BIORAPHY
CHAPTER 3. THE ARDUOUS POSTWAR YEARS
4.
PIONEERING A MARCH TO REVOLUTIONARY
BATTLESITES
IN THE MT. PAEKTU AREA
The Mt. Paektu area harbours a
concentration of relics of the vigorous military-political activities that Kim
Il Sung waged from there at the head of the main unit of the Korean People's
Revolutionary Army, during the darkest period of Japanese colonial rule. Until
the mid-1950s, educational institutions in Korea would organize visits to
scenic spots and ancient monuments, or take students on mountaineering and
camping trips on a whole host of occasions, but they showed little concern
about visits to revolutionary sites and battle sites.
In late May 1956, Kim Jong Il
initiated a march to revolutionary battle sites in the Mt. Paektu area. He told
Kim Il Sung about his intention to organize a team of student marchers to
travel to the revolutionary battle sites in Ryanggang Province on the occasion
of the anniversary of the victorious
Pochonbo battle.
Kim Il Sung readily supported him,
saying: You would do well to go to the revolutionary battle sites along the
route of the anti-Japanese guerrillas, across mountains and through forests. In
those difficult days, they marched into the homeland, attacking Pochonbo and
fighting a battle in the Musan area. When you get there, you must learn how
they fought with faith in final victory.
Kim Jong Il answered that he would
heed his advice. Kim I1 Sung continued: As the Korean saying goes, being the
first to open the door at dawn brings five blessings. It is not so difficult to
be the first to open the door of a house. But it is no easy task to open the
door of the country before anyone else, for the sake of the country and the
people, the Party and revolution, and venture out on an untrodden path.
That is a most honourable and
worthwhile undertaking. The first ever march to revolutionary battle sites is
such a venture, according to me. Set out on that untrodden path with firm
resolve and you will make it through. Greatly inspired, Kim Jong Il started
organizing the march with the firm resolve to hold aloft the banner of the
revolutionary tradition.
After forming the group of student
marchers, he discussed with them the programme of activities at meetings of the
Korean Children's Union, and helped them make the necessary preparations.
Prior to their departure, he emphasized the
purpose of the march, namely, to study the Party's revolutionary traditions
established by Kim I1 Sung. On June 5, 1956, the group from Pyongyang Middle
School No.1 led by Kim Jong Il set out, under a red flag, on a historic tour of
revolutionary battle sites, the first of its kind in Korea. This venture of
teenagers created a great stir among the people.
On arriving at Hyesan, Kim Jong Il
proposed starting with a visit to the grave of Ma Tong Hui, an anti-Japanese
revolutionary fighter, saying: The high mountains and deep valleys of the
Paektu Range are home to the heroic souls of a large number of fallen
anti-Japanese revolutionaries.
Ma Tong Hui was an indomitable
fighter who had ensured Kim Il Sung's personal safety: He had cut off his
tongue with his teeth in prison for fear that he might reveal the whereabouts
of Headquarters in a delirium after being subjected to heavy torture.
After observing a moment's silence
in memory of the martyr, Kim Jong Il said: He laid down his young, 26-year-old
life for the country and the people. During our current venture, we must
assiduously study the revolutionary traditions and take the cue from the
infinite loyalty of the anti-Japanese revolutionary forebears to Kim Il Sung.
The group reached the revolutionary
battle site of Pochonbo on June 8. They laid floral bouquets before the bronze
statue of Kim Il Sung and bowed before it, recalling how he had instilled in
the people confidence in national liberation and inspired them in the
anti-Japanese war 19 years ago.
They visited the poplar under which
he had commanded the battle, and the sites of the destroyed Japanese police
substation, fire station, sub-county office, post office and forest station.
Then they posed for a photograph under a zelkova, a mute eye-witness to all the
events of history.
On June 9, they left Pochonbo and
travelled to the banks of Lake Samji along a narrow, dense and overgrown path
through the forest- a near wilderness littered with fallen trees and covered
with piles of dead leaves.
They drank water from the lake by
scooping it up with their hands and drank in the scenic beauty of the clusters
of pink azaleas. Kim Jong Il, surveying the thick forests around and the calm,
crystal-clear water, said: The lake is so beautiful, just like a picture.
It seems like it is the very source
of Korea's clear waters and crisp air. He strolled along the lakeside as he
continued:
"My
mother used to tell me that at the foot of Mt. Paektu I would find a
convergence of three ponds called Lake Samji, a very beautiful spot. She often
talked about the break they took here after marching into the homeland under
the General's command to attack the Japanese imperialists. She said she had
drunk the clear water of the lake and that its sweet taste was unforgettable. I
have always felt an irresistible urge to come here, and now my wish has come
true."
He cast his glance over to Mt.
Paektu, lost in tender memories. "Mt.
Paektu is my native place," he resumed, his eyes riveted on the
mountain. It was here that the leader lit the torch of the revolution, he said,
it will remain standing for ever as a towering eye-witness to the history of
the Korean revolution.
A while later the students left the
precincts of the lake and started marching down the "Kapsan-Musan Guard
Road", after Kim Jong I1 had dissuaded them from boarding a bus and
appealed to them to march on foot, just as the anti-Japanese guerrillas had
done. They walked with spirited strides, knapsacks on their backs, singing the Guerrilla
March.
Kim Il Sung had marched along this
very road in broad daylight despite a tight Japanese cordon; now, as he took
the same route, Kim Jong Il again marveled at his father's matchless courage,
brilliant tactics and faith in ultimate victory.
That night the young marchers slept
in the village of the Samjiyon Forest Station. The following day, on June 10,
they had to set out on more than 24-km hike through steep and rugged mountains
to Rimyongsu through Phothae-ri.
Before leaving, Kim Jong Il checked
every one of the students' backpacks. "Comrades,
do you feel up to making it through the 24-km journey?" he asked.
"Yes," they answered in
unison.
He said encouragingly:
"Once
you have determination, nothing is impossible. A man receives training in body
and mind by climbing mountains and enduring hardships from childhood."
Once the column started moving, Kim
Jong Il marched at its head, leading the others. When he saw one of them
lagging behind, he took over his backpack and encouraged him, saying: We are
visiting revolutionary battle sites instead of such scenic spots as the Kumgang
and Myohyang mountains, in order to follow the example of the anti-Japanese
guerrillas.
We even declined a bus drive and are
now marching along on foot. If we are not able to endure even this trifling
hardship, how can we ever hope to become true sons and daughters of the
fatherly Marshal?
He also paid close attention to
modelling the group's lifestyle on that of the anti-Japanese guerrillas. When
they were taking a break, he got them to set down their backpacks in perfect
order, saying: Now that we are at the sites of revolutionary battles, we must
take an orderly break, just like the guerrillas. At lunchtime on the banks of the
Phothae Stream, he folded up his sleeves and volunteered to cook, saying: I
once lived among the guerrillas. Sol must act as a quartermaster.
Finally, the group reached
Rimyongsu, having marched their way through forests of Abies nephrolepis, Picea
koraiensis, white birches and ash trees.
Kim Jong Il stayed in a humble
log-cabin of the village along with the other students, and had dinner with
them in the dining-hall of the workers' dormitory.
He saw that the owner of the house
was embarrassed at his inability to offer him better lodging, and consoled him,
saying: I was born and grew up in a log-cabin like this. So I feel at home
here. I'm really glad to see a log-cabin again.
Late into the night, he and the
others lay wide awake, enjoying the sound of the rushing Rimyongsu Waterfall.
He said: I was just thinking the guerrillas, too, would have heard this sound
on their march to Pochonbo. As you know, our country is now going through
trying times. In view of the nation's hardships, we must be determined to fight
to the finish to complete the Korean revolution, imbibing the staunch faith the
guerrillas showed in advancing along the path of revolution under the leader's
command.
When the marchers had finally
concluded their itinerary, he addressed them thus:
"We
have now finished our journey to revolutionary battle sites like Pochonbo and
Lake Samji, having marched along the paths taken by the guerrillas. We have, in
the process, keenly felt the glory and greatness of our Party's revolutionary
traditions established by the leader during the anti-Japanese armed struggle.
We have also come to realize that all Koreans should visit the revolutionary battle
sites in Ryanggang Province. This will give them better knowledge than any
university of politics can."
The students vowed to cherish and
develop the Party's revolutionary traditions achieved by Kim Il Sung and to
train themselves to be dependable heirs to the revolutionary cause of Juche.
On his return to Pyongyang on June
14, Kim Jong Il talked to Kim I1 Sung in detail about the journey they had
undertaken. He said: The revolutionary battle sites, which are permeated with
the spirit of our revolutionary forebears, have not been maintained as they
should be. Many of them have been neglected and even those under maintenance
are not properly managed or used for education in the revolutionary traditions.
