Kimjongilia

It is reported that last year the International Horticultural Association officially registered Kimjongilia as new variety No. 991. This is a happy event for the international horticultural circles and the pride of the floricultural circles of the world.

It is widely known that Kimjongilia is a red begonia. It is a rare and precious double flower which is the most beautiful of all flowers of Begoniaceae.

This flower which blooms successively in turn for over 120 days has stalks which grow upright with a length of 30 to 70 cm. Each Kimjongilia plant has male and female flowers. Male flowers are far larger and more brilliant than female ones. The flower's diameter is 25 cm at most.

Kimjongilia has been bred by the Japanese botanist Kamo Mototeru. He succeeded in breeding a new variety of red begonia through 26 years of tireless study and hard work. .He decided to name the flower after a great man adored by everybody. He read and studied deeply the biographies of great men of world fame. In this course he was completely fascinated by the great personality of leader Kim Jong Il.

He resolved to name the flower after Kim Jong Il, and sent him the Kimjongilia with a congratulatory letter on the occasion of February 16, 1988 (his birthday).

As soon as it came into the world, Kimjongilia created a great sensation in the world. Many foreign papers like the Singaporean paper "Straits Times,” the Congolese paper "Muweti" and the Norwegian paper "Aften Fosten" featured the flower under the captions "A Charming Flower,” "The Most Beautiful Flower in the World" and "A Red Flower Bred Anew in Admiration of leader Kim Jong Il.”

Kimjongilia was admired and extolled as the "queen of flowers" and "famous number one flower of the world" at the flower shows held in many countries.

Kimjongilia was awarded a special prize and a gold medal at the 12^th International Flower Show held in Bratislava, former Czechoslovakia, and the "Grand Prize"--the highest prize--and a diploma at the 99^th World Horticultural Exhibition held in Kunming, China. It was awarded the First Prize and the First Prize Ribbon at the begonia show which took place in San Diego, California, the US, in August last year.

People's interest in Kimjongilia and their ardent desire to cultivate it grow day after day throughout the world.

It is said that the illustrious figures of the political and academic circles and the press of many countries send north Korea letters expressing their desire to cultivate Kimjongilia in their countries, too. Many organizations, including the Japan Society for Love of Kimjongilia, the Kimjongilia Association of Mongolia, the Nordic Kimjongilia Association and the American Kimilsungia and Kimjongilia Association, have been formed. And even modern Kimjongilia hothouses have been built in Japan, China, Mongolia, Ethiopia, Madagascar and Sweden.

The world is interested in Kimjongilia and everybody is charmed by it not merely because of its unusual beauty but also because the progressive people of the World respect and adore leader Kim Jong Il who is lauded as "the illustrious No. 1 man of the world".