during American basketball player Dennis Rodman's 2014 visit to North Korea, which mentioned, "We came to Choson to celebrate the Marshal's birthday."

Yonhap News

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In North Korea, the birthdays of President Kim Il-sung (April 15, Day of the Sun) and National Defense Commission Chairman Kim Jong-il (February 16, Day of the Shining Star) are celebrated as major national holidays. The Day of the Sun is regarded as the nation's greatest holiday. However, according to sources, even in the 2025 North Korean calendar published this year, Kim Jong-un's birthday is not specifically marked.

Although it has not been made official, Chairman Kim has been openly working to "erase traces of his predecessors" since last year, raising the profile of his birthday. It has become an indicator to gauge the level of his independent cult of personality. For example, since taking power, he had visited the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, where the bodies of his predecessors are enshrined, every New Year's Day, but he has not done so since last year. According to the Ministry of Unification, the "Oath of Loyalty" ceremony, which used to be held every New Year's Day with residents gathered, was also reportedly moved to coincide with Chairman Kim's birthday last year.

Yonhap News

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In particular, they have started to remove references to the 'Juche Calendar', which counts from 1912, the birth year of President Kim Il-sung. Analysts say this is characteristic of the Kim Jong-un era, which has aimed to present North Korea as a "normal country." Since October last year, the Juche Calendar has been removed from Rodong Sinmun, which is read by the public, and the notation has also been deleted from newly issued stamps and postcards.

In addition, North Korea has started to distribute badges featuring only Chairman Kim Jong-un's portrait, replacing the dual badges of Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il. At the Central Party Cadre School, Chairman Kim's portrait has been placed alongside those of his predecessors. Although he took power at a young age, he has now risen to the same level as his predecessors.

Yonhap News

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Some speculate that the reason Chairman Kim's birthday is not announced to the public is due to a complex regarding his birth mother, Ko Yong-hui. Not only was she not officially married to Kim Jong-il, but her background as a repatriated Korean-Japanese is considered fatal to the "Baekdu bloodline" mythology, which symbolizes the anti-Japanese struggle.

An official from the Ministry of Unification analyzed, "In the early days of his rule, Chairman Kim Jong-un often appeared to rely on his predecessors, but since then, he has continuously carried out a series of actions to independently strengthen his status." Regarding the officialization of his birthday, the official said, "There have been no detected trends related to making his birthday an official holiday since he took power."