Mangyongdae Native House

Overview

Mangyongdae Native House is a humble straw-thatched cottage where President Kim Il Sung was born and spent his childhood. President Kim Il Sung was born here on April 15, 1912. Four generations of his family lived here. It’s located inside a serene park in Mangyongdae District, Pyongyang.

Why’s it important?

President Kim Il Sung was the founder of North Korea and led the country until he passed away in 1994. He is highly revered in North Korea for his efforts in liberating Korea from Japanese colonial rule and subsequently establishing the socialist state of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea). These events signal a rebirth of sorts for the Korean people, a fresh start as a self-reliant independent state, freed from the shackles of foreign influence.

Effectively, Mangyongdae Native House is purported as the cradle of North Korea’s revolution. Without Kim Il Sung, the North Korea of today wouldn’t exist.

There’s a prominent mural in the park depicting a young Kim Il Sung leaving his home in Mangyongdae to embark on his aspiration to liberate Korea, determined not to return home until he was successful.

Due to its importance, the Mangyongdae Native House forms a key role in North Korean propaganda and is an extremely familiar site to North Koreans. The visual depiction of the straw hut can be found on monuments, mosaics, flashed on newscasts, and is even printed on their currency.

What’s there?

Visitors to Mangyongdae Native House can enter and view from an inset courtyard the displays of preserved relics used by Kim Il Sung and his family members. Kim Il Sung’s family was poor, typical of hard-working farming households of that time, and domestic items such as a misshapen jar and worn-out hand mill are on display to highlight this hardship. Water jars, kitchenware, agricultural tools, straw mats, and a desk with inkstone are also displayed in their original states.

Portraits of his family members are visible on the walls, who are said to be patriots with generations of revolutionary fighting in their own right. Their activities in part gave Kim Il Sung the energy for his own ambitions to liberate Korea.

Beside the entrance to the home is a commemoration plaque to Kim Il Sung, and it’s customary for locals to lay flowers at the base.

As part of the wider Mangyongdae Native House site, there is a host of historical relics surrounding Kim Il Sung such as the ‘warship rock’, ‘wresting site’, and ‘rainbow-catching pine tree’. There’s also a water well where it’s become a tradition to drink a cuo on visits here.

The Mangyongdae Revolutionary Museum can be found nearby, recounting the historic activities of Kim Il Sung and his family members. Such revolutionary museums are regular additions to prominent historical sites in North Korea.

There is a small shop on-site selling ice cream and an assortment of souvenir items such as embroidery, including that of the native house itself.

Interesting Facts

  • President Kim Il Sung’s birthday is known in North Korea as the Day of the Sun and is widely regarded as the most important calendar date, celebrated annually with massive festivities
  • North Korea’s history pivots from Kim Il Sung’s birth, referred to as the Juche era. North Korea has it’s own calendar beginning from his birth year, referred to as Juche 1
  • Chairman Kim Jong Il, President Kim Il Sung’s son and successor was born on Mt. Paektu and his native home is preserved in a similar manner. His mother, Kim Jong Suk, Kim Il Sung’s first wife, was born in Hoeryong and her native home is also preserved
  • Revolutionary history is taught to children from a young age in classes at school. Schools often have scaled models of these native houses to learn about key events and accomplishments of North Korea’s leadership
  • The year 1925 when Kim Il Sung left Mangyongdae is emblazoned on the Arch of Triumph, one Pyongyang’s most iconic monuments built to symbolise Kim Il Sung’s triumph in liberating Korea from the Japanese in 1945
  • On the procession to the house, the ambient music playing is a song named ‘Nostalgia’ which was written by Kim Il Sung to express his fond memories of Mangyongdae after he’d left for Manchuria
  • As a cultural icon, Mangyongdae Native House has become a place of pilgrimage for North Koreans to recall the achievements of Kim Il Sung. You’ll often see schoolchildren on field trips or work unit groups lined up here
  • It’s common for foreign dignitaries on stays in Pyongyang to visit Mangyongdae Native House and to take a photo at the entrance. Such visits are regularly reported on in Korean state media

Visiting on Our Tours

Visiting Mangyongdae Native House is a regular inclusion on our itinerary in Pyongyang. It’s a sacred and historic place for the Korean people and vital to understanding the roots of their country and the admiration for President Kim Il Sung.

Visits take approximately 30 minutes and are led by a site guide who will provide explanations. There’s no dress code, but an effort to look presentable is well received. The atmosphere is that of visiting a memorial, and it’s vital to be respectful and keep your voice down. As you walk into the native home to see inside, it’s important not to step on the barriers or touch any part of the exhibit.

We can visit Mangyongdae Native House any day, but it can be extraordinarily busy on major holidays as locals visit in droves to show their respects. It’s a great spot to take a group photo with locals, who are often in colourful national dress for the visit occasion.

Our visits typically begin at the parking lot of the Mangyongdae Funfair with a stroll through the serene park.