Kimjongilia
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Kimjongilia is a flower named after the late North Korean leader Kim Jong Il. It is a hybrid cultivar of tuberous begonia, registered as Begonia × tuberhybrida 'Kimjongilhwa'.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> When Kim Jong Il died in December 2011, the flower was used to adorn his body for public display.<ref>"Succession in North Korea: Grief and fear", The Economist, December 31, 2011.</ref> Despite its name, the Kimjongilia is not the official national flower of North Korea,<ref name="Minahan2010">Template:Cite book</ref> which is the Magnolia sieboldii.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Another flower, Kimilsungia, is an orchid cultivar named after Kim Jong Il's father and predecessor, Kim Il Sung.<ref name="Minahan2010"/>
History
[edit]To commemorate Kim Jong Il's 46th birthday in 1988, Japanese botanist Kamo Mototeru cultivated a new perennial begonia named "kimjongilia" (literally, "flower of Kim Jong-il"), representing the Juche revolutionary cause of the Dear Leader.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> It was presented as a "token of friendship between Korea and Japan".<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The flower symbolizes wisdom, love, justice and peace. It is designed to bloom every year on Kim Jong Il's birthday, February 16.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Bloom
[edit]The flower has been cultivated to bloom around the Day of the Shining Star, Kim Jong Il's birthday, 16 February.<ref name="ency_Birt">Template:Cite book</ref> According to the Korean Central News Agency, a preservation agent had been developed that would allow the flower to keep in bloom for longer periods of time.<ref>"Agent for Preserving Kimjongilia Developed" Template:Webarchive, KCNA, October 21, 2008.</ref>
Song
[edit]A song composed by several North Korean composers, also called "Kimjongilia", was written about the flower:<ref>Lanʹkov, 2007, p. 22.</ref>