Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 24. Chapters: Syngman Rhee, Kim Il-sung, Park Chung-hee, Kim Gu, Yuh Woon-Hyung, Yun Chi-ho, Kim Kyu-sik, Pak Hon-yong, Yun Bo-seon, Heo Jeong, Alexandra Kim, Yun Chi-Young, Kim Seong-su, New Il-han, O Chin-u, Lee Beom-seok, Chang Hyo-hui, Lim Heon-yong, Yun Chi-Oh, Yeom Dong-jin, Jang Jun-ha, Ham TaeYoung. Excerpt: Kim Il-sung (15 April 1912 - 8 July 1994) was a Korean communist politician who led the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (better known as North Korea) from its founding in 1948 until his death in 1994. He held the posts of Prime Minister from 1948 to 1972 and President from 1972 to his death. He was also the Chairman and General Secretary of the Workers Party of Korea. During his tenure as leader of North Korea, he ruled the nation with autocratic power and established an all-pervasive cult of personality. From the mid-1960s, he promoted his self-developed Juche variant of communist national organisation. Along with South Korean leader Park Chung-hee, Kim Il-sung was named one of the top 100 Asians of the Century by Time magazine (1999), . Lately (2009) in the Library of Congress Country Study on North Korea, he is described as "one of the most intriguing figures of the twentieth century". He outlived Joseph Stalin by four decades, Mao Zedong by two, and remained in power during the terms of office of six South Korean presidents, nine U.S. presidents, and twenty-one Japanese prime ministers. Following his death in 1994, he was succeeded by his son Kim Jong-il. North Korea officially refers to Kim Il-sung as the "Great Leader" (Suryong in Korean ¿¿) and he is designated in the constitution as the country's "Eternal President". His birthday is a public holiday in North Korea. Many of the early records of his life come from his own personal accounts and official North Korean government publications, which often conflict with independent sources. Nevertheless, there is some consensus on at least the basic story of his early life, corroborated by witnesses from the period. Kim was born to Kim Hyong-jik and Kang Pan-sok, who gave him the name Kim Song-ju, and had two younger brothers, Ch'ol-chu and Yong-ju. The ancestral seat (pon'gwan) of Kim's family is Chonju, North Cholla Province, and, if the legend of the Chonju Kim is true, his family is the descendants of King