In North Korea, the 15th of August is celebrated as Liberation Day, officially ‘Day of the Liberation of the Fatherland’ (조국 해방의 날).
It is one of the country’s most important public holidays, and is celebrated both in North Korea, and in the south of the peninsula. The holiday marks the end of Japanese rule of Korea which accompanied Tokyo’s surrender in August 1945 at the end of the Second World War.
History
The Korean Empire was a short-lived administration succeeding the Choson dynasty in Korea at the turn of the 20th century.
In the first decade of the new century, however traitorous factions in the government supported numerous treaties tying the government in Seoul closer to their neighbour, Japan. This culminated with the 1910 annexation treaty which formalised Korea as a colony of the Japanese empire.
What followed was 35 years of subjugation, cultural genocide, and oppression of the Korean people under the yolk of the Japanese military administration. Koreans were forced to change their names, the Korean language was supressed, and thousands of women were kidnapped and shipped to Japan to serve as, so-called ‘Comfort Women’ to Japanese soldiers.
Throughout the occupation, various factions resisted the occupation of the peninsula by Japan – notably, the Korean People’s Revolutionary Armed Forces, a branch of the broader Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army, which took to conducting a guerrilla warfare campaign against the Japanese in the mountainous regions of northern Korea and across the border in occupied Manchuria.
On the 9th of August 1945, the Soviet Union formally declared war on Japan and began a forceful campaign against the occupation in east Asia.
Eventually, the Japanese relented and signed the document of surrender on the 15th of August. At the time, Red Army units were continuing their operations in northern Korea, now working to disarm the various units of the Japanese military across the country – they were redeployed from the northern provinces to Pyongyang around the 20th of August, cementing the end of imperialist rule in northern Korea.
Liberation Day Today
North Korea has a series of important public holidays marking many landmark events, from notable birthdays such as Day of the Sun and Day of the Shining Star marking the birthdays of the President Kim Il Sung and the General Kim Jong Il respectively, to military anniversaries such as Victory Day in 1953 and Military Foundation Day in 1948.
Liberation Day is a public holiday in the DPRK, often marked with mass dances, fireworks, and military parades on important jubilee years.
Banners and signs adorn the streets of towns and cities across the country, many using the shorthand ‘8.15’ to refer to the important date.
Locals will often take the opportunity to spend time with friends and family, catching up in many of the country’s public spaces – during public holidays in Pyongyang it’s common to see large groups gather in some of the city’s largest parks, such as Moranbong or Taesongsan, for picnics, singings, dancing, and of course, drinking!
The parties often coagulate into one huge celebration running on late into the night – a chance for locals to celebrate their free time with friends and family whilst also commemorating the end of imperialist Japanese rule in Korea.
As noted before, Liberation Day is the only modern public holiday celebrated in both Koreas since liberation occurred simultaneously across the entire peninsula in 1945.
Visiting for Liberation Day
National holidays are always a fantastic time to visit North Korea – along with the typical highlights of a visit to the country, spending time in Pyongyang over a public holiday brings with it a wealth of new opportunities and experiences.
You’ll have the chance to join locals in the mass dance (provided you can learn some simple choreography on the spot!) and interact personally with locals spending their holiday in the city’s many green spaces.
Walking around the cities of the DPRK during Liberation Day, you won’t be under any illusion that the country is celebrating. The streets are decorated with the national flag, red flags, banners, posters, and signage commemorating ‘8.15’.
Any itinerary over this major holiday will no doubt include visits to some relevant sites, such as the Liberation Tower in Pyongyang, built to commemorate the Red Army’s role in liberating the country, the Revolutionary Martyr’s Cemetery, resting place of many anti-Japanese fighters, and the Arch of Triumph, commemorating the journey of the President Kim Il Sung from his departure from his hometown of Mangyongdae in 1925 to his triumphant return to Pyongyang in 1945.
