Kim Jong Il's birthday (which falls on February 16), known as the 'Day of the Shining Star,' is the biggest holiday in North Korea and also the most celebrated. It was reported that on this day, the citizens of North Korea receive free soju and processed oil.
According to the testimonies of North Korean defectors in 'The Unfinished Story: North Korea's Everyday Culture as Told by Refugees,' published by the National Folk Museum of Korea, North Koreans not only get free soju and processed oil on Kim Jong Il's birthday but they also get a two-day long holiday.
On Kim Jong Il's birthday, which was designated as 'The People's Greatest Holiday' since 1992, North Koreans visit Kim Jong Il's bronze statue to pay their respects and watch a movie on the history of Kim Jong Il.
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The gifts of soju and oil are exceptionally rare and hard to come by for the regular citizens so they all look forward to Kim Jong Il's birthday.
It was also revealed that near Kim Jong Il's birthday, North Korea enforces a 'period of extra security' for ten consecutive days starting on February 13 in order to strictly monitor the citizens. Any travel is controlled, and if a crime is committed during this sacred celebration, the perpetrators will be more cruelly punished than usual.
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