Kimjongilia was bred by 20-odd year-long painstaking efforts of a Japanese horticulturist. He gave the flower the august name of Chairman Kim Jong Il.

It was officially registered as a new species of begonia by the International Society for Horticultural Science in August Juche 93 (2004).

And special prizes, gold medals, Grand Prix and gold prizes were awarded to it at world horticultural expositions and shows like the 12th International Flower Exhibition in 1991, the Nordic Flower Exhibition in 1995, the 2006 World Floricultural Show in Shenyang of China, the 2011 International Horticultural Exposition in Xi'an of China and the 2014 Qingdao World Horticultural Expo.