Chilgol is a suburb of Pyongyang in the Mangyongdae District.[1] [2]
Chilgol is known as the place where Kang Pan-sok, the mother of Kim Il Sung, North Korea's first leader, 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,[3] 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.[4] The Namchongang Trading Corporation is based in Chilgol.[5] Oryu Valley nearby hosts a large strawberry farm.