About: Day of Songun

The Day of Songun is a public holiday in North Korea celebrated on 25 August annually to commemorate the beginning of Kim Jong Il's Songun leadership in 1960. In 2013, Kim Jong Un elevated the holiday to an official status on the North Korean calendar, on par with the Day of the Sun. Thus it became the holiday associated with Kim Jong Un, with his own birthday still missing from the official calendar. This has helped to further Kim Jong Un's charismatic rule. According to North Korea analyst Adam Cathcart, the purpose of the holiday is "to reinforce Kim Jong-un's legitimacy to rule, confirm the principle of very early succession and young leadership, and emphasize the preternatural military abilities of the sons in the Kim family." On the calendar, the 25 August holiday takes place after the Liberation Day and before the Day of the Foundation of the Republic.