Kim Il Sung

American

[kim il soong, suhng] / ˈkɪm ˈɪl ˈsʊŋ, ˈsʌŋ /

noun

1912–94, North Korean political leader: premier 1948–72; president 1972–94.

Kim Il-sung British

/ kim iːlsʌŋ /

noun

1912–94, North Korean statesman and marshal; prime minister (1948–72) and president (1972–94) of North Korea

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Just as Kim Jong Un has dressed to echo his predecessors, the sartorial symmetry underscores his daughter’s connection to the “Mount Paektu bloodline”—those with a direct lineage to North Korean founder Kim Il Sung.

From The Wall Street Journal

Khamenei's last known foreign trip was an official visit to North Korea in 1989 as president, where he met Kim Il Sung.

From Barron's

Kim delivered a speech from a lectern overlooking Pyongyang’s Kim Il Sung Square, with his young daughter, Kim Ju Ae, whom South Korea’s spy agency believes is a potential successor, in attendance.

From The Wall Street Journal

Kim Il Sung, the current leader’s grandfather, founded North Korea in 1950.

From The Wall Street Journal

Current leader Kim Jong Un is the third in line to rule in the world's only communist monarchy, following father Kim Jong Il and grandfather Kim Il Sung.

From Barron's

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023