Kang Pan-sok’s birthday is observed in North Korea every April 21. This day commemorates the birth of Kang Pan-sok, the mother of Kim Il-sung, the founder of North Korea, and the grandmother of Kim Jong-il, as well as the great-grandmother of the current leader, Kim Jong-un. Born in 1892, Kang Pan-sok was involved in the anti-Japanese national liberation movement alongside her husband, Kim Hyong-jik. In North Korea, she is honored as the “Great Mother of Korea” and is recognized for her early cult of personality that developed in the 1960s. Although it is a working day, special ceremonies are held to honor her memory, including a wreath-laying ceremony at the Chilgol Revolutionary Site in Pyongyang. Kang Pan-sok’s birthday is an official memorial day in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.