On the 111th Birth Anniversary of President Kim Il Sung: DPRK

-Kim Il Sung’s Career Seen through Figures

The following figures can help to understand what kind of person Kim Il Sung (1912-1994), founding father of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, was.

Walking One Thousand-ri at the Age of 11

 In March 1923 when Kim Il Sung was studying at a primary school in Badaogou in Northeast China, his father told him to go back to his native home at Mangyongdae in Korea, saying: A man born in Korea must have a good knowledge of Korea; if you get to understand clearly while you are in Korea why it has been ruined, that will be a great achievement; share the fate of the people in your home town and experience how miserable they are; then you will see what you should do.

 Kim Il Sung set out on the journey. He had to travel 1 000 ri (approximately 250 miles–Tr.) all alone. To make matters worse, for more than half the journey he would have to walk over steep, craggy mountains which were virtually uninhabited; even in full daylight beasts of prey prowled about there. At that time he was merely 11 years old.

 Two years later, while studying in Korea, he made a determination never to return home before he won back the country from the Japanese imperialists. Then he crossed the Amnok River again and started his revolutionary activities.   

 On October 17, 1926, while attending Hwasong Uisuk School that was set up to train political and military cadres for the Independence Army, he formed the Down-with-Imperialism Union (DIU), the first revolutionary organization of Korea, with young communists of the new generation. The immediate task of the DIU was to defeat Japanese imperialism and achieve the liberation and independence of Korea, and its final objective was to build socialism and communism in Korea and, further, destroy all imperialism and build communism throughout the world.

Defeating Two Imperialist Forces in One Generation

 On April 25, 1932, Kim Il Sung founded the Korean People’s Revolutionary Army, the first revolutionary armed force of the Korean people, in Antu, Northeast China. Since then the Korean people called him General Kim Il Sung.

 He led an arduous armed struggle against Japan, without the backing of a state and support of a regular army, and liberated Korea on August 15, 1945.

 On June 25, 1950, as part of its strategy for world supremacy, the United States ignited a war in Korea to occupy the whole of the Korean peninsula, and hurled into the war over two-million-strong forces including one-third of its ground force, one-fifth of its air force, most of its Pacific Fleet, some of its Mediterranean Fleet, as well as the troops of its 15 vassal states, south Korean army and even the remnants of the former Japanese army.

 Although the DPRK was barely two years old, he led his people and army to win the war.

 Francisco da Costa Gomes, former Portuguese president and chief of staff of the Portuguese forces in Macau during the Korean war, once said: The operations plans of the United States were brought to completion through several rounds of discussion by scores of generals including chiefs of staff and military experts of the Western countries which took the side of the United States. But General Kim Il Sung foiled them virtually single-handedly. While witnessing this with my own eyes, I came to realize that he was the greatest military strategist and commander the world had ever seen.   

Leading Two Stages of Social Revolution to Victory

 Having clarified that the liberated new Korea should follow the road to democracy of the Korean style, not that of the Soviet or US style, Kim Il Sung inspired all the Korean people to carry out an anti-imperialist, anti-feudal democratic revolution.

 Under his leadership, the Agrarian Reform Law, the Law on the Nationalization of Major Industries, the Law on Sex Equality and other democratic laws were enforced in succession in keeping with the surging passion of the people for the building of a new, democratic Korea, putting forward workers, peasants and women, who had been subjected to maltreatment of the Japanese imperialists and traitors to the nation in the past, as masters of the country and society. This led to the liquidation of the remnant forces of Japanese imperialism and feudal landownership once and for all and establishment of the most advantageous people’s democratic system for the first time in history.   

 When everything had been reduced to ashes by the US imperialists during the Korean war, he, with the conviction that the socialist revolution alone could guarantee the independent development of his country, pushed forward with the cooperativization of the rural economy and the remoulding of private handicraftsmen and entrepreneurs along socialist lines. 1958 saw the establishment of socialist system in the DPRK.

 Then the Korean people vigorously waged the Chollima movement at his proposal, turning their country into a powerful socialist industrial state in a matter of 14 years. 

Surprising Figures

 During his lifetime Kim Il Sung made public more than 10 800 works dealing with the political, economic, military, cultural and all other realms of social life. Many publishing houses in about 100 countries published his works in scores of languages.

 He met as many as 70 000 foreigners including 400 state, government and party leaders of 136 countries, or about 1 400 a year and nearly four a day on average.

In recognition of his exploits for the cause of global independence, 78 countries and 13 international organizations conferred 77 orders, 154 medals and 142 honorary titles upon him in his lifetime and after his death. He was awarded the title of honorary citizen by about 30 foreign cities and towns, and titles of honorary professor and doctor by about 20 renowned universities of foreign countries. The statues of him were erected in China and Mongolia, and about 480 streets, organs and institutes in 100-odd countries were named after him.

He was presented more than 71 000 gifts from heads of party, state and government of about 170 countries, party and social figures and international organizations.

-Kim Il Sung and Sukarno

 Rachmawati Sukarnoputri, a daughter of Indonesian President Sukarno, wrote in her memoirs: My father Sukarno respected President Kim Il Sung of the DPRK; if you want to know about my father, please know first about President Kim Il Sung, his best friend; this is my answer and my “discovery.”

 While searching for a path for his country to take after it won its independence from colonialists, Sukarno came to hear about Kim Il Sung (1912-1994). Having created the Juche idea, the guiding ideology of the era of independence, and defeated two formidable imperialist forces, Kim Il Sung established the first socialist state in the East and was building his country with small territory and population into a fully independent and sovereign state free from any political and economic subjugation to others.

 The first GANEPO (sports games of developing countries) held in Indonesia in November 1963 at the proposal of Sukarno marked an occasion in which he and Kim Il Sung forged their friendship and their countries deepened their mutual friendly relations. Deeply aware of the position and importance of the games in cementing friendship and unity among the people in Asian, African and Latin American countries and in their common struggle against imperialism, Kim Il Sung paid close attention to their preparations and sent a kind message to Sukarno in the run-up to their start.  

 Sukarno visited the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea in November 1964. President Kim Il Sung personally came to the airport to welcome him.

 At the talks that followed he clarified the way ahead of the anti-imperialist, anti-colonial and non-aligned movement and called upon his guest to join efforts for the strengthening of the anti-imperialist independent force.

 Witnessing, during his stay in the DPRK, the development and economic successes it had achieved in the spirit of self-reliance under the leadership of Kim Il Sung, he was deeply impressed and realized that his country, too, should move towards building a self-supporting economy.

 Attracted by Kim Il Sung who treated him as an old friend, he asked him to visit his country.

 Kim Il Sung accepted his sincere request. His visit was slated to be made on the occasion of the celebrations of the tenth anniversary of the Bandung Conference.

 Unfortunately, however, Kim Il Sung contracted an illness prior to his departure for Indonesia and a complicated situation was created in southeast Asia. Officials tried to dissuade him from the visit. But he set out on the journey to Indonesia, saying that it would be inappropriate if he postponed his visit to Indonesia when President Sukarno had invited him and visited him first, so eager to meet him.

 The Indonesian President accorded Kim Il Sung unprecedentedly sincere hospitality during his visit to his country in April 1965.

 He personally handled all security work for his guest and arranged grand welcoming ceremonies to honour him. He even invited him to a session of the Provisional People’s Consultative Assembly of Indonesia to which none of heads of foreign states had been invited. And he ensured that the Order of the Republic of Indonesia 1^st Class was conferred upon Kim Il Sung. When he took his guest to Bogor botanical garden boasting its history spanning more than a hundred years, Sukarno showed him a rare orchid bred by the garden through hard work of scores of years and told him that he would like to name the flower Kimilsungia. 

 In October 1965 Indonesia was plunged into a political upheaval. Sukarno was shorn of all power and remanded in custody. Even his former friends shunned him. But President Kim Il Sung remained faithful to his friendship with and obligation to him.

 In August 1968 he arranged for the DPRK ambassador in Indonesia to visit him and console him. And in 1970 when Sukarno was spending his remaining days in hospital, his condition having turned for the worse, Kim Il Sung sent the DPRK ambassador to visit and comfort him.

 Recollecting his meetings and friendship with Kim Il Sung, Sukarno said that President Kim Il Sung was the greatest and most outstanding man filled with warm humanity and that the world had never witnessed such a great man as him.

-Paektu, Sacred Mountain of Korea

Paektu, the ancestral mountain of the Korean nation and sacred mountain of the Korean revolution, is 2 750 m above sea level, and its name originated from the snow covering its summit all year round.

The scenery of the highest mountain in Korea, counted first among the six celebrated mountains in Korea, is spectacular as it consists of a series of peaks surrounding Lake Chon on its summit. The natural environment of the mountain developed from a number of volcano eruptions is very unique. The winter scenery is particularly wonderful.