Happy Days of President Kim Il Sung

Kim Il Sung (1912-1994), eternal leader of the Korean people, found his pleasure in dedicating his all to the people.

Hereunder are some anecdotes about his pleasure.

Walking Through a Marsh on His Birthday

It was April 15, 1954, when Kim Il Sung visited an agricultural cooperative on the outskirts of Pyongyang.

Sitting on the edge of a field still wet with morning dew, he talked unceremoniously with the farmers to acquaint himself in detail with the situation of the cooperative and farming. While talking with them, he was told that there was a spring nearby and started for there.

An official tried to dissuade him from going, saying that the spring was located in a marsh. Kim Il Sung said that he had walked far more rugged paths when he was fighting against the Japanese imperialists to liberate the country, and stepped into the path toward the marsh without hesitation.

Officials told him imploringly again to go there later after a road was built. However, he took the lead in walking through the marsh, making his way through knee-deep muddy path. It took a fairly good time to reach the spring.

After looking around the marshy land around the spring, he said that it would be a good idea to build fish ponds there to raise fish using water from the spring and supply them to the people. Saying thus, he wore a broad smile. 

He spent the whole day making the rounds of several units and villages of the cooperative and returned to his lodgings late in the evening. He told the officials: Today I spent my birthday with great pleasure. To have a rest does not mean eating and relaxing. It is precisely a good rest for me to feel pleased and comfortable with the state affairs going well. Nowadays smooth progresses of the agricultural cooperativization and the state affairs make me happy.

That day was the first birthday he greeted after the Korean war (1950-1953).

Song of Joy

It was one winter day when the pollack-catching season was at its height in the East Sea of Korea.

Kim Il Sung called an official of the Cabinet by phone to discuss the fuel supply for the fishing vessels. He told the official to pay close attention to making scrupulous arrangements for transporting in good time the fish caught, as well as to catching them in large numbers, so as to provide the people in such mountainous regions as Jagang and Ryanggang provinces with fresh fish. He then asked the official to frequently report him on pollack catching. He went on to say that pollacks would be caught in large amounts from that time to the winter solstice, and added in merry tone that pollacks of those days were ones with roe.

Suddenly he asked the official in a happy voice, “‘When the ship starts sailing, it is unloaded’ and what is it after that?”

For a moment the official was perplexed.

“Why, there is such a phrase in Song of the Sea.”

Then the official understood what he meant and answered him, “Well, it is as follows: ‘When it sails back, it is full of fish.’”

“Yes, you are right. The ship is full of fish.” He laughed a hearty laugh, saying that he was very delighted that day.

Then he continued to sing the song merrily, picturing himself his people with a feast of fish in front of them.

When the ship starts sailing, it was unloaded.

But when it sails back, it is full of fish.

…

I Was Never Happier as Today

One April day in 1977, Kim Il Sung visited a secondary school in a local province to see the students in new school uniform provided by the state.

He looked closely at the students attired in fine clothes one after another, removing bits of thread from their new clothes and seeing whether the sweaters fitted properly, and was very much satisfied, saying the colourful patterns of sweaters were beautiful and good-looking. He stopped in front of a girl student to ask her if her shoes were just her fit and then bent himself to feel the toe of her shoes.

He went on seeing the smart-looking students in uniform, sometimes chatting with them, and paused for a moment to say they looked more gentlemanlike than him, laughing a hearty laugh.

Saying that he would like to take photographs of the students and keep their copies, he personally took the camera. He photographed every one of the students who were overwhelmed by unexpected honour and joy.

It took much time, and the accompanying officials and teachers repeatedly dissuaded him from taking photographs. But he continued to shoot, saying, “Never was I as happier as today in the 60 years of my life! It is the first time, indeed, that I had the happiest day.”

He continuously pressed the shutter release, wearing a broad smile on his face.

That day he left the school after posing for a photo with all the students of the school.