diff --git a/jupyter_console/ptshell.py b/jupyter_console/ptshell.py
index e5a62471..03165fa9 100644
--- a/jupyter_console/ptshell.py
+++ b/jupyter_console/ptshell.py
@@ -486,7 +486,7 @@ def interact(self, display_banner=None):
                     self.run_cell(code, store_history=True)
 
     def mainloop(self):
-        self.keepkernel = False
+        self.keepkernel = not self.own_kernel
         # An extra layer of protection in case someone mashing Ctrl-C breaks
         # out of our internal code.
         while True: