The Aide Severely Criticized

Immediately after Korea’s liberation, Kim Il Sung’s bedroom and drawing-room were quite simply furnished, with only an iron-framed bed and a round table respectively.

His aide purchased a bed, desk and carpet from a furniture store at Sadong. Everybody was glad that the rooms had become brighter.

That evening when he returned home, Kim Il Sung showed his displeasure.

“Who brought them?” he asked in an angry tone of voice.

“I did,” stammered the aide.

Kim Il Sung scolded him there and then that he was so concerned about furnishing, and continued: You too know about the living conditions of the people. The country has been liberated, but the workers and peasants are still hard-pressed. If we lead a luxurious life from the beginning, we cannot continue the revolution. We never made revolution for the sake of our own luxury. At present, we must do our utmost to make the country rich and strong and the people well-off as soon as possible.

After a pause, he added firmly: “Whoever we might be, we must not live above the people’s living standards!”