An idealised portrait of Kim Jong-il EVEN 16 years after escaping from North Korea, I still remember that Kim Jong-il’s birthday is on 16 February. I expect that every North Korean remembers the Kim family’s birthdays from the brainwashing that we experienced from birth. Kim Jong-il’s birthday is a national holiday in North Korea, and people are expected to celebrate, for example, by taking flowers to the statues of the Kims. There will be special national concerts, propaganda documentaries, and films about his work shown on TV. Up to the age of 11 or 12, children receive a 1kg sweet package from the government on this day. They are told that they must open it only after thanking the Kim family’s portraits, which are hung on the walls of every house, school, office, and factory.