Kim Il Sung: Biography [1]

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Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2023 with funding from Kahle/Austin Foundation

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KIM

IL SUNG BIOGRAPHY

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From Birth to Triumphant Return to Homeland 4

BAIK BONG

DAR

AL-TALIA

Beirut, Lebanon 1973

Premier KIM IL SUNG, the great Leader of the 40 Million Korean people

PREFACE

The Korean people, who had undergone agonizing sufferings both in and out of the country over many years, had long eagerly looked forward to an outstanding leader who would deliver their unfortunate fatherland and people. When the fatherland was reduced to a colony of Japanese imperialism and when the destiny of the people was exposed to the most serious threat; at this time in particular, this was the most urgent national desire of the Korean people. It was no other than General Kim I] Sung, the great Leader of the 40 million Korean people, peerless patriot, national hero, ever-victorious, iron-willed brilliant commander and one of the

outstanding leaders of the international communist movement and working-class movement, that in the dark days of national suffering when even the midday sun and the full moon had lost their luster, arose, with the destiny of the entire nation on his shoulders. The appearance of General Kim Il Sung, the General who raised aloft the beacon fire of fatherland restoration on the sacred ancestral Mt. Baikdoo and brought the dawn of liberation to the 3,000-7z land of our fathers, was the happiest moment of the Korean people. Born into a poor peasant family, the General made up his mind to devote himself to the cause of the fatherland and people at the early age of 14, and after embarking on the road of struggle, raised high the banner of heroic anti-Japanese armed struggle at the age of 20, leading the people to rise in struggle i

for national salvation. Since then, the Korean people have been calling him General Kim I] Sung with boundless emotion, and looked up to him as the saviour of the fatherland and the Leader of the nation. Indeed, all people of this generation, young and old, drawing courage and strength, fostered hope and rose in the struggle against the aggressors through dark days, calling on the name of General Kim I] Sung. Thus, since the 1930’s, the Korean people have found in General Kim II] Sung their great Leader and have had their historic aspiration to have the Leader fulfilled by him. The people of our country have unrestricted love and respect for the General, praising him as a legendary hero, born of the spirit of the sacred Mt. Baikdoo, who is capable of commanding heavens and earth, an unrivalled brilliant commander who, as

it were, can shrink a long range of steep mountains at a stroke and smash the swarming hordes of enemies with one blow, and as the outstanding Leader of the nation who has led the nation to the struggle for national salvation. The great feats of General Kim Il Sung, who crossed and recrossed the steep mountains and alps of Baikdoo for over 15 years, smashing the Japanese imperialist aggressors and terrifying them, until finally he saved the fatherland, shine brightly in the history of our nation. The history of General Kim II Sung’s revolutionary activities over 40 years from the days when he took his first step in the struggle until this day, is a history of his ardent love for and

devoted

service to the Korean

people,

a history of bloody

struggle with the enemies of the nation. It is also a history of severe and stern revolution and new creation and a history of shining victories. The history of our people covers 5,000 years, but it has had no leader equalling General Kim II] Sung either in scientific revolutionary theory or in distinguished leadership, no leader 2

with loftier virtues than those of General Kim Il Sung. Nor can we find in the annals of our past a leader who saved the people in a life-and-death crisis as the General did, who marched steadily untrodden paths with a burning revolutionary sweep, as the General did, a leader who led the fatherland and the people to the one road of prosperity and victory with conviction as the General did. Therefore, all the Korean people look up with great pride to General Kim II Sung as the sun of the nation and as the great Leader of the people, and the peoples of the world deeply respect Premier Kim I] Sung as one of the outstanding leaders of the world revolutionary movement because of his great contribution to the international communist and working-class movements. It is because we Korean people have such a great Leader that our compatriots in South Korea, who are undergoing all sorts of terrible sufferings under the colonial rule of the U.S. imperialists, are enduring hardships and struggling courageously, thinking of the days when they will be able to live happily in a unified fatherland. I decided to write a biography of Premier Kim I] Sung, the respected and beloved Leader of the 40 million Korean people, for all Korean people who are fighting devotedly for the independent unification of our fatherland, single-heartedly following the teachings of the General. The present book is Volume | of the biography, in which important events such as the boyhood days, the early revolutionary. activities of Premier Kim I] Sung, his great antiJapanese armed struggle, including his serious political struggles, fierce and many-sided, are described.

It was indeed a very difficult and painstaking work to compress these complex and rich contents into a book. I have tried as far as I could to collect literature and other materials, but

since the activities of the General have been broad and compre3

hensive, it was a matter of impossibility for me because of insufficient study to exhaust all his activities. More than once I was overwhelmed by the richness of his activities, and at a loss as to what to include in this book. In describing dramatic scenes, I felt often deeply inability to do them justice. But in spite of these defects, I decided to get this book published, thinking of the large number of people eagerly looking forward to a biography of the General. J intend to continue my studies to improve on this work. Volumes [] and [J of the biography of Premier Kim I] Sung will cover a period from the August 15 Liberation to the present day.

On the occasion of the publication of this book, sincerely

Premier

Kim

I] Sung,

the respected

and

I wish ~ beloved

Leader of the 40 million Korean people, a long life and good health for the unification and prosperity of the fatherland and for the future and happiness of the people. January 1968

Baik

Bong

CONTENTS

CHAPTER 1 FAMILY AND BOYHOOD 1. A Birthplace—Mangyungdai

2. Parents of the General 3. A Bright Boyhood 4. Until I See You Again, My Fatherland ! s

CHAPTER 2 LEADER OF THE NATION TAKES THE ROAD TO NATIONAL SALVATION 1. Road to Socialism . Standard-Bearer of Youth and Student Movement

. Blow to Hamperers of Cohesion

. Behind Iron Bars . Scene of Activities Moved to Villages

DH WwW f& no

CHAPTER 3 UPHOLDING THE BANNER OF ANTI-JAPANESE ARMED STRUGGLE

123

l. The Great Call to Arms

125

2. Birth of Anti-Japanese Guerrilla Army

134

3. First Ordeal

142

4, Bold Negotiations

157

CHAPTER 4 CRADLE OF THE LIBERATED AREAS

REVOLUTION—

The General Plans Guerrilla Bases Creation of a New Society

The General and Members of the Children’s Corps Battle in Defence of Hsiaowangching Guerrilla Base he Power of Cohesion SI ET es SM

CHAPTER 5 SAVIOUR OF THE REVOLUTION 1. Saving the Revolution from Crisis in Person 2. Collapse of the Puppet Manchoukuo Army

3. Ambitious Plan for a Long March

CHAPTER 6 BEACON ON MT. BAIKDOO LIGHTS ALL KOREA 1. Historic Meeting 2. The Association for the Restoration

of the Father-

land and Its 10-Point Programme Battle of Attack on Fusung County Seat Guerrilla Bases Around Mt.

Baikdoo

The Banner of Fatherland Restoration Unfurled ie Among the People tes Awl fork

CHAPTER

7

FOR FOUNDING A MARXIST-LENINIST PARTY

341

CHAPTER KOREA

8

IS ALIVE

361

1. Beacon Fire at Bochunbo

363

2. The September Appeal

382

CHAPTER 9 OVER THE STEEP

MOUNTAINS

391

1. A Severe Winter

393

2. In Dense Forests Besieged by Large Enemy Forces

407

3. The Arduous March

417

4. Battle in the Moosan Area

438

CHAPTER 10 LARGE-TROOP CIRCLING OPERATIONS TERRIFIED JAPANESE IMPERIALISM

THAT 451

l. Threading Through Areas Northeast of Mt. Baikdoo

453

2. Diversified Tactics

467

CHAPTER 11 FOR FINAL VICTORY

479

l. Policy of Greeting the Great Revolutionary Event

481

2. Small-Unit Activities 3. Warm Love, Boundless Trust

488

4. 30 Million Follow the General

516

CHAPTER

501

12

THE GENERAL’S TRIUMPHANT RETURN TO THE FATHERLAND

525

l. Final Decisive Battle, Liberation of Korea

527

2. The General Enveloped in the Cheers of the Entire Nation

533

CHAPTER 13 THE SUN OF THE NATION

547

1. Great Struggle, Brilliant Revolutionary Traditions

549

2. The Great Leader of the 40 Million Korean People

558

APPENDIXES *x Chronological Table of General Kim I] Sung’s Major

Activities (April, 1912-August, 1945) *x Notes

+ Map of Main Battle Sites in the Anti-Japanese Armed Struggle (1932—1945)

579 587

oa

eames

General Kim I] Sung in childhood (See Section 3, Chapter 1)

Until

I see

you

again,

my

fatherland!

(See

Section

4, Chapter

1)

General

School

Kim

II] Sung

in the Yuwen

days (See Section

Middle

1, Chapter

ls

General Kim I] Sung in the field ideas (See Section 5, Chapter 2)

2)

Sane

educating

peasants

in anti-Japanese

patriotic

General

Kim

of Leading 1, Chapter

|General

Kim

\father (See

I] Sung

appealing

Functionaries 3)

I] Sung

Section

for

anti-Japanese

of Revolutionary

receiving

2, Chapter

from

3)

his

armed

Organizations

mother

the

two

struggle

in Antu

revolvers

at

the Meeting

(See

used

Section

by

his

Founding

of the

25, 1932 (See

Anti-Japanese

Section

Guerrilla

2, Chapter

3)

Army

by

General

Kim

I] Sung

on April

o

General Army

Kim

unit

to

ae

I] Sung form

the

KS

—

-

negotiating

with

anti-Japanese

Wu

I-cheng,

united

front

leader (See

of a National

Section

Salvation

4, Chapter

3)

it

General Kim I] Sung among members base (See Section 3, Chapter 4)

of the

Children’s

Corps

in a guerrilla

General Section

Kim I] Sung seeing 3, Chapter 5)

the

mountains

and

rivers

of the

fatherland

(See

SS

General Kim I] Sung mapping out the great fatherland (See Section 1, Chapter 6)

plan

for

the

restoration

of the

lina

Linchiang

county (See

Section

4, Chapter

6)

oe

a

wt

“The

Commander

is, too,

the

son

of the

POO

Ree,

people’ (See

Section

6, Chapter

6)

) Beacon

fire

at

Bochunbo. Korea

is alive

(See

Section

1, Chapter

8)

General Kim anti-Japanese

(See

I] Sung in the days armed struggle

Section

General

Kim

1, Chapter

10)

2, Chapter

I] Sung

of the

11)

speaking

before

lumberjacks

in Chiahsintzu

(See

Section

yeneral Kim I] Sung city mass rally (See

making a speech on his Section 2, Chapter 12)

triumphant

return

at

the

Pyongyang

General Chapter

Kim 12)

I] Sung’s

affecting

meeting

with

his

grandmother

(See

Section

2,

CHAPTER 1

FAMILY AND BOYHOOD

oa |

ron “h » Se greutambher (Sue Serite ~

oe!

1. Birthplace—Mangyungdai

THE RISE of the meandering Daidong River is in the deep ravines of the steep Rangrim Ranges, whence it moves slowly to the West Sea. On the northern bank, 12 kilometres downstream from Pyongyang, lies Mangyungdai, famed for its beautiful scenery from olden times, commanding an exquisite, unbroken view. A peak overgrown with old pines which cast their shadows on the blue waters of the river, carries a chaste pavilion with its

curved roof spread like the wings of a crane, and here one can

Mangyungbong (All-Seeing Peak) 11

KIM IL SUNG

enjoy the panoramic view of the neat village set in a park of green. Beyond, the tiny steamers can be seen sailing to and from the West Sea, and the Dooroo and Kono islands stand up, clad

in deep green.

Extending to the south is the spacious

Joonghwa

Plain, and to the north, picturesque mountains rise and fall, wrapped in gauzy mist. Our forefathers named this peak Mangyungbong (AllSeeing Peak) because of the bird’s-eye view it gave of the exqui-

site landscape. They built the Mangyung Pavilion on top of the hill to enjoy the scenery, and named their village Mangyungdai (All-Seeing Heights). Indeed, Mangyungdai is known for its scenic beauty from. olden times along with the eight best scenic spots around Pyongyang, and it is said that the village attracted many travellers all the year round. It is located at Mangyungdai-77, Mangyungdai District, Pyongyang City, formerly known as Nam-7ri, Kopyung-myvun, Daidong county, South Pyungan Province. This is the birthplace of General Kim Il Sung, the respected and beloved Leader of the 40 million Korean people, and the historic place where he spent his boyhood. General Kim II Sung was born into a poor family at Mangyungdai on April 15, 1912 as the eldest son of Mr. Kim Hyung Jik, an anti-Japanese fighter and Mrs. Kang Ban Suk.’

Korea was then going through a tragic age of national suffering. The Japanese imperialist aggressors, who long had held our land in chains of aggression, at last deprived our country of all sovereign rights on August 29, 1910, and our great land with its long history was completely trampled underfoot by the enemy. Throughout the 3,000-77 of all Korea

the wails of the people

could be heard bemoaning their tragic fate of statelessness. The “Residence-General” was taken over by the “Govern12

FAMILY AND BOYHOOD

ment-General” and the Korean people were placed under “military rule’ at the point of the bayonet of the aggressors. “Governor-General of Korea’? Masatake Terauchi went so far as to declare that “the Koreans shall submit to Japanese law, or face death.”” The Japanese imperialists arrested our patriots at random, threw them into gaol and brutally executed them. Even the officially watered-down statistics given out showed that in 1912 alone the arrests nade by the Japanese gendarmerie aud police totalled more than 52,000. Many patriots were shot to death by Japanese troops or slaughtered at the hands of the gendarmerie and police, and the blood of our patriots was poured out all over the country. The occupationists carried out a notorious “Land Survey Project” to increase their imperialist pillage by every possible means while keeping Korea as a backward agricultural nation. But the Korean people were by no means non-resistant, submitting to the ruin of the country as by fate. Korea’s Anti-Japanese Righteous Volunteers’ Army fought many battles, big and small, against the Japanese imperialist aggressor troops. Courageous people also resisted and fought resolutely in many forms of anti-Japanese struggle, against the aggressors. When the lamentations and anger of the 20 million Koreans deprived of their fatherland were spreading like a forest fire all over the country, General Kim I] Sung was born as a poor farmer’s son at Mangyungdai, with a historic mission to expel the aggressors from Korea and to deliver the country from its distress, without fail. The General, named Sung Joo, was the 12th generation descendant of Mr. Kim Kye Sang who moved to the north from Junjoo, North Cholla Province.

During the War of Imjin® the Mr.

Kim Kye Sang family

left Junjoo and settled at Wolnai-rz7, Namgot-myun, Daidong county near Pyongyang. Patriotic education was the family 13

KIM IL SUNG

tradition, and the home into which he was born was known for “its deep respect for justice and fidelity and its pride in honest poverty.” During the life of Mr. Kim Eung Woo, great-grandfather of the General, the family had moved to present Mangyungdai because of the hard living. Mr. Kim Eung Woo acquired a cottage as grave keeper for Li Pyung Taik, a landlord, and eked out a meagre living as a tenant farmer. When the U.S. pirate ship “General Sherman” invaded Korea along the Daidong River in August 1866, burning with patriotism, he fought fearlessly in the van of the masses and led them in the task of stretching ropes across the river to block the advance of the pirate ship. But the family was so poor they could barely earn a living. Mr. Kim Hyung Rok, the General’s uncle, describes the living conditions of the family as follows: ‘As for the life of our family, we lived on gruel from farming. When I was still a child, my grandmother had to worry about the gruel every time there was a guest. I can’t forget that. Once, when we had a guest, I said to my grandmother in the kitchen, ‘We have company again. We don’t have enough gruel, do we?’ Then she said, ‘Yes, we have company.

We

will have to add

more water to the pot to thin out the gruel.’ I remember these words as if they had been said only yesterday. I could not even go to school. I had learned only some of ‘Chunjamoon’ (collection of 1,000 basic Chinese

characters) by the time I was

nine. I just worked and worked on the farm at Mangyungdai.” Life was hard indeed, but the family was blessed with children and grandchildren. After moving to Mangyungdai, Mr. Kim Eung Woo’s eldest son, Kim Bo Hyun was born, who in turn had three children—Hyung Jik, Hyung Rok and Hyung

Kwon. And the first child born to Kim Hyung Jik, the eldest grandson of Mr. Kim Eung Woo, was the General (Sung Joo). Te

FAMILY AND BOYHOOD

His two brothers were Chul Joo and Yung Joo. Mr. Kim Bo Hyun, grandfather of the General, devoted himself throughout his life to assisting his sons and grandsons in their independence movement and revolutionary activities. He and his wife, Mrs. Li Bo Ik, had to bear the heavy oppression of the Japanese imperialists simply because they encouraged their sons(Hyung Jik and Hyung Kwon)and grandsons (General Kim II Sung, Chul Joo, Yung Joo) to fight for their fatherland. But when persecuted by the enemy, the couple felt infinite pride

in their sons and grandsons devoting themselves to the great cause. They found life worth living in spite of their many years of hard living and persecution because of their children and grandchildren, and they died with the satisfaction of having nobly resisted the Japanese imperialists to the last. Mr. Kim Hyung Jik, father of the General, was an ardent

The house where General Kim I] Sung was born 15

KIM IL SUNG

patriot who devoted his life to the restoration of his fatherland, a vanguard fighter and revolutionary who organized powerful underground groups to fight the enemy. He was also a progressive educator who imbued many a young man with patriotic thoughts and brought them up as courageous fighters. Mrs.

Kang Ban Suk, mother of the General, was

a woman

of strong will who spent her life in the anti-Japanese struggle. As the faithful wife of a revolutionary, she not only tenaciously promoted anti-Japanese enlightenment among the women but reared her three sons, and above all, her eldest son General Kim II Sung, as revolutionaries, educating them to accomplish the sacred cause of national salvation. She was not only an outstanding mother to them but a mother of Korea in the true sense of the word, caring for many fighters with the same affection as for her own sons. Mr. Kim Hyung Kwon, uncle of the General, was also an ardent revolutionary. He took up arms against the Japanese imperialists, but was arrested by the Japanese authorities and sentenced to 15 years and six months of penal servitude. Brutally tortured by the Japanese gaolers in Sudaimoon Prison in Seoul, he died. The next younger of the General’s brothers, Comrade Kim Chul Joo, was also a devoted anti-Japanese fighter, but was arrested by the Japanese aggressors in Manchuria in 1935 and murdered at the youthful age of 20. As we see, the whole family of General Kim II Sung, were passionate anti-Japanese patriotic fighters. Such a revolutionary family record would be hard to find anywhere in the world, with all devoting their lives to the sacred struggle for the restoration of their fatherland, generation after generation. General Kim II Sung, born into a family of such noble and patriotic lineage, spent his boyhood, full of dreams, at his native place, Mangyungdai. The General grew up under the patriotic 16

FAMILY AND BOYHOOD

influence of his father. Every object of nature—even a rock, a tree—was objects of learning and places for joyful play. Indeed, Mangyungdai was, to the General, the symbol of his fatherland. It was for this reason that the General often spoke about Mangyungdai in his talks with the guerrillas during the days of the anti-Japanese armed struggle later in his life, and that he told them about the bright future of his fatherland which he believed would be liberated some day. While the General was longing for his native place, Mangyungdai, engaged in the armed struggle to crush Japanese imperialism and filled with unlimited love of his homeland, his un-

cle, Mr. Kim Hyung Rok, was taking care of the General’s grandparents at the home at Mangyungdai. The grandparents lived in dark, harsh times, and facing the

constant danger of persecution by the Japanese authorities, they dreamed under a lantern at night that the bloodstained desire of sons and a daughter-in-law who had died young, fighting for their fatherland, would be realized, and that the fiery wishes of their grandson who was defeating the enemy, tramping through Mt. Baikdoo, would be surely fulfilled.’ So the low-roofed, straw-thatched house at Mangyungdai, even when tilted under a long spell of severe wind and snow, was supported by eternal hope, and has stood firmly to this day. It is now preserved in its original state at the foot of Mangyungbong. The straw-covered eaves hang low. An old barn stands in the yard. All the furniture are relics of the hard,

unrewarded labour in times of trial and of a life of oppression. A small amount of tableware, old-fashioned chests of drawers, a brazier, a fulling block, a spade, jige(“A” frame for carrying loads), a sickle, a fodder cutter, a loom, a spinning wheel, a

hoe, a misshapen water jar that the General’s great grandmother had purchased, a rough-sawn low desk and an inkstone placed on it—these are all that belonged to this house through17,

KIM IL SUNG

out three generations. These pieces of poor family property tell a most eloquent and impressive story of those difficult years which nurtured the lofty patriotic ambition of General Kim Il Sung. Deep in his heart lay the agony of people in the depths of poverty. That is why he really loved his fellow countrymen more than anybody else did, by staging a great revolutionary struggle. Therefore people from many parts of the world as well as the Korean people, today visit this house one after another and are overcome with a thousand emotions as they look round the house of his

birth. To us Korean people, this simple peasant thatch-roofed house at Mangyungdai is more valuable than any magnificent palace, with its nobility and beauty. Indeed, Mangyungdai is the spiritual birthplace of the 40 million Korean people.

18

2. Parents of the General

MR. KIM HYUNG JIK, father of the General, was born at Mangyungdai on July 10, 1894—the year of the Kabo Peasant War.’ Having experienced in his short life many tragic events under the harsh colonial rule of the oppressors of his fatherland, Mr. Kim Hyung Jik became one of the vanguard fighters who enlightened and educated the people in patriotic thought and roused them to the struggle against the Japanese aggressors. This bright boy would find and study books on Oriental medicine among the volumes collected by his great grandfather, in the course of studying Chinese writing. A broad-minded, openhearted man with the gift of eloquence, Mr. Kim Hyung Jik was loved by all. Mr. Kim Hyung Jik held the strong belief that “learning is an essential prerequisite for retaking the fatherland from the aggressors.”’ Burning with an unsatiable appetite for learning even in abject poverty, the General’s father, at the age of 18, entered the Pyongyang Soongsil Middle School to study under whatever difficulty as soon as he left the Soonhwa School in his hometown.

To build up patriotic fervour, he read the lives of renowned patriotic generals, such as General Eulji Moon Duk? and Admiral Li Soon Sin.* He devoured history books and patriotic literWS)

KIM IL SUNG

ature, and especially pored over all available newspapers and magazines to keep abreast of world trends. Books con- taining anti-Japanese patriotic _ thought had to be kept secretly - lest they be confiscated by the Japanese authorities. So late at night, when everybody was asleep, he read such books avidly under a flickering lantern:

Mr. Kim Hyung Jik was educated to patriotism by his father from boyhood, and his fighting spirit burned against Mr. Kim Hyung Jik the Japanese imperialist aggressors with ardent love of country as he closely watched events in the world around him, and formed his own ideas. This was immediately after the country had been occupied by the Japanese aggressors, so the cries of the ruined people lamenting the ill fate of their fatherland could be heard across the country, and the anti-Japanese struggle was being waged in many forms in all parts at home and abroad. In the mountain regions, hotably the provinces of Kangwon, Hamgyung and Pyungan, fierce anti-Japanese righteous volunteer struggles, with patriotic peasants forming the main forces, were going on. Some of the righteous volunteer units which had moved to Manchuria were engaged in vigorous activities near the borders of Manchuria and Korea. Intellectuals who had taken over the earlier patriotic cultural enlightenment movement, continued the secret anti-Japanese movement within many private schools and organizations, car20

FAMILY AND BOYHOOD

rying on their writing activities to keep the spirit of patriotism alive in the hearts of Koreans at home and abroad. It was around this time that organizations were set up abroad and were engaged in activities to achieve Korea’s independence, but such overseas anti-Japanese groups had essential weak points in their activities. Advocates of the independence movement abroad were not only far removed from the masses at home, but their movement itself was not deeply entrenched even among overseas fellow countrymen. Most of them came from various strata—high officials in the Government of Korea before it was annexed by Japan, or ryangban (aristocrats during the feudalistic age), or intellectuals born of petty-bourgeois families. Their political views differed widely, some advocating the establishment of a bourgeois republic, others calling for the restoration of the former dynasty. Moreover, they were plagued by narrow-minded parochialism and factionalism, which pitted them against one another in a shameful conflict of interests, undermining mutual cooperation. Nonetheless, despite this fact, the anti-Japanese force of the

Korean people gained momentum day by day. The deep distress that pervaded the country and the mounting anti-Japanese mettle of the people had a strong effect on Mr.

Kim Hyung Jik, who had decided earlier in his life to de-

vote himself to an pathy for patriotic at the aggressors. always seeking a

independence movement. He had deep symfighters and his blood boiled with indignation Even while a middle-school student, he was chance to fight them, so he formed ties with anti-Japanese fighter Mr. Kang Jin Suk, his brother-in-law, and many other patriotic comrades who were fighting with arms in hand both at home and abroad. Mr. Kim Hyung Jik thus threw himself into the independence movement.

He left the Soongsil Middle School at the halfway mark, 21

KIM IL SUNG

and took up teaching at the Soonhwa School, while working for the independence movement. In the early spring of 1916, at the age of 23, he moved to Naidong hamlet, Dongsam-rz, Koeup-myun, Kangdong county, South Pyungan Province (now Bonghwa-ri, Kangdong county) and carried on his teaching at the Myungsin School there, at the same time stepping up his revolutionary activities. He had extricated himself from the narrow confines of an individual or regional struggle, and cut a figure as an organizational leader in the Korean independence movement covering a greater area of the country. Mr. Kim Hyung Jik chose to live in Dongsam-7z because there he could easily maintain contact with Kangdong, Sungchun, Soonchun and Daidong counties, where powerful anti- | Japanese independence movements were being carried on. Although close to Pyongyang, it was situated deep in the mountains, providing very favourable geographical conditions for conducting clandestine activities and eluding the vigilance of the Japanese imperialists. By day he taught school, inculcating anti-Japanese feeling in the hearts of his pupils while feeding their patriotism and national pride. By night he gave lessons to youths in farming villages, teaching them the Korean language, history and geography, with emphasis on political education and cultural enlightenment. During meetings with students he also recounted the stories of famous patriotic generals, taught them revolutionary songs, and took the initiative in holding athletic meetings and variety shows. As a result, youths in this area were rapidly educated in anti-Japanese patriotic ideas. Despite the claims of a busy life, Mr. Kim Hyung Jik met in secret with many leaders of the independence movement at home and abroad. His secret meetings with them took place sometimes in the mountains, sometimes at home. He discussed ae

FAMILY AND BOYHOOD

action plans with them or gave them new fighting tasks. These clandestine activities later opened the way for the formation of an anti-Japanese underground organization. On March 23, 1917, in cooperation with his comrades, Mr.

Kim Hyung Jik established the “Korean National Association,” an anti-Japanese underground organization, composed chiefly of members of the independence movement at home and abroad, and those who had been students at the Soongsil Middle School. The purpose of this organization was to strengthen the co-

hesion,of comrades and prepare for the time when the Koreans would be called upon to seize independence on their own by taking advantage of the anticipated Japanese struggle with the Western powers for supremacy in the Orient. The Association spread its influence as far as the Chientao district of China and the southern part of the Korean Peninsula. It also conducted energetic activities—procuring arms and funds, and training military cadres among its members. Its liaison personnel were sent to faraway Antung in China, and its correspondents were stationed in Peking. The “Korean National Association” was not only more powerful than any of the national movement organizations abroad engaged in factional strife with vague ideals at that time, but also essentially different from organizations dependent on foreign forces. First, the Association had the right objective and the correct method of struggle for attaining it. It had correctly formulated the tasks for an anti-imperialist national liberation struggle well before the scientific thoughts of Marxism-Leninism were disseminated in our country, and had made it clear that the independence of Korea should be attained, not by relying on foreign forces but on its own internal forces, and specifically, by properly combining political and military activities instead of through petitions or reformation. 23

KIM IL SUNG

The “Korean National Association” was a secret antiJapanese association with a broad network of members and with popular support at home and abroad, and indeed the largest anti-Japanese movement organization in the days before the March 1 Movement. Its organizational methods were very skilful and meticulous. In order to maintain strict secrecy, all communication between the organizations and comrades was in code so that freedom of action could be preserved under the barbaric military rule of the Japanese aggressors. The organization’s members were selected carefully from among patriotic people who were determined to maintain cohesion of the comrades and were willing to sacrifice their lives for the restoration of their fatherland. _ In the meantime, Mr. Kim Hyung Jik formed the “Bisukkye” (Stone Monument Association) and the “ Hakkyo-kye” (School Association), legal entities that rallied the masses around them. These legal organizations, formed ostensibly to promote mutual economic aid and friendship, were actually aimed at expanding membership for the “Korean National Association” and supporting the independence movement by instilling anti-Japanese, patriotic thoughts in the peasants. Mr. Kim Hyung Jik thus worked day and night, devoting himself to building up the organization, indeed a tireless man. His motto was carried in two characters, Jiwon or “farreaching purpose’”—implying the great goal of the restoration of the fatherland. The framed motto was hung on the wall of his home and school to serve to train himself and his students, physically and spiritually. But in the autumn of 1917, the “Korean National Association” was betrayed to Japanese imperialism by a spy, and Mr. Kim Hyung Jik and members of the Association and more than 100 people connected with it were arrested throughout the country, one of the biggest events on the eve of the March 1 Movement. ae

FAMILY AND BOYHOOD

Mr. Kim Hyung Jik, now in Pyongyang Prison, staunchly resisted the enemy, never succumbing to brutal torture, appeasement or deception of the Japanese imperialists. The enemy tortured him brutally almost every day, but they could neither break his strong will for a revolution nor extract a single secret from him. He was brought to trial three times. Each time Mr. Kim Hyung Jik protested: “I cannot serve the sentence of penal servitude pronounced by you. Your sentence is unjust. How can it copstitute an offence that a Korean loves and works for his country ? I cannot accept your unjust decision.” At the first trial,

he was sentenced to two years in prison. This he challenged, of course,and again a one-year-and-six-month term was handed down in the second trial. In the third round, however, the bloodthirsty aggressors forced a nine-month sentence on him. Gaoled, Mr. Kim Hyung Jik studied medicine while making plans for a new struggle that would follow his release from prison. He thought of building a hospital which would provide a convenient place to maintain contact with his comrades and revolutionary organizations, a place where he could fight lawfully even under the severe surveillance of the Japanese imperialists.

In the autumn of 1918, he was discharged from prison, his weary body full of scars and bruises, having endured the first severe ordeal. After a brief period of recuperation at home, he regained his health somewhat. At the end of the same year, realizing he could hardly continue his revolutionary activities in his home village where he was under close and constant surveillance by the enemy, he moved

to a border area along the

Amrok River to realize his desire for the restoration fatherland.

Before leaving his native place,

of his

he composed a

poem of his unyielding fighting spirit and his firm confidence in ultimate victory. 25

KIM IL SUNG

Comrade, do you know

The green pine-tree on the Namsan Hill After suffering all sorts of Hardships under snow and frost Will return to life When spring comes around Again with its warm sunshine?

His family, still concerned over his health, urged him to stay a little longer to recover from illness, but he left home with these words: “If our fatherland cannot regain independence, life is not worth living. I must fight the Japanese aggressors and win, even if my flesh is torn to shreds and ground to powder. If 1 do not succeed in the struggle, my sons will continue the cause, and if my sons leave it unfinished, my grandsons will fight and surely carry on, because we must win the independence ot! Korea.” At first, Mr. Kim Hyung Jik carried on the struggle at Joonggangjin,

but later he returned

to his native place and,

together with his wife, his eldest son (the General) who was still an infant, and the second son Chul Joo, he moved, via Joonggangjin, across the Amrok River to Tunghua Province in their home

at Lin-

chiang, then moved on to Pataokou, Changpai county,

South Manchuria, where

the family made

and to

Fusung.

By this means he was able to keep free somewhat from the persistent surveillance and blackmail of the Japanese authorities. Many fellow countrymen lived in these areas, situated near the Korean-Manchurian border. It was a convenient place from which to maintain contact with his comrades in the homeland. The Independence Army as well as many patriotic fighters were also engaged in the movements there. It was after considering 26

FAMILY AND BOYHOOD

all these advantages that Mr. Kim Hyung Jik selected these border areas as the centre for his struggle. _ On the surface, however, he practised medicine, taking care of patients in these districts, but, at the same time, he established

contact with various bodies connected with the independence movement and sent many fighters to the homeland. He took no payments from poor patients for treatment. He played a pivotal role as an intermediary between the struggles at home and abroad. Liaison with comrades in the country was effected mainly through the mailing of medicines. In packages sent from all parts of the country, including Pyongyang, Seoul and Pusan, were not only medical items but also important messages and materials addressed to him by various organizations in the country.

At times he directed the liberation struggle under cover of visiting his patients, carrying on activities for 10 to 20 days in various parts of Fusung county as well as in his homeland. But in the late winter of 1924 he was arrested again by the Japanese imperialist police at Popyung as he stepped into Korea for his activities. The Japanese police, fearing that the Independence Army might snatch him back, ordered a policeman named Akishima to escort him direct to Hoochang Police Station. But he was neither confused nor disappointed. Comrade Hwang, who knew that Mr. Kim Hyung Jik had been arrested and was under police escort, immediately followed with a bottle of strong liquor in hand. At Yunpo-7i, the comrade caught up with policeman Akishima and invited him to drink in a bar. Having got the policeman dead drunk, Mr. Kim Hyung Jik escaped and hid himself for several days in a mountain cottage under the care of an old man named Kim. Suffering though he was from frostbite, the weather bitingly cold, Mr. Kim Hyung Jik left the cottage for Fusung through Pataokou, but there he 27

KIM IL SUNG

suffered even more from his worsening illness. One of the most devoted leaders in the anti-Japanese independence movement of that period, however, Mr. Kim Hyung Jik continued to tighten his ties with many other fighters for the independence movement and pushed ahead with the movement tenaciously. At Fusung, too, he paid much attention to educating young

men. He built the Baiksan School to teach children of peasant households. He even provided them with educational materials, devoting himself to the task of education. So, moving from place to place, from Kangdong near Pyongyang to areas along the Amrok River and to regions of Northeast China, he continued his passionate fight against Japanese imperialism for more than 10 years. But with little time left for recuperation, his health continued to deteriorate. And on June 5, 1926, at the age of 32, the indomitable patriot and educator who devoted his life to the struggle to save his fatherland in its time of suffering, Mr. Kim Hyung Jik, passed away, so pitifully young, entrusting his ardent unfulfilled hopes to his wife and three children. The General’s widowed mother, Mrs. Kang Ban Suk, following in the footsteps of her husband, devoted herself to the care of her children, sacrificing herself throughout life. Mrs. Kang Ban Suk was born on April 21, 1892 as the second daughter of Mr. Kang Don Wook at Chilgol, Ha-7i, Ryongsan-myun, Daidong county, South Pyungan Province. Her father, an ardent patriot, was an experienced educator who had devoted more than 30 years of his life to teaching the rising generation. His disciples, in a move to immortalize his great achievements,

erected a “Monument

Dedicated to Mr.

Mookkye,* Kang Don Wook” at Bisuk village (now Chilgoldong, Mangyungdai District, Pyongyang). Mr. Kang Jin Suk, the eldest brother of Mrs. Kang Ban Suk, was also an ardent anti-Japanese fighter who fought for 28

FAMILY AND BOYHOOD

_ the restoration of his fatherland, taking up arms together with champions of the independence movement at home and abroad, early in his life. He organized the “Korean _ Independence Youth League” by rallying anti-Japanese patriotic forces, and fought as its leader. During the March1 | Movement he and his father led the demonstrations as organizers at Mangyungdai and neighbouring areas. He moved later to the reMrs. Kang Ban Suk gions of Northeast China and continued his activities while frequently travelling in various parts of Korea as a member of the Independence Army movement. On May 19, 1924, however, he was arrested by the police at Daidong Hotel in Pyongyang, and sentenced to a prison term of 15 years, of which he served an agonizing 13 years and

eight months until released on parole. But an illness he contracted in prison worsened and finally claimed his life on November 30, 1941.

Born and reared in such a revolutionary family, Mrs. Kang Ban Suk cherished a strong hatred of the Japanese imperialists while still very young. She was a woman of distinguished character and ability. Deprived of a chance to go to school because of poverty, she learned how to read and write the then-ignored Korean letters from her father, although busy working on the farm and doing household chores. She studied late into the night, even while working at the loom. 29

KIM IL SUNG

A deep hatred for the exploiting classes took possession of her as she grew up, and she taught the women in her village that the landlords were exploiting the peasants. One day in early summer, when she was 15, coming home from the farm, she saw a woman next door starching cotton yarn with a crying and struggling baby on her back, her forehead dripping with sweat. The woman, wearied by trying to please her baby, was on the verge of tears. Mrs. Kang Ban Suk took the crying baby ate her back, put it on her own back and helped the starching of the cotton threads. But the baby did not stop crying; on the contrary, it began to cry even louder, kicking its feet against her back. The baby was crying for a delicious rice-cake that a child of a rich family was eating beside the woman. The woman kept on starching, but finally, losing her temper, she tried to hit the baby. Feeling sorry to see the scene, Mrs. Kang Ban Suk grabbed her trembling fist, and said: “How can you blame the child who has been hungry all day? Someone else is to blame.... What is the use of beating the little darling? We should fight those devils who are taking away everything from us, making it impossible for us to get even a piece of rice-cake for our children. You know the landlords carry away the rice, the fruits of our sweat, don’t you? It’s because of those brutes that we live in poverty, ill-clad and hunger-stricken. The pain of your heart is common to us all.” Hearing these persuasive words, the woman clasped her child firmly to her breast, with tears in her eyes, teeth clenched, feeling the grudge against the world so full of contradictions. A woman of refined culture and noble character, Mrs. Kang Ban Suk married Mr. Kim Hyung Jik in 1908, when she was 17 years old. As the eldest daughter-in-law of a poor 12-member family, she served her parents-in-law well, maintained good 30

FAMILY AND BOYHOOD

terms with her sisters-in-law,

and managed

hoysehold affairs

excellently, soon winning the admiration of the villagers. It was in the summer festival season of 1917 when she was helping her husband in his revolutionary activities at Dongsamri, Koeup-myun, Kangdong county. A dish of rice-cakes was sent to her by a next-door neighbour. She did not eat any, however, although her life at that time was so difficult that gruel was the only staple food she could have. Instead she kept the rice-cakes in a water jar for her mother-in-law who was to visit her from Mangyungdai shortly. But her mother-in-law was delayed; one week had already passed since the expected date of her arrival. Nonetheless, Mrs. Kang Ban Suk waited patiently, changing the water in the jar every morning and evening lest the cakes spoil. When her mother-in-law finally arrived almost 10 days behind schedule, she offered the cakes to her. The mother, eating the cake, said with deep emotion: “Indeed, 1 am much moved by your sincerity. There‘is an old story about a man who dug

out strawberries from deep snow in the depth of winter. Your sincerity is even deeper than that.” Thus, Mrs. Kang Ban Suk had such a gentle and beautiful heart, but she was very resolute and firm in the struggle against the Japanese imperialists, and even while managing the heavy demands of her home, she devotedly helped her husband in his revolutionary activities as befits the wife of a revolutionary. Indeed, it was in her dedication to her husband’s revolutionary life while carrying on her household chores from early morning till late at night that she found value and meaning in her life. She did everything in her power to help not only her husband but also his comrades-in-arms in their revolutionary struggle. Although the family was living in poverty, comrades of her husband frequently came visiting even at midnight and at dawn. She, humane and kind, always treated these visitors sincerely 31

KIM IL SUNG

with a smile, even when she was short of food. She washed their sweaty clothes or mended them late into the night. Through her whole life such services remained unchanged wherever the family moved, from Mangyungdai to Kangdong, and on to Joonggangjin, Linchiang, Pataokou, Fusung and Antu. In the tense life they lived, on which persecution and threats

of the enemy cast a grim shadow, Mrs. Kang Ban Suk lived on in the firm belief that her fatherland would surely win its independence. Mother Yoo who once lived with her, recalls her life through those days in these words: “Mrs. Kang Ban Suk and I steamed rice for many revolutionaries, and washed their clothes. I thought all these efforts were in vain. So I said to her, ‘Elder sister, I wonder if it is worth while doing all these things. They always speak of independence as if Korea would become independent soon. But things haven’t changed for years. I’m not sure that we should really believe them.’ But she replied, ‘Sister! The fruit is bound to ripen when the season comes. Though we are having a hard time now, it is certain that Korea will win independence before long. We will then go back to our homeland and live a happy life together.’ ” Mrs. Kang Ban Suk held to this belief even after her husband died. She inherited her husband’s determination and fought to achieve it. She raised funds to continue running the Baiksan School which had been managed by Mr. Kim Hyung Jik, and as a strong-willed mother of three sons, she raised them to carry on the revolution, and maintained a special deep interest in the studies and revolutionary activities conducted by General Kim I] Sung. One old man by the name of Li recalls those days when the General was teaching school openly at Hsinglungtsun, Antu 32

FAMILY AND BOYHOOD

county,

while carrying on underground

activities

to prepare

for the armed struggle. The old man Li lived in the village. He says: “One night, I was making the rounds of the village as a

night watchman. When I happened to pass by: the school and peeped inside, I saw Mrs. Kang Ban Suk crouched before the cooking stove, building a fire. Strangely enough, she was breaking firewood by wrapping it first in her skirt. I had heard that she was ill, so I imagined that probably she was breaking firewood like that because her hands were sore. I decided to ask her how she was. When she saw me, she stepped towards me hurriedly. She put her finger to her lips to keep me silent, came out and whispered to me: ‘Sung Joo (General Kim II] Sung’s childhood name) did not come home till late. So I came to find out what delayed him.... He is now deep in a book in that cold ondol’ room. So I am heating the room without making a noise lest I disturb him.’ What a great mother! I was deeply impressed.” Mrs. Kang Ban Suk not only encouraged the General’s revolutionary activities but also cooperated with him directly in the struggle. When the General was leading the youth movement at Fu-

sung, he and his four or five comrades were surrounded by the enemy, and they needed weapons to break through the enemy’s line. But weapons were available only at Wanliho from the comrades. So she rushed there to get weapons, creeping through the tight enemy cordon at the risk of her life. She got pistols from young men there but did not know how to handle them: “Load the pistols, please,” she said “so that they may go off the moment I pull the trigger.” The pistols were hidden among chunks of beef. She put them in a basket and hurried back with it on her head. As the General examined the two pistols, he asked her why they were 33

KIM IL SUNG

loaded. She replied calmly: “Why? I couldn't yield to them meekly, could I? I thought I should make them pay for my blood. At most, two or three of them might have pounced on.me, and so I thought I should finish them off!” She was frail of constitution, and life was getting harder. Comrades-in-arms of her husband stopped at her home and the General's comrades dropped in after he devoted himself completely to the struggle. In spite of illness and poverty, she treated the General’s comrades as her own children. She not only supplied them with food and clothes, but also helped them with a little money from her meagre purse. When there was no rice, she made rice bran-cakes for the youths leaving her home. Mother Chai Joo Sun who once lived with Mrs. Kang Ban

Suk, recalling those days, quoted the General’s comrades as saying in one voice: “No dishes are more delicious than those wild vegetable dishes and rice-bran-cakes affectionately prepared by the General's mother. The mother of Comrade Sung Joo is the mother of all of us.) Whenever we think of her great and deep affection for us, we feel that we must redouble our efforts for the revolution.” Mrs. Kang Ban Suk was the beloved mother of revolutionaries and also a woman fighter who took an active part in the revolution. Following the death of Mr. Kim Hyung Jik, she participated in the Women’s Association, and in 1928 was Chairman of the Paishan

District Women’s

Association.

From that time on, in

her capacity as Chairman, her activities ranged over a wide area

including Fusungchen and its neighbouring villages, and far into Wanliho, Taying, Chihhsiangtun, Wanliangtun and Santaohuayuan. Through night schooling, lectures, commentaries and other 3+

FAMILY AND BOYHOOD

educational

methods,

she imbued the Korean women with the

spirit of struggle for the restoration of the fatherland and for the emancipation of women, rallying them around the revolutionary organization. She took part also in a secret circle under the leadership of the General and gave direct help to the “Sainal (New Day) Children’s Corps” and the “Anti-Imperialist Youth League.”

Treading this steep and thorny path, bearing all the suffering and hardships life brought her, as the wife of a revolutionary and mother of revolutionaries and as a fighter in her own right, she lived and fought until she died at the age of 40, on July 31, 1932, from a lingering illness, too early to see the victorious march home of the General whose courageous actions were beginning to make him famous across the globe. Just before her death, she is said to have told her attendant,

a woman living next door: “... When my son, Sung Joo, visits me after my death, please treat him as I would. But if he visits while the Japanese imperialists remain on Korean territory and before Korean independence is won, please tell him not to move my grave.... Without vanity... I can say he’ll never come home while the fighting is still on.... When the fatherland is independent, you sister, please go and see Mangyungdai near Pyongyang. It’s really a nice place. But for the Japanese aggressors, who would live in this foreign land, always longing for it?...” These words embraced her noble wish and lofty and firm spirit. It is said that behind all great men are their great, kindhearted parents. This is especially true of the General. It was

because of his rare parents that the General, so early in life, came onto the stage of history as the Leader of his nation.

35

3. A Bright Boyhood

GENERAL KIM IL SUNG was dearly loved by all members of his family when he was a child. His grandparents loved to call him “Jeungson” (great grandchild). Counting from Mr. Kim Eung Woo, who first moved to Mangyungdai, the General is his great grandchild. The General’s father, Mr. Kim Hyung Jik, in his 20’s was hard-pressed to find time to look after his family after he joined the independence movement. But no matter how busy he was, he paid special attention to the education of the children. In his heart was a great dream and hope for the future of his son, about whom Mr. Kim Hyung Jik composed the following lines: Our baby, a baby of Korea, Grow up fast and go to school! Be a dutiful son to your parents. Be friendly to your neighbours. Be a hero of your motherland. Be a hero of our country.

The infant General fell asleep in his mother’s bosom, listening to this song. 86

FAMILY AND BOYHOOD

The young General was merry and bold by nature, and the parents nurtured these fine qualities and watched them develop as he grew up. Even when guilty of some misdemeanour, his parents did not scold him immediately if they saw in his mischief the signs of a bold character in the making. Rather they used that excellent character to develop his spirit of inquiry. When the General was four or five years old, some neighbours hired a gramophone from a music store in Pyongyang with the money they had raised among themselves and enjoyed the New Year holiday with music. The gramophone played a rather funny melody to the bark of a dog. It aroused the curiosity of the infant General and someone jokingly said there was a puppy in the gramophone. The infant General watched it, filled with wonder. How could a clever dog perform in the gramophone, he thought, and

he shook his head in deep doubt. When the grown-ups were away he broke the record with a hammer, but could find no dog. Disappointed he tried to open the gramophone with a knife, to the shock of the neighbours when they came back. They were deeply worried because the infant General had broken a gramophone which cost then as much as a strawroofed house. But Mr. Kim Hyung Jik laughed and told his neighbours not to worry because he would have the gramophone repaired at his own expense. That night, his father called the General to his side, and the General was prepared for a scolding. But to his surprise, his father merely asked the General in a quiet voice whether he had found a man or a puppy in the gramophone. Laughing at the reply that there was none, the father explained how a gramophone works, that man has invented many other complicated machines such as airplanes, and that man’s unlimited mental powers would make it possible to produce even 37

KIM IL SUNG

ve The infant General listening to his tather telling about the fatherland

more amazing machines. Though too young to understand fully what his father said, he at least realized something of man’s abilities and creativity. As a child, like all others playing at horse-riding on a stick, riding a sledge or playing kick-ball with a straw and rag ball, he was rough on his clothes. But one day the General hesitated to sleigh and kick a ball, presumably because he was worried about his clothes getting torn or his straw sandals becoming worn out faster. When his mother understood, she told her son: “If you grow up strong and sturdy, it doesn’t matter if your clothes get torn. I’ll sleep a little less to weave more cotton cloth. That's all... Go out and play as you like.” These words reflected her belief that man was more impor38

FAMILY

AND BOYHOOD

tant than the things he possessed. His father, Mr. Kim Hyung Jik often took the infant General to Mangyungbong. Watching the beautiful view and the historic place, his father would tell the General various old stories. For example, he told the story of the Koreans burning the American pirate ship ‘“‘General Sherman” which sailed up the Daidong River to invade the country, and the stories of famous patriotic generals, such as Eulji Moon Duk and Kang Kam Chan', and Li Soon Sin, who courageously defeated foreign enemies, the story of Martyr An Joong Keun, who shot and killed Hirobumi Ito, the Japanese ringleader of the invasion of Korea. These are the stories that sowed the seeds of courage and patriotism in the heart of the infant General. The stark realities of poverty always faced the family, and not even the General, though the “treasure” of the family, could eat steamed rice even during the summer and New Year festivals. Exploitation by the Japanese authorities and the landlords was the cause, and barnyard grass gruel had to be served all the year round. Foxtail millet or broomcorn millet gruel was considered a luxury. When the General was six, he moved to Naidong hamlet, Dongsam-ri, Koeup-myun, Kangdong county, South Pyungan Province, his father being engaged in the anti-Japanese movement at that time. But his father was arrested in connection with the “Korean National Association Incident’ and transferred to Pyongyang Prison, so the General returned to Mangyungdai with his mother. One day, the General went to Pyongyang Prison with his mother to visit his father. He met the father in a dark, gloomy room, sadly changed from the tortures endured. Then seven years old, the General’s heart burned with deep hatred of the evil Japanese aggressors, his eyes welling up with tears of anger. 39

KIM IL SUNG

Later, grasping the infant General’s hands, his mother said: “Your father won’t come back even when the ice on the Daidong River melts and green leaves cover the hills. Your father is now in gaol because he is fighting to regain our fatherland from the aggressors. I want you to grow up fast to revenge your father.” It is said that the General, hearing these words, swore before his mother that he would revenge his father without fail. It was about this time that the General became immersed in playing at war. Wearing a wooden sword, the General would climb the rocks and imposingly give orders to the children of the village. Recalling how the General, still a small boy, commanded his “sol-_ diers,” the people had nothing but praise for him, and of course no matter what the war game he played, the General always won. He also won the title “Army Judge” because of the skill he showed in settling disputes between his friends, among whom he was very popular. But at home, he found nothing but darkness on the faces of his family members waiting for his return. Mr. Kim Hyung Jik was released from prison around that time, but he left home again and went to faraway Joonggangjin. And the General’s mother who was looking after her husband’s father and mother, had to spend dark days under the threat and surveillance of the Japanese authorities. His father’s arrest, his life in prison, and the bitter separa tion from the family implanted even in the infant General’s heart

a deep hatred of the Japanese authorities and deep sorrow over the sufferings of his fatherland. It was not long to the March 1 Popular Uprising in 1919, an incident that shook the whole country. The raging waves of anti-Japanese resistance and shouts of anger that broke out in the Mangyungdai area in response to nationwide uprisings 40

FAMILY AND BOYHOOD

inspired the General, who was then only eight. Angry people dashed out of their houses, a sea of hands wielding hoes and spades, their roars generating a gust of burning air, manse (hurrah).... With his grandfather-in-law, Mr. Kang Don Wook, and uncle Kang Jin Suk, his mother’s brother, gallantly leading the crowd, making eloquent speeches and shouting slogans, the whole scene unrolled before the eyes of the young General like a picture of fierce battles. The angry masses advanced straight on Pyongyang Castle. The General

joined the demonstrators

unrestrained, running

barefoot in the dust a distance of some kilometres to Botongmoon Gate, carrying his rubber shoes. Watching the crowds throwing the armed enemy into terror, the General was strongly impressed with the power of the people. The Japanese aggressors called out the gendarmerie and police and fired on the demonstrators. Tears filled his eyes as he saw his countrymen falling with the blood turning their clothes red. The masses advanced into Pyongyang Castle, fighting valiantly and came back to climb Mangyungbong, blowing trumpets and beating drums for several days, cheering loudly for independence, and continuously fighting the police. In Kangdong county, more than 200 youth, members of such organizations as the “Korean National Association,” “Bisukkye” and “Hakkyo-kye,” who had been led by Mr. Kim Hyung Jik, advanced close to Kangdong-eup at the head of more than one thousand people coming from various places such as Dongsam-ri, Doduk-ri, Maikjun-7i, and Hyangmok-rz and crushed the enemy. People clashed head-on with the armed forces in all parts of the country and fought them in a self-sacrificing way. When those in front fell, their places were taken from behind, and 41

KIM IL SUNG

when they too fell, others moved up. In Seoul, one of the vicious Japanese imperialist aggressor troops bent on oppressing the Korean people slashed off the right hand of a young girl student who was cheering for inde pendence, waving the national flag. As the girl continued to cheer, now holding the flag in the left hand in defiance of the aggressors, the Japanese butcher cut off her left hand, too. The girl, even in death, kept cheering, and the soldier now thrust his

sword through her heart. This young heroine did not cease to cheer for Korean independence even in the very moment of death. The national uprising, embracing people from 117 of the 119 cities and counties of Korea, was an explosion of the burning patriotism of the Korean people and their national wrath against. the Japanese aggressors. But the 33 “national delegates” who labelled themselves leaders of the struggle were afraid of the fighting spirit of the people. They had been counting on U.S. imperialism and the theory of “national self-determination” advocated by T. W. Wilson. What was this in essence? It was an attempt by the U.S. imperialists to hold in check the world-wide effects of the October Revolution in the Soviet Union and to undermine the new multiracial Soviet Union from within, under the deceptive slogan of “‘national self-determination,” in an effort to establish U.S. supremacy in the capitalist world. Their purpose was also to pit weak nations against each other to foil their independence struggles and at the same time dispose of the territory of defeated countries in their own favour at the country’s expense. The attempt of the “national delegates” to seek aid from these aggressors, particularly the U.S. imperialists, who had long before invaded Korea, was a stupid and preposterous one. U.S. imperialist aggression in Korea began as early as the middle of the 19th century. T. Dennett, a “U.S.A.” politician, says in his book “Roosevelt and the Russo-Japanese War” that 42

FAMILY AND BOYHOOD

“when the United States was discussing the question of securing naval bases in East Asia in the period from 1865 to the 1870’s it was predicted that Korea would be one of such bases.”’ It was this U.S. design that provided the basis for its constant economic and military intrusions into Korea. The U.S. imperialist aggressors raised the curtain of bloody aggression against Korea with the invasion by the gunboat “General Sherman” in August 1866. The U.S. imperialists resorted to all malicious means at their disposal, ranging from

burglarjous acts of violence to frauds of the most cunning nature—violation of the tomb of Namyungoon, father of the then regent Daiwongoon, in 1868; the Shinmi (1871) Incident; forced conclusion of the unequal “Korea-U.S. Treaty of Peace, Amity, Commerce and Navigation” in 1882; religious, cultural and economic invasion to gain control of Korea’s national spirit and economic life; and support for the Japanese imperialists then seeking to occupy Korea.

It was disclosed in 1924 that when U.S. Secretary of the Army Taft conferred in secret with Japanese Prime Minister Katsura in July 1905, U.S. imperialism approved without the slightest hesitation the Japanese imperialist plan of occupying Korea, in exchange for a Japanese imperialist promise that they would not infringe on the economic rights of the U.S. imperialists in Korea, and in particular, keep their hands off the Philippines, then a U.S. colony. Thus the U.S. imperialists gave positive support to the occupation of Korea and colonial rule of the country by the Japanese imperialists. On the outbreak of the March 1 Popular Uprising, a proxy of the then U.S. Secretary of State declared that “since it is already apparent that Japan has annexed Korea to its empire, the proposal to return Korea to its original state is utterly unthinkable.” Regardless of those who wanted to depend on these U.S. imperialist aggressors, the patriotic people rising in revolt dealt 43

KIM IL SUNG

a heavy blow death-defying these Korean When the gloomy days

to the Japanese aggressive forces by launching a struggle for national salvation. The actions of patriots had a great impact on the whole world. storm of anti-Japanese uprisings subsided, dark, returned. One day, the infant General met his

father, who had come back unexpectedly. Determined to embark on the long road of struggle, Mr. Kim Hyung Jik wanted to

take his family along. The General, then an eight-year-old boy, took the stormy journey to the strange north with the family, leaving behind his dear native place where he had spent his boyhood full of dreams. After a brief period at Joonggangjin, the General’s family moved to Linchiang, Tunghua Province of China by crossing . the Amrok River, and from there to Pataokou, Changpai county, where the General entered primary school. The new home was a small straw-roofed house—a shelter that could barely protect the family from rain and wind. It comprised but one room and a kitchen. The General’s father partitioned the room into three sections, one of which became his pharmacy, outside hanging his shingle reading “Kwangje Medical Practitioner’s Office.” The office soon became known far and wide with great kindness shown to neighbours and free treatment for patients who could not afford to pay. So day in and day out it was crowded with patients and visitors. The General, though still a small boy, learned the great significance of deep love for the people as he watched his father devote himself to his patients. But what impressed him most was the secret sessions that the father held with his anti-Japanese fighters, in his back room. The General was deeply inspired as he listened to his father talking fervently about regaining the fatherland and his native country. Mr. Kim Hyung Jik often sent the General on important

44

FAMILY

AND BOYHOOD

missions carrying letters and messages to his father’s comrades, some of whom lived far away from his home. Every time the father gave the General such missions, the General accomplished them willingly. The General took great pride in being able to help his father in his important tasks. Sometimes the General went into Korea to maintain communications despite the tight surveillance of the Japanese police. The school where the General was enrolled was a four-year elementary school. Keenly soaking up all that was taught at the school, the General scored outstanding results. Of sturdy build, he shéwed the evidence of becoming a man of strong backbone. He was also one of the outstanding athletes, and his optimistic disposition which enabled him to smile even in times of sheer desperation, won him the deep love of his classmates. The General retained his fondness for playing at war as in his earlier years at Mangyungdai, always assuming leadership. While living in a foreign land far from home, he devised a war game called “Hunt for Japanese Aggressors,” in which he found himself always in the position of giving orders. The General had many friends, but would not accept any who levelled national insults at the Koreans. There were sons of public officials and landlords in the school in Manchuria, who despised the Korean students, calling them “homeless people” or “Korean beggars.”’ The leader of these was a boy nicknamed “Beanstalk” who was the senior of the school and known among them all as a “Boy of Herculean

Strength.” He was the son of a reactionary Chinese policeman named Chang. Aroused to anger at “Beanstalk’s” high-handed manner, the General one day knocked him down by a single blow so that the Korean students might not be any longer despised. The General, nonetheless, felt keenly that unless the Japanese occu-

pationists were expelled from Korea and his fatherland’s inde45

KIM IL SUNG

pendence regained, the Korean people would not be able to free themselves from national insults. It was after coming home from school that he learned the Korean language, Korean history and geography from his father. He was an avid reader of the biographies of Korea’s famous patriotic generals and stories of great men of other countries. From this school background, the belief was the more firmly embedded in his mind that the fatherland must by all means be regained from the aggressors. Mr. Kim Hyung Jik, who had been thinking deeply about the future of his child, discussed it with his wife and decided to send the General back to Korea. Behind his decision lay a deep motive—the belief that his son must learn more about his own country. The father thought that his son should see with his own eyes the tragic state of his fatherland trodden underfoot by the military boots of the Japanese imperialists, and see firsthand the miserable life of his fellow countrymen so that the General would develop his own thinking and nurture a strong fighting will. This, Mr Kim Hyung Jik thought, would be the best “school” for this son who was des-

tined to assume the noble task of saving the country. This fitted the desires of the General himself, so he gladly obeyed his father’s decision. The General was to visit the home where his mother was born, at Chilgol near Mangyungdai. It was not easy for Mrs. Kang Ban Suk to send her son on a long and difficult voyage alone (the Manpo railway line had not yet been opened) but she endured this as for her own life. On the General’s departure, his father said: “One should, first of all, know well about the actual condition of one’s own country.... One learns about others’ things to improve one’s own

and make it more beautiful.” On the cold early morning of January 30, 1923, the General,

then 12 years old, left the ferryboat moorage at Pataokou, bid46

FAMILY AND BOYHOOD

ding farewell to his parents and his younger brothers who had come to see him off. In his bosom the General carried money for the journey and a map showing the way to Chilgol. The map, drawn by his father, showed in detail not only the way but also the places where the General was to stop over at night. It also carried instructions to remind the General to send telegrams home when he arrived at Kanggye and at Pyongyang. After crossing the border into Korea, the General passed through Popyung, Hoochang and Kanggye, over the snow-covered mountains and steep hills on his long trip to Pyongyang. He had to walk through wild beast areas of the northern mountains where a trip alone, even by an adult, was dangerous, following mountain paths where there was no transportation in winter. Some days he walked more than 10 kilometres of mountain paths through uninhabited regions. It would be an impossible expedition without courage and perseverance. Travellers he met on the way were surprised at his lone trip, some of whom had left their native places in the fatherland to wander. Believing rumours that Manchuria was a comfortable place to live, some had left their homes, with just a small bundle of belongings on their backs, children with parents, whitehaired old men trudging with the help of a stick, desperately

trying to save what little life was left.... Such scenes came as a great sorrow and anguish to the future General. It seemed as though all Korea were looking for a helping hand, deep in agony, and a fiery anger burned in his heart, realizing that the aggressors must be defeated by all means. At inns by the road he spent some nights with wandering travellers, listening to them recount their sorrow-stricken stories. At such times he painfully remembered his father’s words: “People deprived of their fatherland are worse than the dog of a family having a funeral.” In the inclement winter weather, future General Kim II] Sung 47

KIM IL SUNG

safely reached the home of his grandfather at Mangyungdai— 13 days after leaving Manchuria, overcoming a long, difficult journey of many bitter memories. Seeing their grandson coming home unexpectedly, the grandparents as well as his uncle and aunt were greatly surprised and pleased. Embracing her grandson firmly, his grandmother said: ‘‘Did you really come alone? Your father is more cruel than a tiger.” “Grandma, ... that’s not true. ’m nota child any more. It’s no trouble for me to cross the borders,” said the General, his

cheek dimpling with a smile. Impressed by her grandson, grown to be such a fine young man, his grandmother said: “You are indeed the son of Hyung Jik.”

At Mangyungdai the future General entered the Changduk School at Chilgol, commuting from his mother’s home. Chilgol was a farming village about four kilometres from Mangyungdai in the direction of Pyongyang. The village had a broad entrance; alder trees stood on the banks of a stream there and the hills behind the village were covered with oaks and pines. The school building, standing on the hillside, was an “L”shaped medium-sized structure with a slate roof.

The home of the General’s mother was a small, cozy farm house, not far from the school.

After the General arrived there, an air of vigour pervaded the home of Mr. Kang Don Wook. Pupils who had hesitated to visit the home of their schoolmaster now began to frequent it. The General found that he had to work harder than his classmates to catch up with them in subjects he had not yet studied, so he studied by himself with the aid of some of the textbooks for the previous year. When the teacher in charge of his class had to teach a different grade in the same classroom,

the General voluntarily took the lessons of the other grade. He 48

FAMILY AND BOYHOOD

also helped the family on the farm, and visited his grandfather at Mangyungdai once in a while. Time flew while the General was immersed in reading. One day, he took the cow out to pasture, and while the animal was grazing, he was reading so intently that he did not even notice the approach of sunset, and the cow went home alone. Only when he was interrupted by the loud call of his grandmother, who had come to the river bank to meet him, did he lift his eyes from the book and hurriedly begin to look for the cow. About two months after coming to Chilgol, he was up with the rest of his class in the subjects in which he had lagged behind, and by the end of the school term his school record was excellent, to the pleasure of everyone both in his mother’s home and grandfather’s. The Korean language, arithmetic, and calligraphy were the subjects in which he excelled, but he showed no interest in the Japanese language. One day, the General visited Mr. Kang Don Wook in his room, with a Japanese textbook (““The National Reader’) in his hand. The General asked Mr. Kang Don Wook: “Grandpa, do I have to study this book? Why do we have to call a Japanese book National?” The grandfather called his excited grandson to his side and said in a gloomy tone: “In our country, my boy, there is a saying that even if a tiger attacks you, you won't die if you keep a

stout heart....” Beginning with these words, the grandfather explained how it came about that the Koreans, who could not get education freely, were obliged to learn a language they did not want to learn.

At that time, the Japanese aggressors forced the Koreans to learn the Japanese language at all levels of education from primary school upwards. The purpose was to turn the Koreans into ignorant people and, particularly, to turn Korean youth into 49

KIM IL SUNG

“subjects of the Japanese Emperor.” The teaching of Korean history and national culture was totally banned. So, overcoming every obstacle, advocates of the anti-Japanese movement built private schools and opened classes in private homes to propagate love of the fatherland. One of these schools was the Changduk School. But the “Government-General” would not authorize any school unless the designated textbooks were used and the Japanese language taught. His grandfather added: “We are suffering these difficulties because we have been deprived of our fatherland. But we must take advantage of their institutions and learn more about Korea, no matter what happens. Even if you learn the Japanese language, you can put it ~ to good and right use....” The General, back in his room, cut out the character, ‘“‘na-

tional” with a knife from the cover of the textbook and wrote in a character meaning “Japan,” so that the book read something like “Japanese Language Reader.” From that day on he kept the textbook under his desk instead of putting it in the bookcase. The General was deeply interested in poetry. He was often absorbed in his father’s collection of poems given him by his grandfather. The book contained many patriotic poems by national heroes and generals who left their names in the history of Korea. His favourite poem was one by General Nam I.’ Full of a courageous and inspiring spirit, the poem reads: Rocks in the ranges of Mt. Baikdoo will be used up for grinding my swords, The water of the Dooman River will be drunk by my war horses, A man at 20 still unable to rule his country, Will never be remembered as a hero by posterity

50

FAMILY AND BOYHOOD

As he recited this poem by heart in a loud voice his spirit was lifted high. At times he would sink into deep meditation, picturing himself fighting like a dashing tiger in a fierce battle against the enemy of his fatherland. Another work in the collection of poems that stirred him was “The Volunteer Song” composed by his father. You wretched Korean people, Proud of your 4,000-year history, Happy and joyous for all generations, Yet you now have no land to call your own, How can you bear this sorrow? My body bound and shackled, Free the body, oh comrades,

With your own hands, Cheer for independence, like thunder,

Split the ocean and shake the mountains

Trees and plants of the Namsan Share this grief and sorrow with Fish of the East Sea, if you have Share this anger and wrath with My body bound and shackled,

Hill, if you have any heart, us, any tears, us

Free the body, oh comrades, With your own hands,

Cheer for independence, like thunder, Split the ocean and shake the mountains

You fellow countrymen without a land, Like dust on the sea,

You drift and wander, 51

KIM IL SUNG

Do not weep over your lost land,

The day is not far off, When we win our fatherland back My body bound and shackled, Free the body, oh comrades, With your own hands,

Cheer for independence, like thunder, Split the ocean and shake the mountains

These are the words of a stirring song the General learned from his father on a long trip to Joonggangjin. The song spoke to him of his parents, the poor wandering people he had met, and the angry rivers and mountains of the fatherland, leaving him deeply moved. Korea, as his mother’s father told him, was in deep distress

at that time. It was this situation of his fatherland that greatly affected the General, who had a keen interest in the socia! developments of the time. The General combed Pyongyang from end to end, paying attention to everything that took place. Partly out of curiosity, characteristic of most boys, the General was attracted by things new. Yet everything he saw only made him angry, broke his heart, it was so tragic. Everything he saw seemed as if it were wailing, crying for help and beating the earth. On the clay walls of crumbling straw-thatched cottages were notices of tax payments, fluttering in the wind. The General saw mothers who could not afford to buy medicine for their seriously ill children, only praying for their lives, peasants whose backs were slashed by Japanese swords only because they crossed a road before an oncoming car of a high official. From a police station he heard whipping sounds and groans of tortured prisoners, outside he saw women crying, clawing at the wall of 52

FAMILY AND BOYHOOD

the police station.... Everything he saw made him grind his teeth in anger. Inside a spacious mansion within the city of Pyongyang, surrounded by green bushes, Japanese aggressors were on the spree; they were drunk. And while they enjoyed themselves, in a slum area in To

sungrang (the most wretched slum in the city in the colonial days), poverty-stricken Koreans were living in misery. The slightest rainfall would turn the area into a muddy swamp, with untold,trouble to the residents. Children crying with hunger now were crying themselves hoarse. Through his own boyhood experience he realized that his fatherland could not be saved unless the Japanese aggressors were expelled.

53

4. Until I See You Again, My Fatherland!

MANY DAYS AND MONTHS passed after the General left his parents, his life away from them full of events. Once in a while he thought of his parents and his dear younger brothers, while devoting himself further to studying and building up his body. One day, a messenger visited his mother’s father from his grandfather at Mangyungdai. After he left, his grandfather called him and told him that his father had been arrested by the Japanese imperialists. His mother wanted him to return immediately to Pataokou where she was. Shocked and angry, the General was speechless for a moment, clenching his fist.

In great haste he left for Mangyungdai that very night. His friends at school as well as all the relatives on his mother’s side sent him off with best wishes, and his plan to finish middle school in Korea fell through. Having spent a night in his native home at Mangyungdai, he woke up early next morning to prepare for his long trip, and in a somewhat excited tone said to his grandparents: “I shall not return to the fatherland again untilI have accomplished my father’s plan, until the fatherland is set free and the Japanese aggressors expelled.” “Jeungson! You have said exactly what I wanted to hear from you. You follow in the footsteps of your father...,” said 54

FAMILY AND BOYHOOD

his grandmother, in a voice choked with emotion, while those

around fought back their tears. The General carried a minimum of things for the trip. His grandmother gave him a package of parched-rice powder and a few steamed sweet potatoes, and two pairs of straw sandals which his grandfather had made for the General the previous night. He carried a few books in his bundle. Holding out a tightly folded envelope, his grandfather said: “This is your travel money. You will need it on the way.” “T don’t need that much,” said the General. “This is part of the money you have left unspent—the money you brought. I’ve added some to that. Take it and go.” He set out on his long journey while the morning mist lay over the village, bidding his grandparents farewell, and his uncle

and aunt who saw him off with tears in their eyes. Out on the main road leading to Pyongyang, the General waved his cap many times at the relatives still watching from a corer of the village. As if printing on his memory all the mountains and rivers of his native place where he had spent much of his boyhood, the General stood there on the road, looking back over the village and beautiful hill for some time. The General now made his way to the north with a heavy heart. He was in haste, so he did not stop to rest even though tired. When dark set in, making it difficult to find the way, he looked for a place to sleep, and at the first sign of daybreak, he continued on his way up the steep road. 12 days later he reached the ferryboat moorage at Popyung,

Hoochang county.

The ferry, which he had used once, was dear to his memory. He saw there many poor fellow countrymen in tears who were leaving their native place for Manchuria to gain their livelihood. Before his eyes the Amrok flowed, the border between Korea

and Manchuria.

But to the General the Amrok was something

more than a border, a river. It was a frontier that put an end to 55

KIM IL SUNG

his boyhood, ending a childhood spent over the several hundred kilometres his family had travelled in an alien land; it was a boundary beyond which he would enter a new domain, a new world with a ring of sorrow and determination, yet with unfathomable meaning. Beside the General who was filled with a thousand emotions, many fellow countrymen, kith and kin, were bidding their last farewell to the fatherland, standing shoulder to shoulder, tears in their eyes.

No one born and reared in Korea could cross the Amrok without emotion. It seemed as if the river, along with the Dooman River, flowed with tears of sorrow- and anger-stricken

refugees and fighters. Indeed, his fellow countrymen began to cross in groups as early as the middle of the 19th century, sing- " ing songs of sorrow. And the number of these border-crossings along the frontier began to increase rapidly as the Japanese aggressors became increasingly violent after the Eulsa Treaty.’ Their number further increased around 1910 when Korea was “annexed” to Japan, so that within a few years hundreds of thousands of Koreans had migrated to various parts of Manchuria. They were people who crossed the Amrok River because they could not repress their indignation at statelessness or endure the difficult living conditions, righteous volunteers who crossed the border river in groups, exiles who had taken part’ in the March 1 Movement, and fighters who had organized secret anti-Japanese societies in Korea. The General, now 14 years old, crossed the Amrok River to

follow his father’s will and embark on the long, hard struggle. While crossing the river with his fellow countrymen, he held back the swelling emotions of sorrow and, looking back on the dear mountains and rivers of his homeland, he cried: “Fatherland, wait till I see you again.

Wait for me till I return to take

you back.” General Kim I] Sung, recalling these moments in his life, 56

FAMILY AND BOYHOOD

said later, after his fatherland was liberated: “I crossed the Amrok River when I was 14, firmly determined not to return until Korea became independent. Young

as I was then, I could not repress my sorrow when | wondered when

I would

be able to tread this land again, and

when I would return to this land where I had grown up and where lay many forefathers’ graves, singing the ‘Song of the Amrok River,’ composed by someone.” (‘Selected Works of Kim I] Sung,’’ Korean edition, Publishing House of Workers’ Party of Korea, Vol. I, p. 11, 1963)

The General crossed the Amrok River and entered Changpai. The fortress built on the summit of a mountain high over the river bank and the artillery emplacement with firing holes on four sides looked unnaturally overpowering. Pataokou was

a small village situated in a narrow valley. From the other bank of the Amrok one could see afar Popyung (now Posam-72), Hoochang county. The General, back in his dear home at Pataokou, was re-

united with his mother and brothers of whom he had dreamed so often. Welcoming back the future General who had travelled a thousand-ri* alone, his mother and brothers were overjoyed, and could hardly settle down. His mother gently took care of her child again, the child returned safe and sound from a long and arduous journey, and was proud of this 14-year-old bright, sturdy boy. She told the General that his father had escaped from the police while under escort following his arrest, and that he was now hiding at Fusung. The General felt relieved of the heavy burden of impatience and worry, and only then did he feel the tiredness of the long journey, as he sat knee to knee with his dear brothers. But even before he could recover from his fatigue, he had to continue his trip. His mother sent him off at once as soon as 57

KIM IL SUNG

he had finished supper. She told the General to take his younger brothers to the home of a friend of his father’s at Linchiang, as the first step to move to Fusung where his father was. His mother also told him that she would tidy up the house and come later, which was quite unexpected by him. The General had hoped that his mother would let him stay home at least for two or three days as he had returned from the long journey. Why had his mother told him to leave so soon, he wondered, with

sorrow. But his mother was thinking from a different and deeper point of view. The home at Pataokou was then in an extremely dangerous place. The enemy was frantically looking for Mr. Kim Hyung Jik who had been arrested but had escaped, seeking . him far and wide. They might break into the Pataokou home at any moment. So the mother chose the pain of separating from the General immediately after her meeting with her son rather than expose him to such danger. The General, who knew his mother’s strong character, that

she never let personal feelings interfere with more important matters in any circumstances, did as she told him, leaving the home that night with his younger brothers. Seeing her sons off at the dark entrance of the village, the mother stood motionless for a while until they were lost in the darkness of the night. The General and his brothers arrived safely at Linchiang, and several days later, their mother joined them. Politely introducing herself to the family members of the master’s home, the mother took her three sons to an eating house near by.. After the meal, she asked her eldest how they had spent the few days before she arrived, whether any suspicious-looking person had visited them, whether the master of the new house was kind to them, who knew that they were at Linchiang. Mrs. Kang Ban Suk was relieved only when she had

checked all the movements around her sons, as she always kept 58

FAMILY AND BOYHOOD

watchful eyes on the enemy. Now, her face lighting up with affection, she gave them the necessary instructions about their future life in the new place, before returning to the home of their father’s friend. The General became aware of that excellent trait in his mother, which made her so careful about everything and kept her eyes on constant guard against the enemy. The General’s mother devoted her life to the noble struggle of regaining the fatherland, and worried about and showered her/ove only for that. The General owes to his outstanding mother his development into a man of such fine character, surpassing the general standard for personal integrity, and for his acquisition of a burning fighting spirit. The family stayed at Linchiang for about a month, during which time his uncle Mr. Kim Hyung Kwon, who had been in Hsinpa, came to Linchiang. One day, a messenger was sent by a close friend of his father, to guide the General, his mother and two brothers, and his uncle

to a house on Hsiaonanmen Street at Fusung. Mr. Kim Hyung Jik, suffering from the injuries inflicted by his torturers in prison and from frostbite received during his escape, had been in a critical condition, but when

the General visited him, he had

recovered. He had opened a small clinic named the Moorim Medical Practitioner’s Office, while continuing his revolutionary activities. The father was very happy to meet his son. Looking at his proud and reliable son, Mr. Kim Hyung Jik asked the General how he lived in Korea, his manner now showing deep confidence in the young man who had already seen through the false mechanism of society in which he lived. The General saw in his father’s attitude the enthusiasm of a man who had devoted himself to the cause of revolution, and was deeply moved by the attitude of his father and felt new 59

KIM IL SUNG

respect for him. The house built by Mr. Kim Hyung Jik on Hsiaonanmen Street at Fusung, was like the homes at Linchiang and Pataokou, designed externally as a hospital but in reality a meeting place for fighters of the independence movement working in China. It was also an important contact point linking underground organizations at home and abroad. Many people daily visited the clinic for medical treatment, many of them members of the independence movement. They discussed action programmes with Mr. Kim Hyung Jik, or penetrated the homeland on special missions. He was completely absorbed in his revolutionary work. In his den, he held discussions with strangers all night long, and at daybreak he would go out on his activities, tying the strings of his sandals. At other times he would leave the hospital ostensibly to visit patients, but might not return for 10 or 20 days. During his clinical rounds he treated poor peasants in the provinces free of charge and instilled anti-Japanese patriotic thoughts in them and conducted revolutionary activities among the members of the independence movement. He met many such members at Kirin and Huatien and other areas, discussing struggle policies with them. He called conferences of members of the independence movement active in areas

around Fusung, including Huatien, Mengchiang and Antu and other counties. His revolutionary efforts indeed went on ceaselessly.

The vigorous activities of his father and the sight of poor patients brought home to the General again the great misfortune of losing one’s fatherland and the supreme importance of regaining it. The heroic determination he had made when he left his native place and again when he crossed the Amrok River, was 60

FAMILY AND BOYHOOD now turning into a fierce flame of passion in his heart, a fire that

urged him to grope for outstanding thoughts and methods of struggle which deserved the sacrifice of his all.

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LEADER OF THE NATION TAKES THE ROAD TO NATIONAL SALVATION

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1. Road to Socialism

IN THE SPRING of 1925 the General was enrolled at the Fusung First Primary School. Realizing that the General was determined to follow in his footsteps, one day his father seated the General before him and taught a number of important facts to him. His father taught the General, one by one, the principles of rallying comrades and the important methods by which to evaluate the true character of people. ““What is most important,” he remarked time and again, “is to cultivate the ability to mingle with comrades and correctly judge their character.” After that the General became more careful about associating with his schoolmates, and at home, the General closely watched

the members of the independence movement who frequently visited his father from various parts, and observed his attitude towards them. At that time the Baiksan School, a four-year-course primary

school for Koreans, was established at Fusung through the efforts of Mr.

Kim Hyung Jik.

The General was greatly pleased at the opening of this school. He regarded the event as a victory won in the struggle against the enemy who were oppressing national education. The General soon took the initiative in holding an entertainment to celebrate the opening of the new school, taking part in the show 65

KIM IL SUNG

himself. Not only parents and students but also many educators were invited to attend. Before the curtain rose, the General appeared on the platform and spoke to the audience. The General told them with anger about the miserable fate

of fellow countrymen who had been deprived of their fatherland by the thieves, the Japanese imperialists. And in closing his speech the General announced that a play would be presented to depict how Martyr An Joong Keun shot to death Hirobumi Ito of Japan. He went on to say: “This is revenge taken by those deprived of their fatherland against those criminals who have taken our fatherland from us. But An Joong Keun was murdered by the pirates. Now the Japanese imperialists are arresting many patriots of Korea, sub-

jecting them to torture and killing them brutally, waving the laws of thieves. Who can tolerate these outrageous acts? Who could not sympathize with An Joong Keun who loved his fatherland at the risk of his life?... Everyone who loves his country, let us unite! An Joong Keun died a solitary death because he fought a lonely fight. But if we unite, we can be very strong. The aggressors are still here even though Hirobumi Ito is dead. We must expel this band of robbers from our country. And we must be united for this purpose....” The audience gave the General thunderous applause. In the drama titled “An Joong Keun Shoots Hirobumi Ito,”

the General played the part of the protagonist, thus inspiring the audience with anti-Japanese patriotic thoughts and the spirit of national unity by denouncing once again the Japanese imperialists for their crimes and expressing the national wrath. The General practically stole the show that day. He was not only widely known as the son of Mr. Kim Hyung Jik, but also very popular at school as a “boy who was friendly with everyone, and always defended poor children and had a strong 66

LEADER OF THE NATION TAKES THE ROAD TO...

sense of justice.” After that evening he was now known among the people in the locality more popularly than before as a “young orator with strong anti-Japanese ideas.” And the number of pupils following the General continued to increase. The General imbued his friends with anti-Japanese thoughts more passionately. Most were children from poor Korean families. Some were Chinese boys. He actively instilled anti-Japanese thoughts into the minds of many friends. Having long since been absorbed in rallying comrades, leading many friends, he now mingled with them after school, with a beaming face. In 1926, however, the General made it a rule to come home

from school earlier than before. There was an atmosphere of gloom pervading the home: The health of the General’s father, who had been showing signs of recovery for some time, became worse, and he was now in a critical state.

His illness had been a prolonged one, and his revolutionary activities continued’ while still far from well, had put an additional burden on his frail health. As a result, his condition deteri-

orated to the extent that no treatment could help any longer. The General’s uncle and his father’s comrades tried treating him by every method they knew, but it was already too late. Mr. Kim Hyung Jik had rushed to his patients on emergency visits, but, as his comrades regretted, he was neglectful of his own health. Now, probably aware of his approaching end, the General’s father called his family to his bedside to say his last words. To the sorrow-stricken wife, he said he wished he had been

able to send his eldest son Sung Joo to university, and eagerly asked her to be sure to send him to middle school, however dif-

ficult her living conditions might be, saying that he was not in a position to ensure continued study for his son. To the future

General and his two brothers, the dying father said they must 67

KIM IL SUNG

regain their fatherland even if their bones were ground to powder and their flesh torn to shreds. Time seemed to have stopped as moments of heartbreaking silence reigned. Then the General’s father said that he wished his ashes to be buried near the Daidong River when Korea regained its independence. He gave his two pistols, which he had kept with meticulous care, to his wife, asking her to give them to Sung Joo when the time came. Mr. Kim Hyung Jik passed away in peace and tranquility. Shifting the focus of his passionate eyes from one to the other of those who had gathered around his bed, the General’s father breathed his last on June 5, 1926, and entered his eternal sleep

on foreign soil, cherishing till death the highest hope on which he had staked his life, but with this deep ambition unfulfilled. People burst into tears. His comrades were stricken with deep grief over the death of their trusted comrade-in-arms. Many members of the independence movement, Korean and Chinese peoples at Fusung, gathered at the sad news. The many people who attended the funeral expressed deep sorrow over the death of such an outstanding son and ardent revolutionary of Korea. The General, in deep mourning, swore solemnly before the soul of his father:

“Father! I will not fail to defeat the enemy. I will surely accomplish your will!” Although he was heartbroken over the death of his father, the General keenly felt a noble sense of mission to achieve the restoration of his fatherland by every possible means. His mother, Mrs.

Kang Ban Suk, encouraged the General

in his determination. She sent her three sons, properly dressed for the occasion, to lead the mourners in the funeral procession but somehow she herself did not take part in it. Several days 68

LEADER OF THE NATION TAKES THE ROAD TO..

later, the Boys’ Festival of May (lunar calendar) came. The General expected that his mother would surely visit the father’s grave on the festival day. He asked her to visit the grave, but she refused, saying: “What is the use of my going there? Just you three go....” And she did not agree to his request. On the way to and from the grave, accompanied by his two younger brothers, the General wondered why their mother did not come. “Why?...” he asked himself. But later he got the answer: His mother always visited her husband’s grave alone, and alone before the grave, she wept to

her heart’s satisfaction. Mrs. Kang Ban Suk thought she should not let her eldest son see his mother behaving in this way. She feared that her son, who must accomplish a great mission, following in his father’s footsteps, might become weakhearted if he saw his mother weeping thus. This was the reason why she repressed her fervent desire to visit the grave with her beloved son. Her responsibilities in the home became heavier than ever. There was the mother-in-law who had come visiting from far away

at the news

of Mr.

Kim

Hyung

Jik’s death, and the

younger brother-in-law Kim Hyung Kwon, who had stayed with Mrs.

Kang Ban Suk at home most of the time, now went out

frequently. So she had to take care of household chores all by herself, despite her failing health. But she paid particular attention to the education of her sons. She also started social activities. She thought it was her primary duty to educate her sons to be sturdy young men so that they would be able to surely accomplish what their father had had to leave unfinished. In 1926, the General left the Fusung First Primary School and entered the Hwasung School in Huatien through the assistance and recommendation of close friends of his late father. 69

KIM IL SUNG

The school, occupying a one-storeyed building of moderate size, was set up by members of the nationalist movement belonging to “Jungeut-boo” (Department of Justice). It was a combination of political school and military academy to train officers for the Independence Army. So nationalistic education was the basic principle of activities at the school. The General tried to learn even harder, but somehow he

found the nationalistic education there disagreeable. There was. it seemed to him, something narrow-minded and quite unreasonable about the education. As the General came to know more about the movement of the nationalists and their struggle methods, his doubt deepened, and only the shortcomings were evident. The General was groping for a new road, and in this course he came to know a good deal about the Soviet Union, the first

socialist country in the world. At that time, the General found books on socialism for the first time in his life at the home of a friend of his father’s at Huatien. He borrowed the books and read them avidly. In the process of learning about socialism he became greatly disillusioned about the struggle methods employed by the nationalists. The revolutionary books, giving a critical analysis of complex social phenomena by means of completely scientific thought, and showing a clear-cut way, had a tremendous impact on the General. It was indeed a powerful beacon by which he could distinguish the true from the false and justice from evil. They were the first books of their kind that the General had read, yet they seemed familiar to him, because they were the kind of books containing the truth he had been looking for all along. The books completely fascinated him. The more he read, the more questions were solved, one by one, giving him the vision of a new future. While yearning for the Soviet Union, a country of workers and peasants, the General probed further into socialist thought. 70

LEADER OF THE NATION TAKES THE ROAD TO...

Keenly realizing the limits of the arguments and struggle methods of the nationalists, he began to hew a new road with progressive youth and students who sympathized with the communist movement. First, he formed an illegal organization named the “T.D.” (Down-with-Imperialism Union). This was the first step made by the General to carry on revolutionary activities. He defined the objective of the “T.D.” as fighting for the future construction of socialism

and communism,

and the im-

mediate objective, the overthrowing of Japanese imperialism and achieving the liberation and independence of Korea. This was welcomed enthusiastically by those progressive youth and students who were disillusioned over the bourgeois nationalist

movement. The General thought that in order to achieve his purpose he must first of all study the advanced thoughts of Marxism-

Leninism and expand his organization. But he could not satisfy his requirements in a provincial district such as Huatien county, where people were far behind the progressive social trends. After much thought, the General decided to move the stage of

his activities to Kirin City, which was spacious and active. At the age of 15, General Kim II] Sung promised the “T. D.”

members that he would meet them conduct activities in Kirin. In the the Hwasung School and returned was living. The progressive spirit

in the future and meanwhile autumn of 1926, he quitted to Fusung where his mother of making a clean and final

break with the old and seeking the new, the resolute determination of the 15-year-old young future General without hesitation to leave the Hwasung School which he found disagreeable, in search for the new—these characteristics are not easily to be found in anybody. Before going to Kirin he assembled his classmates at the primary school at Fusung and other young men to form the 71

KIM IL SUNG

“Sainal (New Day) Children’s Corps.” Through this organization he opened an enlightenment to break them away from the old nationalist thoughts entertained by their parents, and to arm them with progressive, revolutionary thoughts. In early 1927, the following year, the General headed for Kirin. Kirin City was an ancient Chinese city near the Sungari River. As the provincial seat, it was the political, economic and

cultural hub of the area. In those days there were more Koreans living in Chilin Province than in any other area of China. So Kirin City, seat of the administration, was the centre of activities by the Korean Communists and members of the bourgeois nationalist movement in Manchuria. In the latter half of the 1920's, the city was especially a meeting place for nationalist leaders of ““Jungeui-boo” (Department of Justice), “Chameuit-boo” (Department of Councillors) and “Sinmin-boo” (New People’s Department), the main forces in the Korean bourgeois nationalist movement in Manchuria. It was also in this city that factionalists in the Korean communist ranks, such as the “Marxist-Leninist Group,” the “Tuesday Association” and the “Seoul-Shanghai Group,” were conducting their activities vigorously to spread their influence. In these circumstances the General came to know Koreans, Chinese, nationalists, Communists

and factionalists and other

people of different persuasions thereby becoming vividly ac-

quainted with ideological trends of all forms and colours. In comparing the old and new ideological trends, he clearly realized

the correctness of Marxism-Leninism and felt a compelling urge to study it more deeply. In the spring of 1927, the General entered the Yuwen Middle School in Kirin through the good offices of close friends of his late father. Mrs. Kang Ban Suk faithfully carrying out the last wishes of her husband, that his eldest son should finish middle

school without fail, continued to pay the school fees by saving 72

LEADER OF THE NATION TAKES THE ROAD TO...

General Kim II] Sung leading a study cession of Meera Leninism in the library of the Yuwen Middle School

what little money she could, money she saved by doing needlework while living in abject poverty.

Every time the future General received money from his mother, his heart ached, and he was very sorry for his mother who had to work so hard in spite of her ill health to pay his heavy school expenses. He had been loyal to his parents since he was a child. On a cold winter’s day, when his mother:returned home, he would try to warm her cold hands with his breath while leading her

into a warm room. When his mother was late coming home from shopping, he would keep food warm in a pot and wait for her at the entrance of the village, with his own stomach empty. While

he

was

living

in Pataokou, the

General

went

to

Popyung on an errand and bought shoes for his mother with the money she had given him for his own shoes, and the people 73

KIM IL SUNG

of the village were deeply moved by this warm act of filial devotion. Even from childhood the General was so loyal that he would not ask his mother for money, and considering lest he be a trouble to her, he wasted not a penny but devoted himself to learning. The Yuwen Middle School was the most progressive school in the city, with many progressive teachers, who had a major impact on the pupils. The result was that the conservative teachers and pupils at the school felt small. What most: pleased the General was the fact that the school library was well-stocked with progressive books, and the pupils were allowed considerable freedom in extracurricular reading. The General concentrated his efforts on learning MarxistLeninist thoughts. He organized and led a secret reading club within the school.

Besides subjects on the curriculum, he read

with keen interest various books on Korean history as well as the basic literature of Marxism-Leninism, and fortunately, the

General was elected as student chief of the school library, not once but twice. Taking advantage of these excellent opportunities, he ordered many books, bought and devoured them. Even as early as that,

the General

read with great interest many

classics on Marxism-Leninism, including “Das Kapital.” He showed special interest in the problem of the colonial nations and pursued his own studies on this subject. He also read works by Gorky and many other revolutionary literary works. Gorky’s novel “Mother” was one of his favourite books, and deeply impressed the General. Through this book he gained a deep understanding of the contradictions in a class society and renewed his determination to embark on the road to revolution to topple the old society and build a new one. He realized that a revolution is arduous, yet glorious, and that only true revolutionaries can love their country deeply. 74

LEADER OF THE NATION TAKES THE ROAD TO...

While at school, political discussions were often conducted among pupils with the General as leader. He would present original questions at these discussion meetings to engage his school fellows in active debate, and at the end of such discussions

he would draw conclusions that were concise and scientific. Debate often centered on the true nature of imperialism and its contradictions, and each time he cited Japanese imperialism as an example and arrived at the practical conclusion of calling for the overthrow of Japanese imperialism and the restoration of the fatherland. His, presence

in the school was conspicuous.

Progressive

students gathered around him in an increasing number, while teachers began to show greater interest in his activities. Thus the General learned Marxism-Leninism in his own unique way. He was now a fervent young Communist, and in a position to analyse and criticize by completely scientific revo-

lutionary theory, the limits and defects of the bourgeois nationalist independence movement. The General realized that the liberation and independence of Korea could never be achieved by the arguments of the nationalists or by their struggle methods. This had been proved by the path followed by the Korean nationalist movement. The independence movement pushed by the nationalists, like the Independence Army movement deployed in various parts centering on northern border areas, Manchuria or the Maritime Province before and after Japan’s occupation of Korea, showed, from the very beginning, its historical limits and weaknesses although there were some self-sacrificing struggles against the aggressors. The Independence Army movement, though aimed at political and military independence in opposition to external aggressive forces, was led by officials of the former Korean Government and ex-ryangban (feudal nobility), and by the petty bour75

KIM IL SUNG

geoisie entertaining nationalist thoughts designed to establish a capitalist society. Therefore, this movement was virtually aimed at the establishment of a capitalist system based on the exploitation of the popular masses, and was supported, at bottom, by strong feudalistic thoughts. Therefore, the movement

could not meet

the wishes

and

desires of the popular masses, to say nothing of the working class and peasants, who made up the absolute majority of the people. So the Korean nationalist movement was doomed to failure from the beginning. Moreover, harmful flunkeyism and nonresistance,

two

dominant

trends within

the movement,

made

its collapse inevitable. As mentioned before, this was evidenced concentrically by the errors committed by leaders of the bourgeois nationalist’ movement during the March 1 Popular Uprising. They flinched when the people undertook a powerful struggle with the use of force, and tried to achieve independence by relying on imperialist America. They also placed illusory expectations on Japan, the colonial suzerain, and finally gave up their movement.

After

the March 1 Popular Uprising broke out, influenced by the October Revolution in the Soviet Union, the bourgeois nationalist movement in Korea came to an end. From then on, most nationalists backslid into national re-

formists, and some even surrendered to the Japanese imperialists or became their pawns. The nationalists, who allegedly were continuing an independence movement in Manchuria, were merely engaged in collecting military funds or bogged down in factional bickerings over “control” of a small Korean residential area. The General made a comprehensive analysis of these situations and developments, and was confirmed in his belief that the nationalists could never become leaders of the Korean ra76

LEADER OF THE NATION TAKES THE ROAD TO...

tional liberation movement, and that bourgeois nationalism had lived out its day and was already but a dusty relic of history. He realized that only Marxism-Leninism could chart a correct course for the national liberation struggle, not only because it is the most revolutionary and scientific theory showing the way to complete class liberation of all the oppressed and exploited masses and to the national independence of all colonial nations, but also because Marxism-Leninism is the theory for the construction of a boundlessly prospering ideal society of mankind, eliminating exploitation and oppression from the whole of society, in which freedom and equality are dominant, sovereignty and all material wealth belongs to the working people and in which a true national culture can fully bloom. The progressive ideas of Marxism-Leninism were dissemi-

nated

widely

in our

country

after

the

October

Socialist

Revolution in Russia, 1917, serving as a powerful weapon, the banner for the national liberation struggle against the Japanese imperialists. The working class, who were the most oppressed and most revolutionary masses, found in this revolutionary ideology a new course leading to a glorious victory for them, and, without the least hesitation, they forged ahead along that new course. The working class showed rapid growth in the 1920’s. The main force of this generation, the working class, stood in the van of the national liberation struggle as the powerful political force of the age leading their trustworthy ally, the peasants, and

broad sections of the masses. The General was firmly convinced that only by following this course, oriented by historic developments and made as clear as day after the March 1 Movement, could the Korean people defeat the Japanese aggressors and regain their independence; only then could all the working masses be liberated from oppression and exploitation. Indeed, Marxism-Leninism 77

KIM IL SUNG

was a treasure-house of revolutionary ideas and an arsenal of revolutionary arms. So the General correctly sought the genuine road to the restoration of his fatherland Marxism-Leninism.

in socialism,

in the ideas

of

This truth he sought in classics on Marxism-Leninism and in life itself, and made it his thinking and passion for his struggle. This, the General believed, was the very way to tread in the footsteps of his late father and accomplish his will. Having received his education in patriotism from his father,

he studied Marxism-Leninism in his own way in the complex and difficult social environment, and grew

outstanding revolutionary and Communist.

78

up to become

an

2. Standard-Bearer of Youth and Student Movement

HAVING SEARCHED Marxism-Leninism, the General not only assimilated its principles and made them his own, but he

also regarded this as the weapon for his struggle and the practical means. A man of strong conviction, the General devoted himself passionately to the youth and student movement along the course charted by Marxism-Leninism. He did this, not merely because he himself was then a student, but more importantly, because fostering advanced, progressive thoughts among young men was, in his opinion, an activity necessary to prepare for the coming revolution. The youth and student movement

was a reliable bridge to the revolution, showing and encouraging the masses, including workers and peasants. The first organization formed by the General in Kirin was the lawful “Korean Juvenile Association in Kirin.” He rallied all the Korean children in the city around the organization. Its aim was to educate them in anti-Japanese thought and gradually arm them with class consciousness. With this objective in mind, he often held meetings for reading books and discussing subjects that would be attractive to them, and occasionally, entertain-

ments and athletic meets, and heightened the national pride and struggle consciousness of the Korean children so that they might lead a worthy life under foreign skies. 79

KIM IL SUNG

In the summer of 1927 the General assumed leadership of the “Korean Ryoogil Students’ Society.” At Kirin City, there had been a_nationalist-supported “Korean Ryugil Students’ Society,” a legal organization of Korean students in Manchuria. The General now took charge of this organization and changed its name to the “Korean Ryoogil Students’ Society.”

Most of the Korean students enrolled at various schools in the city were members of the organization, but the composition of its membership was very complex, with wide trends of thought. In general, however, the predominant group comprised people aiming at communism in keeping with the prevailing tendency of the times, although there were members who just supported nationalism. Under these circumstances, leaders of the nationalist movement who were at pains to retain their influence in the organi-.

zation, placed high hopes on the General who wielded great influence among students. But from the outset the General advanced in a direction quite contrary to their expectations. The General’s intention was to educate students affiliated with the Society in an anti-Japanese revolutionary spirit and anti-imperialist thought, and especially in the advanced ideas of Marxism-Leninism. For that purpose he selected such books as “Life and Activities of Lenin” (biography of Lenin), “On Imperialism” and ‘Colonial and National Problems” as important teaching materials. At one meeting after another held to read books, make speeches or discuss subjects, students conducted heated discussions on such themes as “the present stage of the Korean revolution,” “the aggressive policy of Japanese imperialism” and “how to carry out the Korean revolution.” At these sessions the General explained all questions difficult for students to understand, in easy terms. 80

LEADER OF THE NATION TAKES THE ROAD TO...

Gradually the General turned the Society into a mass organ-

ization for communism, and youth and students who previously had adhered to nationalism, gradually came to aim at communism. His activities at that time covered a wide range. At one

place he would hold a gathering to read books; in another he would play the important role of moderator at a discussion meeting. At one time he would read avidly in a library; at another he would assemble his comrades to assign them new activities, in which he was indeed absorbed. All students knew the name Sung Joo, and were greatly moved ‘just to hear his name. Even among nationalists and those who styled themelves communist campaigners, he was known, and many youth and students frequently visited him from the provinces. Among them were young men who had returned from the Soviet Union, and others coming from Korea and Chientao. Youth who were disillusioned with the independence Army and young men who had come to entertain ambitions after reading books on socialism while in Japan, also visited the General. The General was their pivot and standard-bearer. At that time, he was thinking about complex and practical

questions one after another: How youth and students and the national force can be rallied under the banner of MarxismLeninism and mobilized for the struggle, what principles and immediate slogans should be adopted for such struggles, what are the aims of the immediate struggle and the action policy to bring about victory for the Korean national liberation movement. There was no one, at that time, capable of giving the answers to these questions. Still a boy, the General was hoping from the bottom of his heart for the appearance of a true revolutionary. Sometimes he 81

KIM IL SUNG

went to various places, looking for a true revolutionary, while

enrolled at the Yuwen Middle School in Kirin. But nowhere could he find the revolutionary for whom he searched, although he travelled to many places and met many people. The fact was that there was no such genuine revolutionary at that time either in Manchuria or Korea. Both the period and the people were looking for the General, yearning for the day whenshe would grow up to be a man of clear vision who would raise high the eternal beacon. It was his task to open up the future by himself and inhis own way and lead students around him to struggle. With members of the “T. D.” of the Huatien days as the nucleus—members he met in Kirin—the General rallied young comrades and progressive youth from various parts . to extend the organization of the “T. D.” Before long the General renamed it the “Anti-Imperialist Youth League.” “A Short History of the Korean Revolutionary Movement Abroad” published in Seoul in December 1945, about 20 years later, describes the General’s activities during this period as fol-

lows: ...Kim Il Sung (real name Kim Sung Joo, born at Pyongyang) put his heart and soul into the juvenile movement as one of its leaders for more than a year in Kirin. In the pure heart of Kim I] Sung who had just come to gain social consciousness, there was a wave of anguish.... ...Kim I] Sung’s brain, nay, the consciousness of student Kim Sung Joo... realized that he would be able to attain his end in the future through his independent development.... To Kim Il Sung who was burning with a revolutionary passion, every living thing, every phenomenon in nature seemed to be a comrade or leader. But he was resentful of the society of that age, which did not understand this...intention.

social phenomena surrounding Kim I] Sung 82

who

In fact, the

was

at a

LEADER OF THE NATION TAKES THE ROAD TO...

turning point in the new ideological trends,

were

far from

understanding his own ideals. Kim I] Sung searched for a stage of activities and comrades necessary to realize his ideal, overcoming the ordeal that faced him. He decided that Itung and Huaite counties were the most suitable places for that purpose, and met with... who formed the social nucleus of these counties. They were all youth between 22 and 23 years of age, engaged in a radical movement and studying sciences, thoughts and culture needed for the construction of a new society. Kim II] Sung shook hands with these comrades who welccomed him wholeheartedly.

Article in ‘A Short History of the Korean Revolutionary Movement

Abroad,”

dealing with General

Kim I] Sung’s

organizing the “T.D.’’ (Down-with-Imperialism Union)

83

KIM IL SUNG

He organized the “T.D.’ or the ‘Down-with-Imperialism Union,’ rejecting the infantile Right and ‘Left’ trends.... Much was expected from Kim I] Sang, and the activities of this organization were positive. The support of the masses for Kim II Sung, enthusiastic leader, a man with a strong sense of justice, was great...” The “Anti-Imperialist Youth League,” true to its name, was

full of vigour and fighting spirit becoming youth, with great love for comrades and the organization, who found joy in this love. The first-stage goal of the League .was to expand membership at schools in Kirin and in the neighbouring villages. For a certain period of time, the General first trained those progressive youth who had come to Kirin from various districts, then sent them to schools in the city and to villages to carry on activities, so that lower organizations soon came into ex- . istence in many parts and extended the vigorous activities. For example, at the Wenkuang Middle School in Kirin City, scores of students organized'a big branch of the League. In farming areas the League’s organization expanded rapidly. Major results were achieved particularly in Hsinantun near Kirin. Despite his busy schedule, the General made trips Saturdays and Sundays to such farming villages as Chialun and Hsinantun to give lectures and provide guidance to the League’s lower organizations.

So the ‘‘Anti-Imperialist Youth League,” a secret organization, formed and led by the General, spread anti-Japanese, patriotic thought among broad segments of youth and students and peasants and rallied them around the organization. The General’s activities became even more vigorous than before, as the organization of the Communist Youth League, which the General held under his control as a nucleus underground organization, expanded its influence. When the 84

LEADER OF THE NATION TAKES THE ROAD TO..,

General Kim I] Sung leading a secret meeting of the Communist Youth League

General first engaged in the youth movement in Kirin, there was no communist organization in existence, although MarxistLeninist thoughts were spreading. It was under such circumstances that the General, in the summer of 1927, organized the

Communist Youth League for the first time in Kirin. The General established this organization with progressive youth and students as its members. Placing mass organizations such as the “Korean Juvenile Association in Kirin,” the “Korean Ryoogil Students’ Society” and the “Anti-Imperialist Youth League,” under the influence of the Communist Youth League, the General strengthened his leadership in a unified way. The Communist Youth League steadily expanded its in-

fluence. Its branches were established at various schools in Kirin. A lower organization came into being at the Tunhua 85

KIM IL SUNG

Middle School, far away.

Even beyond the fact that the League itself was a secret organization, all its activities were conducted in strict secrecy because of the severe suppression of the Manchurian warlords.

In many cases, the General selected quiet forests of pine trees across the Sungari River, and such parks as Poshan Park and Nanchiang Park as conference sites. Such clandestine conferences in forests were attended by representatives of many middle schools in Kirin, including the Kirin Normal School. They made reports to the General on their activities, and on

the basis of such reports the General gave them new instructions.

The basement of Yowangmiao (temple to the Chinese god of medicine) in Poshan Park was often used as a meeting place when strict secrecy was called for. As the Communist Youth League stepped up its activities © and increased its influence among the masses, the General organized and mobilized youth and students to an active struggle against the Japanese aggressors and the Chinese Kuomintang warlords. The open struggle by these youth and students, conducted for the first time under the General’s leadership, was a school

strike against reactionary teachers of the Yuwen Middle School. At that time, as the role of the League and the leftist tendency among students increased in the school, right-wing reactionary teachers were openly making malicious plots to cope with this. On the strength of the power of the reactionary warlords they applied pressure on progressive teachers, including the headmaster. They began to oppress students’ freedom to choose subjects of their preference, and even the still limited democratic freedom in school management. Students, indignant over the outrageous acts, stood up against them. The General mobilized the organization of the Communist &6

LEADER OF THE NATION TAKES THE ROAD TO...

Youth League and carried out a school strike to crush the plots of the reactionary teachers. Under the General’s careful planning and leadership, all students stood up united. They refused to attend classes and made a powerful protest, exposing the crimes of a teacher in charge of discipline, and other evil instructors. At the same time, they demanded, among other things, improvement in the treatment accorded to students, a guarantee that subjects preferred by students should be taught according to students’ preferences, and a promise not to apply pressure on the headmaster. All reactionary teachers were frightened and overcome by the strong action of the students who were prepared to resort to force if need be. In the end, the school authorities accepted the demands presented by students, and the strike ended in victory. Thereafter, some freedom was allowed in the selection of subjects, while the treatment of students was also improved. The results of the struggle were valuable. The General attached great importance to the school strike in that students keenly realized, through experience, the power of unity that led to their victory. This was an important means of achieving a greater victory in the future. The General, encouraged by the initial victory, expanded the scale of struggle boldly, and the students’ struggle stirred the whole city of Kirin and developed into a struggle against the Kirin-Hoiryung railway project that had a great impact on the whole of Manchuria. The Japanese imperialists who had long been making preparations for the invasion of Manchuria, finished the laying of

the Kirin-Tunhua railway line. To extend this line, they started in 1928 the project of the Kirin-Hoiryung line which, along with the Changchun-Talien line, was planned as an important trunk line for their aggression on Manchuria. 87

KIM IL SUNG

In October 1928, under the General’s leadership, members of the Communist Youth League organized a struggle against the Kirin-Hoiryung railway project, the purpose of which was the Japanese imperialists’ invasion of Manchuria. The struggle expanded into violent anti-Japanese demonstrations, joined by a wide segment of youth and students. Standing in the forefront of these demonstrations were the “Anti-Imperialist Youth League,” the “Korean Ryoogil Students’ Society” and other mass organizations under the guidance of the Communist Youth League. Students of all schools at Kirin City took part in the demonstrations. Students demonstrating on the streets formed groups of three or four, and even up to ten. Waving streamers, they gave agitation speeches to the masses to fully expose the aggressive purpose of the Japanese imperialists’ Kirin-Hoiryung railway project, and call ed upon them to actively join in their struggle. These youth

fe

.

ese

bi

:

ea

General Kim I] Sung leading the struggle of youth and students in Kirin against the Kirin-Hoiryung railway project 88

LEADER OF THE NATION TAKES THE ROAD TO...

and students were followed by all the students in the city who formed their respective school columns and surged through the streets like a raging tide. The shouts of the demonstrators shook the whole of Kirin. “Down with the Japanese imperialist aggressors!” “We oppose the Kirin-Hoiryung railway project!” From the high rooftops, bills were scattered. They were appeals condemning the aggression by the Japanese imperialists and the traitorous acts of the reactionary Kuomintang warlords, and the city was turned into a crucible of struggle. The massive student demonstrations continued almost daily until Névember, gaining further momentum as the masses gradually joined the demonstrators. The reactionary Kuomintang warlords, who were in league with the Japanese imperialist aggressors, mobilized the police to bring this situation under control. But the demonstrators were undaunted. More than 20 persons were killed or wounded as the police attacked, wielding bayonets. The demonstrators dispersed for a while in the face of armed repression, but their struggle became even more vigorous than before. The Communist Youth League and the mass organizations including the “Anti-Imperialist Youth League,” organized students’ pickets and posted them in different places in

the city under the energetic leadership of General Kim II Sung. The gallant pickets encircled or tied down the police everywhere in the city with staves, to cover the activities of their comrades-in-arms in the demonstration. This prevented the scoundrels committing outrages against the demonstrators at will. Seizing this chance, the demonstrators organized a boycott of Japanese goods, carrying goods out of Japanese stores and throwing them into the Sungari River. The anti-Japanese struggle of the valorous youth and stu-

dents in Kirin finally touched off the active solidarity struggle 89

KIM IL SUNG

of youth and students in Harbin, Tienchin and many other cities of China.

The Harbin students in particular, who rose up in a

large-scale solidarity struggle, waged a fierce fight against the police on November 9, in which some

one hundred

and fifty

students were wounded. So the struggle against the Kirin-Hoiryung railway project triggered a wave of solidarity struggles in various parts, and was reported not only in China but in Korea as well, attracting

attention from people in all quarters. The “Dong-a Ilbo,” a Korean language daily then published in Seoul, carried a report datelined November 2, 1928, describ-

ing the student demonstrations in Kirin and how their struggle spread. The story was headlined: “Anti-Japanese Struggle in Kirin Assumes Serious Proportions over the Extension of KirinTunhua Railway Line and Other Problems; Students Demon- — strate Daily; Anti-Japanese Movement in Tienchin Also Serious for Several Days Running.” The same paper, in its November 13 issue, also reported on the student struggle at Harbin, under this headline: “Anti-Japanese Student Bodies in Harbin Step Up Opposition Against Kirin-Hoiryung Railway Line; Clash with Police on 9th; 148 Wounded.” The anti-Japanese demonstrations of students in Kirin under the leadership of the General and members of the Communist Youth League dealt a heavy blow to the Japanese imperialists and to the traitorous reactionary warlords, and boosted the antiJapanese sentiment of a wide segment of youth and students and popular masses. The General augmented the role of the Communist Youth League and the “Anti-Imperialist Youth League’ and other mass organizations through these struggles, in the course of which the General trained and proved the members, thereby further strengthening the organizations. He learned the lesson that organizations under united leadership and using correct 90

LEADER OF THE NATION TAKES THE ROAD TO...

political slogans with the unity of all anti-Japanese forces, would certainly lead the struggle to victory. The General also organized and directed a struggle against the machinations of the reactionary warlords. This was one of the most pressing tasks related to the so-called “Mitsuya Agreement.” The Japanese imperialists believed that the anti-Japanese movement by Koreans in Manchuria would not only interfere with their aggressive policy towards Manchuria but also pose a direct threat to their rule of Korea. On June 11, 1925 they had Miyamatsu Mitsuya, director of the police bureau, the Govern-

ment-General of Korea, act as their representative in concluding a treaty’ concerning the control of Koreans in Manchuria, with Chang Tso-lin, head of the warlords in Three Eastern Provinces

of China. This document is the so-called “Mitsuya Agreement.” According to the agreement, any arrested Korean member of the anti-Japanese movement in Manchuria was without fail to be handed over to the Japanese consulate, and the Japanese would pay prize money in consideration of the arrest, with part of the money to be distributed among officials who arrested such Koreans.

Because of this agreement, the Manchurian warlords

became increasingly pro-Japanese, and the army and police tried hard to arrest Korean members of the anti-Japanese movement. Under such circumstances the General mobilized the organizations of the Communist Youth League and even inducted Chinese youth and students in order to organize a fight against the

Chinese warlords. The school strikes staged in 1929 by middle school students at Kirin City against the counterrevolutionary “punitive operations in the north” plan of the Chinese warlords were part of the struggle against the warlords. Along with the popular anti-Japanese demonstrations staged by students at Kwangjoo of Korea about the same time, it had a great revolutionary impact on the students in many other parts. 91

KIM IL SUNG

The General often absented himself from school to go to such faraway

places as Fusung,

Antu

and Tunhua

and else-

where, to direct the activities of the Communist Youth League and other mass organizations while organizing and leading the struggles of youth and students at Kirin. During his tours of various places at that time the General once in a while came across eager persons. Old man Cha Chun Ri was one such. This

old man

was named Cha, meaning “wheel,’’ because he

was said to be able to cover a distance of a thousand rz in one night. One day the General and his friends wrote a play and a number of songs ready for performance on the road and left Kirin to visit the old man who lived at Tuchihtung, between Fusung and Mengchiang. The General and his group made an itinerant performance while touring areas of Tunhua and Chien- — tao via Huatien from Kirin, before they reached their destination Tuchihtung. Luckily, old man Cha was home. Although advanced in years, he was

in excellent health and had an im-

posing bearing with a long, opulent white beard. One member of the group asked him whether he could really walk a thousand rz in one night. Whereupon the old man replied he could not walk a thousand ri but that he did travel five hundred in one night. The old man carried on the righteous volunteer movement, crossing the mountains of Kanggye, and had great insight and firm political convictions. He told the passionate youth visitors about the corrupt life of the former Korean rulers, and said the Koreans could have fought the Japanese aggressors successfully and developed their own country. But, he said indignantly, they could not fight as they wanted to because of the corrupt and incompetent feudal bureaucrats. Then the old man said he was placing all his hopes on the young, now that he was too old to engage in any independence movement. 92

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“..If independence is what you want, you must act. You must get as many Japanese aggressors as you can. And you must always be on guard against those pawns of the Japanese imperialists who hide themselves among the Koreans.... You must unite with whomever you meet, and fight against the enemy...,” the old man said.

Old white-haired Cha Chun Ri, speaking thus about the lessons he had learned during his long life, looked tragic and solemn: To the General, of course, the political views or the methods of struggle mentioned by the old man were nothing new. But the old man’s ardent aspirations had a great impact on the General. The General saw in this old man a symbolic figure of the fatherland in agony over its ill fate and his voice seemed to convey the heartrending appeal of the middle-aged and older generations. After his visit to the old man, during the days of the fierce anti-Japanese armed struggle, the General is said to have often remembered the old man’s words. The General then returned to Kirin. His activities covered a wide area including Yenchi, Tunghua, Changchun, Harbin and Itung, etc. In these areas the General mingled with ambitious youth and induced them to join the Communist Youth League. By so doing the General expanded and strengthened its organizational ranks. He frequented Fusung to direct the activities of the “Sainal Children’s Corps.” Rallying in this way broad strata of youth and students under the banner of socialist ideas, the General exhibited his fiery passion. With the organized force thus acquired, the General waged a vigorous fight against the Japanese aggressors and their puppets. Every step taken by the General, firmly stand-

ing in the van of the youth and student movement, was based on a revolutionary conviction and correct struggle tactics. 93

3. Blow to Hamperers of Cohesion

THE GENERAL waged a principled struggle against the erroneous views and actions of bourgeois nationalists while directing the activities of the Communist Youth League and other youth and juvenile mass organizations.

About that time, in Kirin, there were many self-styled Com- © munists but there were far more

nationalists among

them, O

Dong Jin, Li Woong and Jang Chul Ho and other nationalist leaders, who came there from other districts. They tried to bring the youth and student movement under their control, especially making the General and other progressive youth their fellow travellers for their own nationalist movement.

But the General did not budge an inch from the road of socialism which he had determinedly chosen through his own search for truth; not only so, the General ruthlessly criticized the incorrect views and actions of the nationalists. It was a spring day in 1927. Rumours spread that An Chang Ho, who was respected by members of the nationalist movement as a “veteran in the nationalist movement,” would come

to Kirin to give a political lecture on “the future of the Korean nationalist movement.” Members of the nationalist movement who had come earlier to Kirin welcomed him as they would a “president” and respectfully guided him to the meeting place. 94

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Leading functionaries of the nationalist movement organizations in various parts of Manchuria as well as members of the Independence Army and their “supporters,” who took part in a meeting to combine three “boos” (the Jungeui-boo,' Chameutboo,’ Sinmin-boo®), numbering several hundred in all, were gathered at the lecture hall. The General, out of curiosity, went to hear his lecture along with many of youth and students. The lecturer spoke with animation. Members of the nationalist movement were excited by his speech and gave him loud applause at every pause in the speech. But most of the youth and students were very cool towards the speaker, for they were not particularly impressed. This was especially true of the General, who could not but regard the speaker with contempt. The General could not feel any interest in the speech, which, from the outset, was nothing but propaganda on false nationalism. An Chang Ho contended throughout his lecture that “every individual should improve himself” and “a movement should be developed to build up national strength through education and industrial development,” and that “preparation to acquire such power is the only shortcut to the attainment of independence.” It was a preposterous contention. The advocacy of “selfimprovement by individuals” betrayed the naive principle of non-resistance, that people can become happy through “selfimprovement” even if the reactionary political system remains unchanged. How would it be possible,

with the stifling situation of the

whole nation suffering under the yoke of the enemy, to promote freely education and industrial development? How could it be possible to “build up national strength” under such a situation? Even if that were possible, how could the “aim of independence” be achieved without struggle against the enemy? It was quite impossible. It was impossible to ignore the requirements of the 95

KIM IL SUNG

times that the people should be organized and educated for the revolution. And it was absolutely impossible to delay the struggle at the very time when a life-or-death struggle must be fought between the enemy and the Korean people. The General perceived that the theory expounded by An Chang Ho was nothing but a capitulating contention of national reformists which, raising its head in the national movement, called for “reformation of national character” to make “civilized”’ slaves, “development of national industry” and “promotion of agriculture.” The General promptly wrote a list of questions arguing against the lecture and sent it to the speaker through a student. An Chang Ho, after his fiery speech, was so dismayed that he stood speechless on the platform, unable to answer any of the General’s questions. After that, the nationalist leaders began to regard the General as a “boy of a different colouring.’ The more attention they paid to the General, the more sharply the

General criticized them. About that time, in 1927, a meeting to combine three ““boos”’ by the nationalists was held over some months at a rice mill named “Fuhsingtai” in Kirin. The meeting had been called for the purpose of consolidating into a single organization, the Chameui-boo, Jungeui-boo and Sinmin-boo. The rice mill was a short way off the road that the General took to go to the Yuwen Middle School. So the General often dropped in at the mill to take a close look at the meeting. Although they were supposedly discussing the unification of the three “boos,” the attendants were actually engaged in petty bickerings for positions, so that the session was as noisy as a marketplace. There were scenes of bigotry and dirty insults, and not even a modicum of rudimentary etiquette and conscience was to be found. It would have been “building castles in the air” to expect any patriotism from them. Deeply disillusioned 96

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with them, the General once wrote a satirical play—a play depicting three men fighting for positions—to express his sharp criticism

of those

nationalists.

Of

course,

nationalists

who

watched this play were flurried and quickly left the scene before the curtain fell. The following day, the General met them and asked casually, “Why did you go home in the middle of the play? I wish you had stayed till the end.”” Whereupon they showed anger, saying, “Why did you insult us last night?” The General replied, feigning ignorance: “Why are you so angry, sir? It’s no use quarrelling. The play we did last night was an honest representation of the feelings of young men. Why don’t you pay more attention to what they say?” The nationalists, evidently ashamed of themselves, said, “We should do something so they won’t laugh at us.” They could not say any more. It was several days later that the “Kookminboo” (National Department) came into existence for form’s sake under the name of a “combined” organization representing the nationalist movement. While they were still bogged down over‘a power struggle in their meeting, a man who announced himself as financial chief with great pomp, came over from the “Provisional Government in Shanghai,” and accompanied by several representatives of

that government, strutted about the city. The self-styled big wheel was coarse by nature and a stubborn conservative. But when he met young men, he pretended to be progressive and even cracked witless jokes. One Sunday, the General, accompanied by several of his progressive youth and students, met this man at a rice mill called “Taifengko” and challenged him to a debate. “’..You old men are so blind for power that you seldom think of your country There are only a small number of Korean peasants here, yet you are quarrelling among

yourselves to get 97

KIM IL SUNG

control of them. What’s the use of all that?...”’ the General asked. Questions continued: ““You have established a ‘government’ and taken a position within it when you have actually no real power and no masses to back you up. Is it of any use to the independence movement? You have squandered independence movement funds collected from your fellow countrymen, taken trips to great powers for help, but what have you obtained from them by doing so? Just sitting back idly and protecting dearly the name of the ‘government—is this the way to independence?” The important person from the “Provisional Government in Shanghai,” faced with such sharp questions and refutations by youth and students, was unable to respond. It was quite natural that the man who had made his appearance with no guiding» theory but only the status of an “important person” of the nationalist movement camp should have found himself unable to refute clear-cut reasoning by youth and students who were deeply absorbed in the learning of Marxism-Leninism. ‘The “important person” suddenly took his coat off, and said. “Are you trying to say that only you are great men and we are just rubbish? I will make a fool of you just as you are doing of me.” So shouting, he was about to dash out into the street. The General, witnessing this outrageous deed of the rascal, clearly realized once again what kind of people were the selfstyled “patriots” of the “Provisional Government in Shanghai.” The General’s struggle against the mistaken actions of nationalists was waged on a full scale, with the Meeting of the General Federation of Youth in South Manchuria of 1929 providing the impetus. In the spring of 1929 the meeting was held at Wangchingmen, Hsingching county, under the sponsorship of the “Kookmin-boo,” the federation of nationalist organizations. Although 98

LEADER OF THE NATION TAKES THE ROAD TO...

he had no connections with the General Federation of Youth in South Manchuria or the General Federation of Youth in East Manchuria, the General attended the meeting in his capacity as representative of the Paishan Youth League in order to unite the youth movement and strengthen the communist influence within the anti-Japanese youth organizations. The Paishan Youth League was an organization of young men in the vicinity of Mt. Baikdoo such as Fusung, Antu, Linchiang, part of Changpai and some areas of Tunhua. It was a branch of the General Federation of Youth in South Manchuria. Prior to the opening of the meeting, some of the assembly delegates organized its preparatory committee, which was composed of the General and many progressive youths. Noting this, leaders of the “Kookmin-boo” thought that the meeting would not go as they wished,so

on the eve of the convention

they

terrorized the preparatory committee members. The ringleaders were Ko I Hu and others, who professed themselves to be theoreticians among the nationalists. At this time, the General

was

informed

by his “T. D.”

comrades that some committee members including Choi Bong had been arrested by the nationalists. The General was advised to hide himself at once to avoid the imminent danger. But, infuriated at the terrorism of the nationalists, the General visited Ko I Hu, one of the sponsors of the meeting and accused him to his face, saying: “You people have called the Meeting of the General Federation of Youth in South Manchuria but you must listen to and comment on the opinions of the preparatory committee members. You studied only the outline report submitted by the committee and criticized it one-sidedly. Now you are arresting some of the committee members. What’s the matter with this? What you are doing is nothing but white terrorism among people of the same nation in a foreign land.... You cannot sup99

KIM IL SUNG

press others’ thoughts. Although you may oppress the body, you cannot suppress thoughts. The thoughts of young men are now developing fast. Your attempt to dampen their activities will have only. an adverse effect on our revolution. If you want to kill me, go ahead!... I’m ready to die any time.” The same night the General left for Neungga, where his comrades were staying. And, together with them, the General issued an indignation statement at Sanyuanpu, Liuho county, exposing the crimes of those nationalists who brutally killed Choi Bong and other members of the meeting’s preparatory committee. In this way the road which the General opened up to revolution indicated by Marxism-Leninism was marked by a serious ideological struggle against the nationalists. At that time, the General conducted a severe struggle against the factionalists who were doing harm to the communist movement. The ill-effects of the factionalists on the communist movement were tremendous. As Marxism-Leninism spread and the labour movement expanded in our country, the Korean Communist Party was organized in 1925, but it was dissolved in 1928 because of the cruel oppression of the Japanese imperialists and the splitting machinations of the factionalists. Although the Party was disbanded, the workers and peasants continued their struggle under the direction of the Communists. But factionalists failed to derive any lessons from their crimes

even after the dissolution of the Party. Instead they formed groups for the reconstrustion of the Communist Party, centering on their own factionalist groups, and continuing their divisive schemes. It was the same with the factionalists in Manchuria. They formed Manchurian bureaus for their own groups for the reconstruction of the Communist Party, and were embroiled in interfactional and intrafactional feuds. “Leaders” of these factionalist groups in Kirin made their appearance even at discus100

LEADER OF THE NATION TAKES THE ROAD TO...

sions and oratorical meetings on political problems, held for Korean youth and students, and publicized the views of their groups in a serious attempt to win over the youth and students. Infuriated over the ugly behaviour of the factionalists, the General criticized their mistaken contentions relentlessly and exposed all their crimes before the youth and students. The General branded as a crime the actions of factionalists who undermined unity. The General also levelled sharp criticism at those “leaders” of factionalists who called themselves “veteran Communists,” in such factions as the “Marxist-Leninist Group,”

the “Tuesday Association,” and the “Seoul-Shanghai Group.” He did not forgive them for forgetting the immediate tasks of the revolution and bluffing with empty squabbling. So the General launched an ideological struggle against the factionalists on one hand, and against the nationalists on the other. By this means, the General did his best to separate youth and students from their influence and unite them under the banner of Marxism-Leninism. On the basis of such an ideological struggle the General was able to advance vigorously the youth and student movement around Kirin in a short space of time.

101

4. Behind Iron Bars

WHILE

THE

GENERAL

was away from Kirin to attend

the Meeting of the General Federation of Youth in South Manchuria, the situation in that city became tense. The Japanese imperialists, who had established contact with the Chinese reactionary Kuomintang warlords, began to oppress with unprece-

dented severity Korean Communists and members of the Korean anti- Japanese movement in Manchuria in the latter part of 1929. A new greater danger began to mount from without around the General who was already aware of dangers from within, such as the malicious actions by Ko I Hu. At this time, a Communist Youth League organization at the Fifth Middle School in Kirin was denounced by a spy. This triggered a whirlwind of arrests involving Communist Youth League members in the city. The General, too, was arrested by the Chinese reactionary warlords. The warlords could not obtain specific evidence of the activities of League members although they arrested many members. The warlords regarded the General as the leading figure of the League but could not get hold of any documentary evidence. They investigated the General’s background but they could not find anything special that violated the law. The authorities also investigated the General’s relations with friends including Chinese, but none of his friends who were interrogated spoke 102

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against him. So the authorities could do nothing but conjecture without evidence that the General had great ideological and political

influence on the youth and students. They repeated torture and intimidation, but they could not extract any definite statement from the General; still they refused to’ acquit him. He was eventually sent to Kirin Prison with a document “charging” him with directing a communist revolutionary strug-

Kirin Prison and the cell where General Kim I] Sung was confined between: 1929 and the spring of 1930 108

KIM IL SUNG

gle in order to destroy the existing order by instigating the youth and students. This was his second imprisonment since he started underground struggles. He served his first prison term at Fusung. He had been arrested for performing a play which he had presented with his friends to criticize the feudalistic thought,

after a pawn of the enemy informed the police of the performance. While the General was being held at Antu Policé Station for the third time, his mother energetically fought to seek his release, leading a large mass of people. Kirin Prison, the second place where the General was confined, was a cross-shaped prison with corridors extending like a cross to the north and south and to the east and west. Cells were lined along both sides of the corridors, and the cell where the General was confined was the second on the right of the northern corridor. Chained by the brutal power, the General realized anew the arduousness of the revolution and could not but give deep thought to the effect of violence in a struggle between the enemy and the Korean pepole.

The General suffered behind the bars not so much from the physical pain inflicted upon him as the spiritual pain—the spiritual pain he felt when he saw prison inmates were forced to serve terms, and when he was keenly conscious of the ugly society in which justice and conscience were made crimes. The General could not bear the national insults and humiliations forced upon the homeless Korean prisoners. At such a time the General, to soothe his heavy heart, remembered the poem com-

posed by his late father.

You fellow countrymen without a land, Like dust on the sea, You drift and wander,

Do not weep over your lost land, 104

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The day is not far off, When we take our fatherland back

Even while he was confined behind iron bars the General thought of the world. At one time he pondered over the path followed by his father, and his will. At another the General thought of the mountains and rivers of his fatherland

and of the tens of thousands of Korean patriots who were chained in prison cells in a foreign land, taking to his heart their angry cries. When the General was absorbed in these thoughts, the whole of Korea seemed like one giant prison. Nay, Korea itself was a blood-smeared prisoner confined in a gaol called Japanese imperialism. The General keenly realized that love for unhappy Korea could be found only in a struggle to defeat executioner Japanese imperialism shackling the hands and feet of the nation. Without eliminating the armed enemy, it was indeed impossible to save the fatherland and build a paradise of hope. Contrary to the enemy’s expectations the prison only strengthened the General’s determination to stake his life on the liberation and prosperity of his fatherland. The General gradually became accustomed to his prison life. As it became possible for him to grasp the movements within the prison, the General utilized every opportunity and condition that came his way to maintain contact with his comrades within and without the prison and continued to direct their struggles. At the same time the General approached prison warders and patiently educated them. In due course, the warders began to respect and think favourably of the General. Whenever he met them, he explained communism

in easy terms.

In this process of education, the

guards changed their attitude towards Communists and eventually worked for the General in maintaining contact with his 105

KIM IL SUNG

comrades outside.

They gave the General all the books and

goods sent by his comrades outside, without looking into them,

so he was able to continue his reading with relative ease. The General continued to read voraciously. He read such books as “On Imperialism,” “Colonial and National Problems” and “Life and Activities of Lenin” over and over again until they were worn thin. While reading books on political questions, he meditated deeply on the future of the revolution. Especially, he devoted himself to seeking the true nature of the Japanese imperialist colonial policy towards Korea, and experiences and lessons of the national liberation movement. How will the Korean revolution develop in the future? What are the means of expediting the liberation of Korea, and what is the consistent principle? These questions constantly occupied’ the General’s mind. The General gave special thought to the question, how should the “violence for violence” principle be translated into action, and devoted himself to mapping out a strategic plan for Korean national liberation. In the spring of 1930, after eight months of confinement, he was released.

106

5. Scene of Activities Moved to Villages

A NUMBER OF HURDLES lay before the General as he came out of prison. While he was in prison his name was struck off the student roster at the Yuwen Middle School. Not only so, he found that the Communist Youth League organization had been almost destroyed. So the General could not resume his activities at the school. It was very difficult for him to form contacts with his comrades who were now scattered in many places. Living was hard, too, and everything was in confusion, the prospect of his activities was blurred. Moreover, the grave situation caused by the May 30 Uprising which swept over East Manchuria made it far more difficult for the General to carry on his revolutionary activities. The

factionalists, who

were

then engrossed

in factional

strife, dissolved Manchurian bureaus for their own groups for the reconstruction of the Communist Party as soon as the question of one party for one country was presented by the Comintern in 1930, and in an attempt to enter the Chinese Communist Party they blindly followed the “Left” adventurism

advocated by Li Li-san of the Chinese Communist Party so that they could prove their “revolutionary spirit.”” Without considering the conditions, they drove lots of the masses into a reckless uprising in East Manchuria on May 30, 1930. 107

KIM IL SUNG

The Japanese imperialist aggressors, taking advantage of this, arrested and brutally murdered many Korean Communists and of the revolutionary masses. At the same time they schemed to pit the Korean people against the Chinese. Meanwhile, the Kuomintang warlord government and a certain segment of the Chinese people who did not understand ‘Koreans, branding the maltreated Koreans as “cat’s-paws of the Japanese,” with the May 30 Uprising as the impetus, began to reject the Koreans unjustifiably and massacred them at random. In this way, Koreans, deprived of their country, were subjected to persecution and oppression, being attacked from both sides, by the high-handed Japanese aggressors and the Kuomintang warlords. In this atmosphere of brutality, the General, too, had to face

increasing danger immediately after his release. But having left — the prison in a new fighting spirit, he did not merely stand by with folded arms. The unhappy situation urgently demanded that he launch a struggle. With heroic determination, the General bid farewell to Kirin, the place where he had made a significant search for truth, the place full of dear memories of his fruitful struggles, and moved to Chialun, Changchun county to carry on new activities, with the area as the centre. Until now he had directed his activities mainly at youth and students in cities, with Kirin as the centre. Now he shifted the theatre of his activities to the farming villages and started to work among broad sections of the peasant masses. This was part of the far-reaching strategic plan he had worked out while in prison. This plan was based on the principle of MarxismLeninism that in order to carry out a revolution, especially a national liberation struggle in colonial countries where the peasants represent a major proportion of the population, it is important to educate the workers and peasants in revolutionary ideas. The imperialists, without exception, leave intact the feu108

LEADER OF THE NATION TAKES THE ROAD TO...

dalistic or semi-feudalistic relations in their colonies and subordinate countries, and utilize the comprador capitalitsts and landlords as the pillars of their colonial rule. For that reason the people in colonial countries have to suffer double and treble exploitation and oppression, not only from external imperialist

forces but also from their accomplices, the internal reactionary forces. And the peasants, who represent an absolute majority of the population, are the chief target of exploitation and oppression. Accordingly, the national liberation revolution in colonial countries assumes the character of an anti-imperialist, anti-feudal, democratic revolution,

with the solution of peasant

and land problems as the key task to be undertaken. In waging the national liberation revolution in colonial countries the Communists have to concentrate their efforts on educating and rallying broad segments of the peasant masses as a reliable ally of the working class and leading them to the struggle. The General moved to the Chialun area in the belief that this task could be accomplished. Chialun, situated between Kirin and Changchun, some 40 kilometres from Changchun, was a farming village with a small railway station. It was in this village that the General formed revolutionary organizations and directed their activities from the autumn of 1928. He chose this area because it was closer to Changchun and convenient for maintaining communication with Harbin. ; After arriving at Chialun he decided to live at Kuchiatun (or Kutun), some four kilometres away. A small community inhabited by Koreans, Kuchiatun was the centre for communist activity. The majority of the residents had been living in exile after

participating in the March 1 Movement in Korea, and people had settled down after wandering from place to place because L109

KIM IL SUNG

of the difficulties of living. They were pocr peasants and hired hands who, in blood and sweat, eked out a living by cultivating

small paddy fields. The General directed the revolutionary organizations with his comrades in Chialun and Kuyushu, Itung county while travelling back and forth between the two areas and thereby began to enlighten the peasants. At first he set up the fouryear-course Jinmyung School at Chialun and conducted cultural

enlightenment activities. At Kuyushu, the Samgwang School was the centre of such activities. The General provided education free of charge for peasant children who had been unable to study because of poverty, and conducted classes at night to educate youth and the middle-aged and women. On the basis of such enlightenment activities, the General then rallied the residents around organizations formed according to each stratum of society, and trained them politically. He gathered them into the Juvenile Corps or the Juvenile Expeditionary Party, and youth into the Youth Association (AntiImperialist Youth League), women into the Women’s Association and peasants into the Peasants’ Union. The General organized the Juvenile Corps at the Jinmyung

School and the Juvenile Expeditionary Party at the Samgwang School and rallied pupils around them, and gave them the task of delivery of secret messages, guard and sentry duty, collection of information about the enemy, carriage of weapons, military studies, distribution of propaganda materials, etc. Meanwhile, the General admitted progressive youths in localities into the Youth Association (Anti-Imperialist Youth League). The General taught them the progressive thoughts of Marxism-Leninism and gave them such duties as protecting their villages, executing the pawns of the Japanese aggressors and protecting revolutionaries from danger. The Women’s Association and the Peasants’ Union conducted cultural enlight110

LEADER OF THE NATION TAKES THE ROAD TO...

enment activities for the villagers and constantly provided anti-

Japanese education for their members. The Genera! published the political magazine “Bolshevik” by all-night preparations with his comrades while directing the enlightenment and organizational activities. He also arranged short courses and lecture meetings, and educated the popular masses in revolutionary ideas. He was tireless. Seeing the peasants developing revolution-

ary consciousness and their joy over the new power they had gained from organized life, and watching young men energetically carrying out any duties, the General felt his efforts had been Worth-while and saw a bright future for the revolution. As time went on, the peasants’ revolutionary consciousness was enhanced, with the result that all the organizations began to operate positively with great power. The General threw his energy into planned and systematic training of revolutionary cadres at Kuyushu in particular. The General opened a two-year higher course at the four-year-course Samgwang School to receive members of the Juvenile Corps selected from not only Kuyushu but also from Chialun and various parts in South Manchuria. They ranged in age from 14 to 20.

Teachers in charge of the higher course—members of the Anti-Imperialist Youth League—were Communists who had been sent there. They taught the pupils such subjects of social science as the History of Korea, “Das Capital” by K. Marx, “Dialectical Materialism,” “History of the Evolution of Mankind” and “History of the Soviet Socialist Revolution.” These teaching materials were prepared and printed by Communists under the direct leadership of the General. At this school they trained the youth and children in the handling of guns and expanded their military knowledge. Such activities, conducted by the General in the summer eted

KIM IL SUNG

of 1930, were important ones laying the basis for the future of the revolution and foundations of a full-scale armed struggle to come. Indeed, all his activities constituted preparations for transition to armed struggle. In fact, the General was determined to send as a test an armed group into Korea when he embarked on

his activities in the Chialun area. He chose some comrades from among the members of the Anti-Imperialist Youth League and sent them to his uncle, Mr. Kim Hyung Kwon, who was then engaged in activities of the Communist Youth League in Antu, and had him organize an armed group.

The armed group led by Mr. Kim Hyung Kwon left for the homeland in August 1930 to attack the police substation in Pabal-7i, Poongsan county, South Hamgyung Province. In the wake of this, early in September, it dealt telling blows on the Japanese police in the areas of Hongwon county, but on theway back all members of the armed group were arrested by the enemy on a tip given by a spy. As a result, Mr. Kim Hyung Kwon was sentenced to prison for 15 years and, along with his comrades, was in Sudaimoon Prison in Seoul for a long period. In 1935 to our sorrow, he died in prison. The General’s activities had become more complex than ever.

In the summer of 1930, while carrying on activities in villages, he visited many places in the Chitung district as the leader of the Communist Youth League and did his best to form contacts

with comrades

who

were

scattered in various areas,

and to reconstruct the destroyed organizations of the League. But his work during that period was very difficult. The enemy was frantically looking for the General to arrest him. Wherever

he went, the General

found himself in many tight

corners, and indeed was frequently exposed to dangerous situations.

He went to Kirin to establish once again the lost contact 1 ps

LEADER OF THE NATION TAKES THE ROAD TO...

with his comrades.

Although he arrived safely in Kirin, pen-

etrating the enemy’s severe surveillance network, there was no

way for him to meet his friends associated with the organization. The suppression of Koreans by the Japanese imperialist aggressors and the Kuomintang warlords had become intensified as a long-range aftereffect of the May 30 Uprising. Some Chinese wrongly informed against Koreans, shouting “Hsiaotungyangkuei’ (little Japanese)whenever they came across them, murdering them at random. Under these circumstances the comrades of the organization were not there, but in hiding for a while.

Thé General therefore made up his mind to visit a member of the Communist Youth League who was living in Hailung and Chingyuan so as to maintain contact with him. But the warlord authorities threw out a tight cordon, and even spies of Japanese imperialism shadowed

the General, so that it became a matter

of immediate concern for him to get out of Kirin safely. After much thought the General disguised himself as a Chinese gentleman and took a train from a station on the outskirts of Kirin instead of going direct to the main station in the city.

So he was able to reach Hailung Station safely, travelling second class. He was somewhat relieved, but the enemy thought they

could arrest him this time without fail, for the spy who had followed the General all the way from Kirin saw the General

buy a ticket for Hailung at the suburban station and informed the Japanese consulate in Hailung immediately. Soldiers and police were sent to the station at once, planning to arrest the General the moment he got off the train. Unaware of the enemy’s plot (he was told about it later by the comrades), he at once saw the bloodthirsty Japanese soldiers and police waiting for the arrival of the train, as the train pulled 118

KIM IL SUNG

into Hailung Station. He felt instinctively that something was up. So he quickly left the station compound, and took a horsedrawn cart to a high-class hotel in the city, making a narrow escape from danger. The General stayed at the hotel for several days, during which time he established contact with the comrades he had planned to meet and gave them specific duties, and left the hotel for Chiaoho to meet other comrades. From then on the youth movement of the Hailung district gathered momentum. The smell of blood filled the air at Chiaoho, where the General visited, because of the violent oppression by the enemy, and coming at a time when the young men who had been in action were in hiding, the General was unable to meet any of his com- ~ rades. The enemy’s oppression was so severe that the General, too, had to hide for the time being.

He decided reluctantly,

to

visit an old friend of his late father to get help there. In this district, Jang Chul Ho, an old-time intimate friend of his father, and Li Jai Soon who was also on intimate terms with his father, were living. But on visiting them, the General was disappointed. First he called on Jang Chul Ho, who, now greedy for money, showed no interest at all in the independence movement; he had become

completely corrupt. Instead of being pleased with the General’s visit, the man seemed to tremble with fear that the visit might spell misfortune for him. The General left and visited Li Jai Soon, who expressed some pleasure at seeing the son of his one-time friend but would not shelter the General either, and said that he would have to part with the General after having a meal together. After leaving, the General sank into deep thought. When the activities were going on well and there was a 114

LEADER OF THE NATION TAKES THE ROAD TO...

bright prospect before them they styled themselves advocates of the national movement and behaved as if they were patriots. But as the enemy intensified suppression and the situation became difficult, they left the ranks, seeking the road to personal comfort, and cast away not only their one-time intimate relations and even their sense of obligation towards their late friend. Those who degraded themselves in thought were mean in human terms as well. The General only despised the human scums. How fortunate it was that they were not comrades. No severe revolutionary struggle can prove successful unless its memtbers are firmly united in ideology and will and as human beings. The comradeship of sharing joys and suffering, comradeship remaining unchanged even in face of death; such comradeship should be fostered among his comrades, the General resolved. So he renewed his determination and left to visit a friend associated with a youth organization in Kirin. But receiving information from a spy, the Kuomintang warlord clique was again on the lookout for the General. Facing this dangerous situation, the General managed to dodge the enemy until he arrived at a certain house. A Korean woman appeared from the house at that moment and said to him, “I see you are being pursued. I don’t know who you are, but carry my baby on your back, quick.” As soon as he did so, the woman told him to make a fire in the oven, adding that if the enemies came, she would deal with them, so he should keep silent. Confronted with danger, he did as she said.

Before long Kuomintang troops rushed to the door of the woman’s home and bluntly asked, ““You must have seen a young man coming here. Where is he?” Whereupon, pretending to know nothing, the woman replied calmly that nobody had come. 115

KIM IL SUNG

But at that moment, the baby on the General’s back began to cry, probably because he was a stranger. At that moment the fate of the General seemed to hang in a balance. Immediately the woman invited the soldiers in Chinese to take a meal, giving them deliberate compliments to save the situation. Murmuring that it was strange that the man within their reach should have disappeared like magic, they left the woman’s home. But the danger of arrest still remained. The courageous, quick-witted woman said to the General, “Please behave as if you are my husband, sir, and stay around for a little while. My husband is out at the farm, and it is about time he came home. So I will go and tell him to stay out for a while. You had better think about what you should do from now on, after the enemies are gone.”

The woman then prepared a meal for the General, saying © that he must be hungry. She was indeed a careful, warm-hearted woman. A little later, the Kuomintang scoundrels returned and now

called to the General to come and do some work for them.

The

woman, as calm as ever, said, “My husband is in poor health,

so I will take his place.” So saying, she went out with the soldiers, and having finished the work, came back. The General greeted the woman’s husband who

returned from the farm after a while. The man, who always wanted to help revolutionaries, was kind enough to tell the General where he could hide himself more safely. The General expressed deep thanks and bid farewell to the Korean woman and her husband so conscientious and courageous, who had gone the length of exposing themselves to danger for the sake of the General. It was the people who remained faithful and unyielding, although one-time advocates of the independence movement had retreated and become depraved. 116

LEADER OF THE NATION TAKES THE ROAD TO...

The General realized at that time that the people who continued to hold unchanging power and beauty in any storm and stress, these people are the most valuable bosom on which all revolutionaries must depend. The General later met the friend he had been looking for, and through him, grasped in detail the situation of the area where his friend was living. So after consulting with him on future activities, the General left for Harbin. Having arrived at his destination, the General succeeded in establishing contact with the organization there, and discussed plans for future activities with his comrades. But,’here again, the General had to overcome many diffculties in order to avoid the searching eyes of the enemy. Since police inspection was severe at any time at ordinary hotels, the General decided to stay at a safe, high-class hotel run by a White Russian. Soon after settling down at the hotel, White Russian maids frequently came over to take orders from the General, who was dressed in a fine business suit. He was at a loss, for he did not have enough money to take meals at such a high-class hotel. So every time a maid came to his room to take orders, the General told her that he had already eaten at the home of his friend. At supper time, the General went out and bought fried maize-cake, the cheapest food available, to fill his stomach. Finishing his business at Harbin, the General bid farewell to his comrades and came to Tunhua. But the enemy’s oppression being as severe there as elsewhere, the General, in the autumn of 1930, stopped at Kuyushu, Itung county, to direct revolution-

ary organizations there, and from there the General and his comrades went to Wuchiatzu, Huaite county, to mingle with the peasants No hardship could block the General’s advance. The enemy spread a tight cordon but failed to catch him. How many death 117

KIM IL SUNG

lines had he broken through? There was no room for despair in his heart, for having a far-reaching plan, he always believed in his comrades and the people and continued to live for their sake.

Once taking to the road, the General never failed to reach

his destination even if his advance was delayed by the enemy or he had to make a detour. Everywhere he went, the General undertook plans to prepare for the revolution, and as his mission

was completed in one place, he moved on to another without letup, making friends with comrades everywhere and was warmly loved by the people. Even when he slept on a hard bed prepared by an old woman in a thatched-roof house, the General was grateful even though she was a complete stranger, thinking over plans for his new activities until daybreak, and seeing poor fellow countrymen in tatters, the General disciplined himself.

Struggle and revolution were the General’s only duty and his only happiness. Wuchiatzu, where the General and his comrades visited was entirely a farming village consisting of more than 300 scattered Korean households, the first settlers there.

Such mass organizations as the Youth Association, the Women’s Association and the Fellow Peasants’ Association had been formed and were active in this district. As an educational institution, the Samsung Primary School had been established to teach the rising generation. Cultural enlightenment activities were also being carried out for the peasants. But because progressive thoughts of Marxism-Leninism had not been disseminated

here, the old shackles

of nationalism

were still there. The General and his comrades formed connections with pioneers and progressive youth in this area, and through them initiated activities to turn the various existing organizations into Marxist-Leninist revolutionary ones. 118

LEADER OF THE NATION

TAKES THE ROAD TO...

First, he turned his attention to the Samsung Primary School and replaced the teachers with progressive youth, while teaching higher-grade students political subjects such as “Criticism of Religions” based on Marxist-Leninist theories, “(Communist Manifesto,” and “Problems of Leninism.”’ The General

formed the Juvenile Vanguard and the Juvenile Expeditionary Party, involving the entire pupils (200) of this school and gave them military training, personally leading the organizations.

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This was not all. Within a few days after they left Chechangtzu the troops caught a large stag. The General, after partaking a little of the meat with his men, had them dry the rest by the campfire, grind it into powder and put it in paper bags. He distributed the bags to his guerrillas, one to each, but set fifty of them aside. The General took up his writing brush with a thoughtful expression, and began writing the names of the members of the missing small unit on each of the bags. On the face of the General, who was writing the names of the guerrillas carefully, was registered the conviction that they would surely return, and his boundless affection for them. When he finished writing the names of all fifty soldiers, the General told one of his men that he should keep the bags with good care to give to the missing soldiers when they met. With such a General, how could the guerrillas be afraid of death in battle, or fail to come back to his bosom, scaling steep cliffs or braving angry waves? Tears welled up into the eyes of all the guerrillas who watched the fifty bags. To them, they became spiritual food which educated them without a word in revolutionary comradeship and united them firmly in ideology and will. In this fashion the General trusted and loved his guerrillas, and taught them to believe in the final victory of the revolution, defend revolutionary constancy to the end and fight self-sacrificingly in order to overcome difficult trials. The General told the guerrillas: 504

FOR FINAL VICTORY

“Communists fight witl* all their energy for the revolution, and find their greatest joy and pride in their struggle. That is why revolutionaries are always bright, cheerful and enthusiastic,

however arduous the revolution is. It is the greatest glory for a revolutionary to fight and die under the red flag of communism. If one on the front falls, the comrade next in line will carry on the fight upholding the flag again. This is the way the revolution will inevitably achieve its final victory.” The significant May Day of 1940 which the guerrillas celebrated near Chechangtzu, Antu county, on the eve of their small-unit activities, showed clearly the noble character and conviction of the General who kept on living and fighting singleheartedly for the revolution. These were very hard times when they had run out of even the salt and maize they had shared with each other. Under the General’s directions the guerrillas caught frogs in a nearby rivulet and held their “feast” of May Day with the dish of frogs. The dish of frogs was more delicious than any sumptuous dainties to the guerrillas, for they took it with optimism, filled with hope and belief in the coming victory. That evening. the General talked in poetic words to his troop members around the campfire about their fatherland, blessed with beautiful scenery and inexhaustible natural resources, his anger at the Japanese invaders who had taken all of that away, and the deeply moving and glorious victory which is to come after the hard revolutionary struggles. Talking about the bright future, the General added:

“Our difficult struggle will surely change today’s frog dish to one of gray mullet from the Daidong River. This is an indisputable truth.” Through these words alone, the guerrillas could realize the future of the revolution as a vivid image. 505

KIM IL SUNG

The General continued: “..How long can man live? A human life at most probably lasts sixty years or so..... We cannot but pity the cowards who did not choose to live their short lives with a clear conscience, but blinded by small immediate gains, have sold their conscience

and betrayed their fatherland and people. The simple folks in our country from old times have always prided themselves on living with a clear conscience if they live only a day. Our conscience means patriotic conscience for the liberation of our fatherland, an indomitable fighting will for the social liberation of the working class, fearless courage and fortitude, and endurance

and heroism that conquer all insurmountable difficulties. The concentrated expression of all this is our conscience. This we call our revolutionary conscience.... We must guard the true conscience of the Korean people, and always defend our beautiful fatherland with our blood to the end....” These words showed clearly the General’s revolutionary will and his faith in the revolution. The General always stressed that to hold true to his revolutionary constancy single-heartedly—this is the task and the foremost duty of a revolutionary.

This belief of the General was based on the most scientific and invincible Marxism-Leninism and his confidenee in the victory of the revolution, and it sprang from his lofty sense of responsibility for the revolution and the realization of his heavy duty to the nation. The noble virtues of General Kim I] Sung and his daily teachings were the invincible strength which enabled the guerrillas to display their courage, and the source of the indomitable revolutionary spirit of those who devoted their all to fight for the cause of revolution. Because the General stood at the head of the revolution, the

anti-Japanese guerrillas did not hesitate or vacillate before any 506

FOR FINAL VICTORY

barriers and difficulties standing in their way, and only looking up to the General, held to their noble revolutionary conscience and revolutionary comradeship to the end. No matter how far away they were from the Headquarters, or even when they were completely isolated for a long time with no means of finding out where they were, they would still single-heartedly look for the way to it, and surmounting every hardship in their way, come back to the bosom of the beloved General at last. They always bore deep in mind the General’s kind teaching, “A Communist must live and fight to the last for the cause of

the revolution whether he is in deep mountains or on a lonely island in the vast sea,” and they faithfully carried this out at any time and in any place. The small-unit activities were full of these heroic struggles. In the early winter of 1940, the small unit for which the General waited with such anxiety,and buried food and new

military uniforms at the camp near Chechangtzu and had fifty food bags made and kept intact, was looking for its Headquarters fighting all hardship. Though they had no means of finding out the whereabouts of the Headquarters, they had started a continual search only with their faith in the final triumph of the revolution

and their desire

to go back to the bosom

of the General as quickly as possible. A raging snowstorm blocked their way and the enemy “punitive units” and spies guarded every turn of the roads. The

members of the small unit were tired out.

But they did not

waver at all. What supported the worn-out guerrillas strongly was their single-hearted desire to reach their Headquarters and the General as soon as possible. They finally reached the entrance of Chechangtzu, and discovered the remains of the Headquarters’ camp. The unit mem-

bers, who dug out the two straw bags of rice and new cottonpadded uniforms which the General had buried for them, 507

KIM IL SUNG

pressed them to their bosoms and choked with emotion, repeating the name of the General. With renewed strength they started again on the search for their Headquarters. On their way they met with a small unit operating in the vicinity. The regiment commander in charge of the small unit decided to continue on his way to the Headquarters with just a few guerrillas, leaving behind the rest of the unit to stay with the other unit. The regiment commander took five able-bodied guerrillas with him. But the road was again fraught with danger. Wherever they went the enemy were swarming and various kinds of leaflets urging them to surrender were posted. This was not all their hardship. Cold and hunger, and persistent enemy attacks extremely hampered the activities of the exhausted guerrillas. They surmounted every obstacle heroically with indomitable revolutionary fighting spirit and burning love for the comrades. One day, while marching in the deep snow in the hinterland of Holung county suffering from hunger for several days, they were suddenly attacked by the enemy from before and behind. They made a heroic resolve to fight courageously to their last

bullet and die if they must. But upon second thoughts they decided that they must not die a dog’s death before they reached their Headquarters, and must live and fight through to the end to find out the Headquarters by any means. The regiment commander flew back the way they had come, and rolled down a steep cliff 100 metres high. The guerrillas followed suit. The guerrillas rolled to the bottom down the steep mountainside which eagles would shrink at. They were saved miraculously, but were covered with blood, their skin torn and broken. Still undaunted, they crawled up the opposite hillside and surveyed the enemy position. Unaware that the guerrillas escaped narrowly by their daring act under cover of darkness, the enemy attacking from two sides began to shoot 508

FOR FINAL VICTORY

insanely at each other, and left when the night grew late. Though

they had to start at once, the small unit members

could hardly stand up, exhausted. Prostrate on the ground, they gazed at the stars shining in the dark sky and the lights shimmering in the direction of the city of Lungching. Various thoughts came to their minds. They thought of their past days of struggle and arduousness of the revolution. Eventually, they renewed their resolve to devote their lives to the revolution as the General’s true fighters, and determinedly stood up. They continued

on

their

way

in search

for the Headquarters, in

defiance of all difficulties and dangers. One day, one of the guerrillas suddenly fell ill and suffered from atrophy (a disease which causes cramps and shivers at hands and feet) by the highway near Tapikou, Yenchi county and they could march no further. As there was a large concentrated village near by, and this happened not in a forest, but near a highway, the guerrillas were quite at a loss what to do. It would be extremely dangerous to go on marching with him, but at the same time they could not leave their revolutionary comrade behind. Saying that nothing was more important than their revolutionary duties, the sick guerrilla eagerly asked them to leave at once in search for the Headquarters, leaving him

behind. The regiment commander grasped him by his arms and let out a sob. “Let us die together when we have to die! How can we leave you behind?” The rest of the guerrillas felt the same way. Their duties for a revolutionary comrade whom they cared for and helped, and with whom they shared life and death, sweet and bitter in the revolutionary struggle forbade them to part from each other. The guerrillas took turns about warming their sick comrade with their own bodies, gathered dry grass and spread it under509

KIM IL SUNG

neath him, and covered him with their jackets. They also massaged his limbs all night, gathered dry twigs on all fours, made a fire and cooked rice gruel and made him eat it. Thanks to the warm care of his comrades the sick guerrilla became able to move his legs and came to himself the following day. They shed tears of joy at the thought of being able to return to the General all together. When darkness came, they started again on their march. And, now walking, now crawling a long way for two months through Yenchi, Wangching, Hunchun counties, which were infested by the enemy, they finally succeeded in reaching their Headquarters. The reason they were able to display such admirable comradeship and heroism was that they received from General Kim I] Sung warm affection and education such as nobody else could give. The anti-Japanese guerrillas educated and trained by the General always fought against the enemy courageously, holding to his revolutionary constancy as his fighters, true Korean revolutionaries, with an unlimited pride in the fact that General Kim I] Sung stood at the head of the Korean revolution, even when they were arrested and put in prison, unfortunately, or even when they stood on the gallows. Comrade

Ma

Dong

Hi, a member

of the Anti-Japanese

Guerrilla Army, was captured by the enemy while operating in the homeland according to the General’s direction and underwent unspeakably cruel tortures. So that he should not betray the secret of the organization even in delirium he bit off his tongue and put an end to his young life. Afire with revolutionary zeal, Comrade Ma Dong Hi crushed the enemy with courage while living, and protected the revolution and the organization by his death. So did Comrade Kwon Yung Byuk who was the General’s 510

FOR FINAL VICTORY

faithful fighter and an indomitable Communist. In a notebook he always carried with him the following words were written: “My country is my mother which gave me birth, and Comrade Kim I] Sung who taught me and brought me up on the revolutionary front is my teacher and my father.... I will fulfil my filial duty to my only father and mother.” Comrade Kwon Yung Byuk considered it his mission and honour to fight according to the General’s will and faith, with revolutionary fighting spirit. Comrade Kwon Yung Byuk who carried out with credit the work of the Association for the Restoration of the Fatherland in Changpai county under the direction of the General, was caught by the enemy, and put to all kinds of cruel torture. But he never forsook his revolutionary constancy, and declared aloud in the court the coming downfall of the enemy and Japanese imperialism. He kept on fighting in Sudaimoon Prison in Seoul, and died on the gallows on March 10, 1945 shortly before the Liberation. Even when he mounted the scaffold he spoke of his pride in being a fighter of General Kim II Sung. Sub-unit Commander Pak Kil Song, who was reared into a communist fighter by the General, was also a revolutionary optimist. He lost one eye during a battle because of a splinter from a hand grenade thrown by the enemy, but continued encouraging his troops by saying, “I still have one eye left. So long as my heart keeps on beating, I will not fall back even a step from

the fighting ranks till the very end.” While he was having his wounded eye treated at a secret

camp, he instilled into the guerrillas faith in the victory of the revolution, and taught them to become faithful fighters of the General. He overcame his physical pain, and returning to the field of battle, he led many engagements and killed the enemies one after another. 511

KIM IL SUNG

In January 1943, in order to save his unit which was surrounded by the enemy, he opened up a path of retreat for them and took charge of the rear guard, but despite his courageous fighting, was captured by the enemy. No matter to what torture the enemy put him they could not make him open his mouth. He lived through his short 26 years of life like a flame. But what he regretted most was that he had to end his youthful life and could not continue fighting to the end in the warm fatherly affection of General Kim Il Sung who had brought him up as a Communist. At the last moment on the gallows he cried, “Communism is eternal youth,” and made the enemy shudder. There were many woman guerrillas in the Anti-Japanese Guerrilla Army who guarded General Kim I] Sung and the

Headquarters with their lives, and held firmly to revolutionary constancy to the end through the long years of arduous armed struggle. Comrade

Kim

Jung Sook, an ardent Communist, was one

such woman guerrilla fighter. She lost her parents when small, and grew up in the Children’s Corps. After she enlisted in the guerrilla army, she dedicated all her life single-heartedly to the

revolution and the Leader. Even when she was captured by the enemy while engaged in activities in Changpai county under the direction of the General, she kept revolutionary secrets in defiance of death, and entrusted two wom she had with her to a

peasant to be sent to the organization for revolutionary funds. She was later fortunately rescued through the underground activities of the revolutionary organization. Comrade Kim Jung Sook who was a member of the cooking unit belonging to the Headquarters, secured food for it amidst the rain of bullets or the snowstorms through the long days of hard-fought bloody battles, and protected the Headquarters of the revolution at her personal risk. One day, while the unit was 512

FOR FINAL VICTORY

marching

under the General’s

command,

five or six enemies

unexpectedly approached through the reeds and aimed at the General. The danger was imminent. Without losing a moment, Comrade Kim Jung Sook shielded the General with her own body and shot down an enemy soldier with her revolver. The General also shot down the second enemy. Two revolvers spurted fire in turn and annihilated the enemy in a twinkle. But this was not the only time such dangers occurred, and each time, Comrade Kim Jung Sook rose to the occasion with fury, and protected the Headquarters of the revolution at the risk of her life. Comrade Choi Hi Sook, a woman member of the AntiJapanese Guerrilla Army, was captured by the enemy, who gouged her eyes out. Yet at the last moment of her life she cried, “I no longer have my eyes. But I can see the victory of our revolution! I can see clearly the day when the 30 million people will shout manse and proclaim their liberation!...” These were not the only ones who lived with the General’s ideas and will and fought with his faith. All the members of the Anti-Japanese Guerrilla Army did so; they were all indomitable Korean Communists—revolutionary fighters. Because they held the General’s affection and trust close to their hearts, they kept on living and fighting to the end even when isolated completely as on a lonely island in the vast sea, convinced of the final victory of the revolution, and swam across

the Dooman River in so cold a winter as 40 degrees of frost

to reach their Headquarters.

Because

they always kept the

General’s teachings engraved deep in their mind, they did not stop fighting even a moment, looking up to him under any adversity. The small-unit activities of the Anti- Japanese Guerrilla Army once again testified to the noble mental world of the Korean

Communists who were boundlessly faithful to the revolution 513

KIM IL SUNG

and the Leader, and manifested to the world the lofty revolutionary traits of the anti-Japanese guerrillas who overcame all kinds of hardships with their conviction of the victory of the revolution and revolutionary comradeship. Indeed the boundless fidelity of the anti-Japanese guerrillas to the revolution and the Leader—this was the most powerful weapon which neither planes, cannons nor any other of the newest weapons of the enemy could overcome. The police magazine of Japanese imperialism, “Kannan Keiyu,” wrote this concerning the anti-Japanese guerrillas: “..What is the motive power for their well-ordered and matchlessly daring activities? We must seek its explanation in something internal and spiritual. It is no other than the guiding spirit which constituted the core of unity of the communist army. Think of it. Why must they lie in the fields, sleep in the _ mountains, and suffering incessantly from changes of weather and lack of provisions, drag their lives from one danger to another? An answer to this question alone will make everything clear. The answer is simple. That is, they have their own

belief. And their belief is that always... setting down the independence of their nation and the overthrow of Japanese imperialism as their first slogan, they feel proud of their death-defying actions and they regard themselves as patriotic fighters. This belief we must bear in our mind.” In this confession can be heard clearly the enemy’s cry of fear at the power of communist ideology. Communist ideology— this cannot be cut down by swords, destroyed by cannons, nor bound by iron chains, because it is the conscience, wisdom, and the most beautiful hope of mankind. The Japanese imperialists also knew that no force could crush the ideas of the anti-Japanese guerrillas. But they had no

insight into the source which fostered this great ideology and noble spirit. They could not see the great ideas and conviction 514

FOR FINAL VICTORY

of General Kim I] Sung, the Leader of the Korean people, based on Marxism-Leninism which underlay this noble spirit. Nor could they understand the burning red hearts of the guerrillas boundlessly faithful to the General, who loved and trusted his revolutionary comrades unlimitedly. This ignorance of and challenge to this basic strength was one of the decisive factors which plunged the arrogant enemy, together with the notorious “Great Japanese Empire,” into the abyss of ruin. The revolutionary spirit of the anti-Japanese guerrillas continues to burn fiercely still in the hearts of the Korean people. The great victory of the Korean people in the Fatherland Liberation War that brought U.S. imperialism to its knees before all the peoples of the world, and the magnificent construction in the northern half which is being carried on at Chullima speed, with the spirit of self-reliance, are the precious fruits of the noble revolutionary spirit, single-heartedly devoting

their all to the revolution and to be boundlessly faithful to the respected and beloved Leader.

515

4.

30 Million Follow the General

THE PRESENCE

of General Kim II] Sung himself and the

wide-ranging political and military activities of the Korean People’s Revolutionary Army led by him, kindled an undying flame of anti-Japanese,

anti-war

feeling in the hearts

of the

Korean people. The people of Korea watched with boundless joy and excitement the fierce and heroic struggles in which the Korean People’s Revolutionary Army under General Kim I] Sung was continuously smashing the enemy wherever it went, hurling the Japanese aggressors into utter disorder. This convinced the people that the destruction of Japanese imperialism was inevitable, and that final victory of the Korean revolution was assured. For the people who were ruthlessly persecuted by the Japanese authorities for the slightest disrespect or sabotage, it was the silver lining of the cloud to hear of the coming of General Kim Il Sung’s guerrillas. This was natural. Their suffering even of one day had been as a thousand years, and now in defiance of the enemy’s suppression, they believed only in the General and victory of the People’s Revolutionary Army led by him. This name, General Kim I] Sung, was indeed the beacon that lit the path ahead of them in the darkness, the sun that called forth the dawn. 516

FOR FINAL VICTORY

So there was no greater joy for the people than to meet the guerrillas and hear them say, “General Kim II Sung is safe and unharmed. Great numbers of the guerrillas are now energetically preparing to greet the liberation, as the General taught....”” Greatly inspired by the activities of the People’s Revolutionary Army, the people could not be satisfied without doing something as the General desired, or confusing the enemy or disrupting the enemy operations.

With such an inflamed feeling, the people rose in life-anddeath battles with the enemy in various parts even under the difficult situation of the Japanese imperialist fascist oppression at its zenith. At factories in Seoul, Pyongyang, Chungjin, Heungnam, Pusan and other important industrial cities, and at construction sites in various parts of the country, including the electric power stations along the Amrok River, strikes and sabotage were continuously going on. In July 1942, some 2,000 workers at the Heungnam Fertilizer Factory staged a powerful strike struggle in the teeth of the fascist suppression of Japanese imperialism, and at the same

time women workers at the Hamheung Katakura Spinning Factory went on a hunger strike, dealing a blow at the wartime production of Japanese imperialism. Explosions and fire frequently broke out at munition plants and airfields in different parts of the country. As the influence of the anti-Japanese armed struggle penetrated deeply among the people, and as the collapse of Japanese imperialism was drawing near, mass desertion of workers from

important

construction

plants became

common

cases

when

in 1944,

Kiyang Factory

run

sites, harbours

occurrences.

several thousand

by the Asahi

and munition

Take for example, workers

Light Metal

the

deserted the

Co.

Ltd.,

followed by a mass desertion by 4,000 of the 13,000 workers 517

KIM IL SUNG

who had been brought from the six southern provinces to South Hamgyung Province. Even among the workers who had been forcibly brought to Japan, anti-Japanese, anti-war struggles such as strikes, sabotage, riots and mass desertions on an extensive scale were waged. In 1943, 110,000 people, amounting to 36 per cent of those who were brought to Japan for forced labour, ran away

from their work places at the risk of death. Peasants refused to deliver their forced quota of produce upon pain of detention, and bitterly struggled against murderous wartime plunder and requisition of labour.

the

In various areas, ideological incidents and strikes by teachers

and students occurred frequently, and the refusal on the part of youth and the middle-aged to do military service and forced labour became a general practice. According to the figures released by the Japanese imperialists, during 1943 there were 59 “incidents of arrests of ideological offenders” among teachers and students, and 120 “inci-

dents of student disturbances.’ There were also repeated incidents of so-called “dangerous intentions” and desertions among youths who had enlisted in the army. And in the mountains and forests were found many groups of youths and students who had fled from the pursuit of the police and gendarmerie. In prison in various parts of the country, patriots, encouraged by the anti-Japanese armed struggle led by General Kim I] Sung, continued their unyielding fight. Comrades Kwon Yung Byuk, Ri Dong Kul, Li Je Soon, Pak Dal and other partisans and members of the Association for the Restoration of the Fatherland, organized and waged bloody struggles in prison.

They manifested their indomitable will and boundless optimism in believing in victory in the revolution and liberation of the fatherland as patriots and Communists, in the face of the brutal torture imposed upon them by the hangmen. 618

FOR FINAL VICTORY

Faced with death sentences at the enemy courts, the Communists on the contrary condemned the enemy to death in the name of the Korean people and the revolution, and denounced their colonial plunder and murderous policy towards the Korean people, ardently maintaining their communist faith. Especially during this period, the people showed an increasing tendency to rise in armed revolt, responding to the anti-Japanese armed struggle, led by General Kim I] Sung. According to a secret document of the Japanese imperialist police, workers at the Pyongyang Iron Factory built their own secret iron works and made weapons there and planned to join the Korean People’s Revolutionary Army led by General Kim II Sung and take part in the final decisive battle for the liberation of the fatherland against the Japanese imperialists.’ In Jinjoo, South Kyungsang Province, workers and students attempted to leave for Manchuria in order to rise in the anticipated great sacred battle for national liberation in cooperation with the Anti-Japanese Guerrilla Army.’ In the city of Sungjin, North Hamgyung Province, revolutionary youths organized a secret organization called “Mt. Baikdoo Society,” suggesting that Mt. Baikdoo where General Kim II] Sung was operating was the base for the Korean revolution.® Some trainees at the training centre for railway workers in Seoul were repressed by the enemy when they struggled against the colonial policy of Japanese imperialism, fervently adoring General Kim I] Sung.‘ In 1943 when the Korean People’s Revolutionary Army intensified their advance into the homeland in keeping with the new turn in the Second World War, the anti-Japanese, anti-war

struggles of workers, peasants, youth and students became even more violent. To prepare to rise up together with the armed struggle was a dominating tendency among broad sections of 519

KIM IL SUNG

the masses of people. Workers at the electric domains of Seoul and Pyongyang formed a clandestine anti- Japanese organization and struggled against the forced military draft call, with a firm conviction that the day would soon come when Korea would be liberated by the People’s Revolutionary Army led by General Kim II Sung. In 1944, students at the Junjoo Normal School in North Cholla Province, adoring General Kim I] Sung, declared in their discussion, “...Kim II Sung is a patriot fighting for the independence of Korea and has an absolute influence, commanding large numbers of troops. Furthermore, Kim I] Sung is

of extremely sturdy build and agile, and all his men are also fine. In Junjoo there are some of his men who are nameless. We have to train our bodies, join his troops and work hard for the independence of Korea.” “...In future when the SovietJapan war breaks out, we must harass the Japanese troops to .

Article in ‘“‘Thceaght Control External Affairs Monthly”’ on “‘plots’’ of the Junjoo Normal School students for joining the guerrilla army of General Kim I] Sung 520

FOR FINAL VICTORY

land on Ryusoo Port.”® It is also recorded in “Document on the Incident of Rounding Up the ‘Strong Group’ Aimed at Winning Independence of Korea,”® “...Kim I] Sung now actively operating in Manchuria ..is working hard for the independence of Korea. We must adore him as our senior. We must work hard for Korean independence as he does.... Though we don’t know communist

theory well, we Japan’s Imperial Even at the guarded by the

approve communism because it is opposed to idea!...” Pyongyang Arsenal which was most strictly Japanese imperialist gendarmerie and police,

handbills were

scattered,

saying,

“In

a few

days,

General

Kim I] Sung will come.” Civilian guards at Pyungchun county, South Choongchung Province, struck terror into the hearts of the Japanese aggressors by putting up a slogan reading “Youth of Korea... wait for General Kim I] Sung to return in triumph.” Among Korean youths dragged into the Japanese imperialist Marine Corps stationed at Jinhai, an incident occurred in which they resolved to unite the naval force for an armed mutiny and join the Korean People’s Revolutionary Army, and fought for it. In 1944, bold red letters reading “Kim I] Sung, Commander of Korean Independence” were found written on the ceiling in the third-class steerage of “Koan-maru,” a Shimonoseki. Pusan ferryboat kept under Letters written on the steerage ceiling

the most stringent watchful

of ‘‘Koan-maru,’’ a Shimonoseki-Pusan ferryboat, reading ‘‘Kim I] Sung, Commander of Korean Independence”’

ee

of the Japanese

rialists.

Korean

. ‘ were

students 521

in

KIM IL SUNG

Kanazawa, Japan, made efforts to carry out anti-Japanese armed struggle in concert with the Korean People’s Revolutionary Army. Korean middle-school students and college students in Tokyo organized a secret underground organization and attempted to establish contact with General Kim II] Sung, and resolved to wage an anti-Japanese armed revolt as the General’s men, and struggled for it. Even according to data of the Japanese imperialist police, during the period from

1942-1944, there were

bared some

30

cases of attempts at establishing communication with the People’s Revolutionary Army led by Genera] Kim I] Sung. The Japanese imperialists cried out that almost all of the Korean youths and students involved in the cases “are convinced of the defeat of Japan in the Pacific War and utilized this opportune chance to realize their dangerous aim and attempted to enter into contact with General Kim I] Sung whom they respect and. adore or to join his guerrillas and launch an armed revolt as their concrete step.” While they were robbed of everything by the enemy, the Korean people held deep in their heart their faith in the future and boundless pride since they had General Kim I] Sung as their Leader. The people, men and women, young and old, happily repeated the legendary stories about General Kim I] Sung whenever they got together. There were no end to their stories about General Kim I] Sung and the anti-Japanese armed struggle led by him, which were forcefully and widely spread among the Korean people. That the legendary stories about the General were more widely spread, timed to the approaching destruction of Japanese imperialism, showed that the people entrusted their whole destiny

to the General for their bright future and ardently wished him to accomplish the liberation of the country at the earliest date. 622

FOR FINAL VICTORY

Some legendary stories about the General weie universally told. One of the episodes is “Story about Hospitalization of General Kim.” People in various localities insisted that General Kim I] Sung entered a hospital in their districts and received treatment. This story was based on their sincere desire to associate General Kim I] Sung, whom they adored, with their hometowns. According to the story, the Japanese imperialists were unaware that the General had been hospitalized, nor were the hospital authorities. When the General left the hospital, it gradually became known to the public, causing a big commotion. The General] used the magic of shortening distance and successfully broke through the enemy cordon, to their consternation. Another version of the story in another district says that the General left his name card or a sheet of paper or telephoned, to inform the hospital of the truth. The people of Kaesong said that the General was treated at the Koryu Hospital at Kaesong. According to them, the General hung a picture of 20 cows and three pairs of birds on the Namdaimoon

(South Gate) of Kaesong

before departure.

For a while the people differed widely in their interpretation of the picture’s meaning but finally agreed that the picture meant that in the 20th year of Showa in Japanese chronology a new society would be created. What is more interesting was that this prophecy did come true. 1945, the year of Korean liberation fell indeed on the 20th year of Showa. So the name of General Kim I] Sung became the sun and symbol of deliverance for the Korean people in all parts of the country from Mt. Baikdoo to Chejoo Island in the South Sea, including Koreans in Japan. Even the Japanese imperialists could not but admit this. In a secret report sent to the “Gover-

nor-General of Korea,” the director of the Police Department of 523

KIM IL SUNG

South Hamgyung Province said, “Kim Il Sung is revered by the Korean people as a saviour.”® A bourgeois reporter of Japan wrote:

“Seven years ago,1944, I gave a lecture to sixth-year pupils of a primary school and second-year pupils of a secondary school

together in South Korea.

Then I aksed them,

‘Who

do you

think is the greatest man among contemporary Japanese (including Koreans)? Express your views honestly by secret ballot.’ I assured them by adding ‘Don’t be afraid or fearful.’ Then a poll was conducted by secret ballot. To my surprise, 67

per cent of the ballots were for ‘Kim II Sung.’ ””? In this way, the 30 million Korean people prepared themselves to rise in a decisive battle at the decisive moment, adoring General Kim II Sung, the outstanding Leader. The enemy

encountered eyes of hatred and contempt wherever they went. The Japanese imperialist colonial fascist rule was a “candle . flickering in the wind” and the whole of Korea was about to explode

in the revolution.

Concerning

these facts, Japanese

historians wrote: “The name of Kim II] Sung is known even to children in the southern half of Korea under the most severe oppression of the Japanese imperialist gendarmerie and police forces, and is the focus of their respect and admiration.... So the rule of Korea by Japanese imperialism was already facing final disintegration before the actual defeat in the war.... The energies for the nationwide struggle to achieve the liberation of the fatherland had been prepared in the course of the war.”?° Just at this period, the international situation was develop-

ing rapidly in favour of the national liberation struggle of the Korean people.

524

CHAPTER 12

THE GENERAL’S TRIUMPHANT RETURN TO THE FATHERLAND

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1.

Final Decisive Battle, Liberation of Korea

IN THE BEGINNING of 1943, the Soviet Army demolished the massive forces of Germany in the hard-fought battle of

Stalingrad, thereby marking a turning point in the course of World War II. The Soviet Union took the initiative in the war and annihilated the German Army on its territory. The heroic Soviet troops pursued the retreating enemy and liberated the countries of Central and Southeastern Europe from the yoke of fascism. Bells announcing the downfall of fascist Germany

tolled over its head. The U.S. and British imperialists were panic-stricken. In the early stage of the war when the Soviet Union was engaged in a life-and-death struggle with fascist Germany the imperialists were simply idle spectators. But once the Soviet Army was in a position to defeat Germany and liberate the whole of Europe, those who had persistently sabotaged, began to organize the second front. This was an expression of their shameless aggressive ambition to retain their rights as victorious countries after the war. The same condition prevailed with regard to the war in the Pacific. From May of 1942, the tempo of attack by the Japanese army visibly slackened, and by the beginning of 1943 it had come to a decisive impasse. This was because the Japanese ruling circles who had calculated on a German victory over the 527

KIM IL SUNG

Soviet Union, concentrated their main forces on the Soviet-Man-

churian borders to prepare for a war against the Soviet Union, but at the same time were unable to maintain their extended supply lines on the Pacific front. These factors brought about very favourable conditions for the U.S. and British imperialists to carry out their operations against Japan. But the U.S. and British imperialists, who never gave a thought to the liberation of the people and could not by their very nature, here as in Europe, refrained from active military operations with their vicious desire to get more material gains and maintain their military strength for future world domination by prolonging the war. But when the termination of the war became imminent in Europe due to the decisive victory of the Soviet Army in the Soviet-German

war,

the U.S.

and

British

imperialists

were

forced to accelerate their war efforts on the Pacific front also. In the spring of 1945, the Soviet Army launched an all-out offensive against Germany, occupied Berlin on May 2, and by the 9th, had finally secured the unconditional surrender of fascist Germany. The Soviet Army saved the fate of entire Europe from the fascist invaders,

and brought

freedom

and

happiness to the peoples there. The defeat of fascist Germany meant that the downfall of Japanese imperialism in the East was also inevitable. On July 26, 1945, the Potsdam Declaration, urging the Japanese imperi-

alists to surrender unconditionally, was issued. Japan refused this proposal. Imperialist Japan, depending on the one million Kwantung Army, its Garrison in Korea and its “rear” of Korea and Manchuria, tried to continue the war. The situation

at that time pointed to the fact that only the Soviet Army which had defeated fascist Germany could finally destroy Japanese imperialism in the East. As the termination of the war drew close, the international 528

THE GENERAL’S TRIUMPHANT RETURN TO...

situation turned decidedly favourable for the Korean revolution, and the day of national liberation predicted scientifically by General Kim I] Sung was near at hand. In view of these conditions, the General mapped out in minute detail a strategic plan for the final decisive battle of the Korean People’s Revolutionary Army against Japanese. imperialism. The political and military information collected by the People’s Revolutionary Army’s small units through their hard struggles was used as precious materials for the operations to achieve victory in the war against Japan as a whole. The units of the People’s Revolutionary Army conducted intensive combat training to prepare for large-scale modern warfare. The members strengthened training for the attack according to their arms and were fully prepared for the coming

battle. On August 8, 1945, the Soviet Union finally declared war on Japan.

General Kim Il] Sung, who had already completed his operational plan for the final decisive offensives against Japanese imperialism, immediately ordered the mobilization of all units under the Korean People’s Revolutionary Army. Under the order of the General, the units began conducting courageous military operations in many areas in North, East and South Manchuria and the homeland, together with the Soviet Army. The units of the Korean People’s Revolutionary Army, together with the Soviet Army, started on a stormy charge towards Namyang, North Hamgyung Province through East Manchuria, towards Sineuijoo through the Changchun area and towards the eastern coasts of the northern part of Korea, conducting landing operations at Woonggi and Chungijin. In the face of the strong attack by the Korean People’s Revolutionary Army and the Soviet Army, Japan’s “impregnable defence line” guarding the border, collapsed like a wall of 529

KIM IL SUNG

clay, and the main forces of the Kwantung Army, so proud of its might, were completely crushed. The Korean People’s Revolutionary Army which joined forces with the front units of the Soviet Army reached the other sides of the Dooman and Amrok Rivers through the Manchurian steppe within a few days after the offensive began, and breaking through the fortresses along the Dooman River, entered the areas of Namyang and Woonggi. In the meanwhile, the units of the Revolutionary Army which joined the Soviet marine corps, landed at Woonggi, Rajin, Susoora and Chungjin, and joined the land forces, and the units which had advanced on many fronts, occupied important strategic points of the enemy’s ground forces and air bases at Hoiryung, Chungjin, Ranam, Hoimoon, Hamheung, and Pyongyang, and liberated those areas. The members of the Korean People’s Revolutionary Army who were conducting © the war for the liberation of the fatherland for which they had waited so eagerly through the violent storms of struggle and suffering over 15 long years—they were like lightning in their attacks on the enemy and their cries roared like thunder. It seemed as if the land itself was dancing under their advancing steps. Notwithstanding all kinds of sacrifice, they were always at the front in attacking the enemy, and opened the way for the advancing army, demolishing the enemy which was resisting madly. In the battle of liberation for Susoora, the Japanese imperialist aggressor army had entrenched itself in the fortress of Susoora, and maintained a stiff resistance behind well-equipped defences. The firing of the heavy machine guns in three pillboxes on top of the hill barred the advance of the troops of the Korean People’s Revolutionary Army and the Soviet Army for a while. Then eight members of the People’s Revolutionary Army volunteered as a storming corps to destroy the pillboxes. 530

THE GENERAL’S TRIUMPHANT RETURN TO...

They charged under the rain of bullets, and blowing up the three pillboxes with hand grenades, at last opened the way for the units to advance. The members of the Korean People’s Revolutionary Army fought heroically in combination with the Soviet Army in other battles and triumphed repeatedly. Many sacrifices had to be paid during this final decisive battle for the liberation of the fatherland.

There were anti-Jap-

anese fighters who fell by enemy bullets just within reach of their never-forgotten native land. Even while drawing their last breath, they could not close their eyes fixed upon the mountains and rivers of the fatherland. Those soldiers who dedicatéd themselves to the restoration of their fatherland died to our sorrow without being cheered for their glorious deeds, handing down to our people their lives they could not keep to

Troops of the Korean People’s Revolutionary Army and the Soviet Army in the battle to liberate Susoora 581

KIM IL SUNG

the end. The Korean People’s Revolutionary Army and the Soviet Army charged ahead over the bodies of their dead comrades like angry waves, destroying the enemy wherever they went. The Japanese imperialist aggressor army which was boasting of fighting “‘to the last soldier...’ was completely annihilated in a week, and on August 15, 1945, finally surrendered uncondittonally. The fiercely fought World War II closed its bloodsmeared curtain with the defeat of imperialist Japan. The Korean people were thus freed from the darkness of colonial rule which had lasted for 36 years, and everything that lay between heaven and earth seemed to cheer and dance for joy at the liberation. The Japanese imperialist aggressors who had lorded it over this land for 36 years at the point of the bayonet became a bunch of beggars and were driven back to their den beyond the Hyunhaitan Straits. This was the fate ~ decreed for the aggressors.

582

2.

The General Enveloped in the Cheers of the Entire Nation

GENERAL KIM IL SUNG returned home in triumph, leading the anti-Japanese fighters. The Korean people, welcoming their Leader they had longed to see, gave themselves up to a tumult of joy and excitement. The whole land of 3,000 77, hills and vales, fields and rivers, from Mt. Baikdoo to Mt. Halla on Chejoo Island, united

their voices in cheering the triumphal return of General Kim I] Sung, the sun of the nation. “Long live General Kim II] Sung!” “Long live Korea’s independence!” General Kim I] Sung, who liberated the people from illtreatment and misery, and dealt a death blow to the enemy! The great Leader, General Kim I] Sung who brought light and freedom to this land which had remained a living hell for 36 years. The Korean people who welcomed their Leader found no proper words to express their happiness. Every town and village all over the country seemed to surround the General and dance with joy. But the modest General gave back all the glory to the welcoming fellow countrymen, and without rest, began leading a new struggle for the construction of a new fatherland. The General had no time to rest; there were too many tasks to be done. Wherever he turned his eyes, the General found nothing but the vestiges of the aggressors’ plunder and destruc533

KIM IL SUNG

tion. He had to study and grasp everything about his country. He had to fire the people with enthusiasm to create, organize and lead them on the road to the construction of a new Korea. First of all he had to found a Marxist-Leninist Party which is the general staff of the revolution. General Kim I] Sung, who had to solve so many complicated problems, even postponed meeting his grandparents and relatives he had so much wished to see. While many pseudo revolutionaries disguised as “‘patriots” were frantically engaged in their factional activities, the General planned the future of the Korean revolution, and discussed with many comrades day after day. He visited factories, enterprises and farming villages, talked with workers and peasants to acquaint himself with their actual conditions, and organized and mobilized the people to the creation of a new life. Day and night, the General worked every second.

hard,

valuing

One day, the General drove with his adjutant towards the Kangsun Steel Works.’ The adjutant was immersed in joy. He believed that finally he would have the honour of accompanying the General to visit his home, for they headed for Mangyungdai. Nearly a month had passed since he had returned in triumph to Pyongyang, but because the General’s days were so busy, he had barely time to send a messenger to his uncle (his mother’s younger brother, Kang Yong Suk) who lived on the other side of the Botong River and told him that he would be home soon. He had not yet been to Mangyungdai which was within calling distance. From the car window one could see at a glance the early autumn fields stretching to Mangyungdai and the hills covered with beautiful green pine trees. As the General looked out of

the car, deep recollections gripped him. A meaningful played on his face. He seemed to be greatly excited. 534

smile

THE GENERAL’S TRIUMPHANT

RETURN TO...

“The scenery of my native place is the same as ever,” he said. The General, half closing his eyes, seemed to be looking back to the days when he left his native land with the ambition to fight. It was his longed-for native place which he would tell about with pride to his men while marching, or around the campfires during the anti-Japanese resistance war. Presently the car came to the crossing of roads to Mangyungdai and Kangsun. The General told the driver to pull up, and he got out. Pointing in the direction of Mangyungdai he said to his adjutant: “Mangyungdai is over there.... It’s a good place.... Go there in my place. J am sure you'll like it....” The adjutant did not know how to answer the General, but

only looked at him without a word. The General said thoughtfully: “.. This is my native land I gaze on now after 20 years.... If you go, you will meet my old grandparents. Please give them my best wishes, and tell them that now the country is liberated,

I'll shortly return home. live in from now on....

And say it will be a good world to Well, let us meet here tomorrow morn-

ing.” The General gazed upon

the hilltops which had fostered the dreams of his boyhood for a while, and then got slowly back into the car. The discouraged adjutant said pleadingly, with tears in his

eyes: “May I suggest that you stop by just for a while?” “No, not now.... I'll drop in next time.” The General gave a smile as if he were asking for understanding and drove away towards the Kangsun Steel Works. Looking at the disappearing car, the adjutant was struck anew by the great character of the General. 5385

KIM IL SUNG

“He is a great man indeed!” The General naturally must have had a strong urge to visit his home village! But valuing the destiny of the fatherland above his life, it was more important for him to meet the masses of workers who, in the face of so many tasks, were eagerly waiting for his teaching than to visit his native home and his grandparents. Thus for the great cause, he passed by his native home, although he was so near it.... October 14, 1945! A Pyongyang City mass meeting in welcome of the triumphant return of General Kim Ii Sung was held at the public playground at the foot of the Moranbong Hill. “General Kim Il Sung is appearing at the meeting!” This, news threw all Pyongyang into a joyous tumult. The Moranbong Hill and Pyongyang had never received such happy news. Even before the appointed time, large crowds of people began to stream to the playground from the streets and suburban villages. The autumn day of golden sunshine, the smiling azure sky like a mirror without a speck of cloud : Ina flash a mass of over a hundred thousand people crowded in and around the meeting place, and the nearby Moranbong Hill was covered with overflowing white-clad crowds. Among the people were those from Mangyungdai, including the General’s aunt (Mrs. Hyun Yang Sim, the wife of Mr. Kim Hyung Rok, who is the General’s uncle) who came rushing over the distance of 12 kilometres. The meeting began at one p. m. According to the programme of the meeting, General Kim I] Sung, whom all the people had longed for, showed his imposing and vigorous figure on the platform. At that moment, the voice of wonder swept through the meeting place like a fiery wind, and thunderous, enthusiastic cheers burst forth, shaking the earth. The great human mass that cheered manse and danced with joy, embracing each other, was like ocean waves under a spring wind. 536

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General Kim II] Sung answered the cheering mass of people with his raised hand and a smile that was like sunshine. That was indeed the greetings of great love to the fatherland and the people, by the General who had travelled the long, long path of flames and snowstorms throughout the many years of the anti-Japanese war. It was also the greeting of blessing by the peerless hero, the Leader of the nation who promised resurrection and glorious victory to the sacred soil of Korea. The smiling face of the General surrounded by the bouquets of flowers offered by young maidens! The face beaming with future prosperity and happiness to be enjoyed by the nation! How long the people had waited for the General! General Kim I] Sung whom everyone dreamed of as the only ray of hope of deliverance during the long years of darkness when people suffered as slaves, the General who pressed upon and frightened the big army of Japanese imperialism which devastated all Asia with fire, General Kim I] Sung who dashed on the blood-stained road of anti-Japanese struggle for 15 years, holding high the smoke-blackened red flag and the programme of national prosperity. He, now in the bosom of the 30 million Korean people, was smiling, surrounded by flowers! The mass of people who had been cheering, now choked with joyful emotion, shed silent tears. The General’s aunt could no longer keep still. She wanted to see the General from a closer spot. She went forward through the waving crowds and looked up at the General. How long it has been since the parting! The image of a child which still lingers somewhere in the heroic countenance of the General. The unforgettable dimple and teeth, and the commanding eyes shining with wisdom—it is Jeungson (great grandson)! It is Sung

Joo himself!

Our General Kim Il Sung!

Crying, beside herself, “I am the aunt of General Kim II Sung!” to the guards checking her, his aunt ran to the 537

_KIM IL SUNG foot of the platform. Presently the General gave his moving historic speech: “«.Our people have won liberation and freedom from a life of darkness which lasted for 36 years, and our fatherland, the land of 3,000 ri, has begun to shine with a bright hope like the brilliant rising sun. The time has come when we Korean

people have to unite our strength and advance together to build a new democratic fatherland. A party or an individual alone cannot accomplish this great mission. Those with strength, let them dedicate strength; those with knowledge, let them devote knowledge; those with money, let them offer money! All the nation who truly love their country, love their people, and love democracy, must unite completely in their effort to create our fatherland as a democratic, independent state....’? The General ended his speech, which touched the hearts of all the people, with the slogan “Long live Korean independ- — ence!” Another burst of manse and cheers shook the meeting place which had been quiet till then. The General descended from the platform, met his aunt amidst a storm of cheers and excitement and left straight for Mangyungdai. The day on which he gave his first greetings to the masses of people after his triumphant return the General drove home to his native place, Mangyungdai for the first time. All the people of Mangyungdai rushed out to cheer the General. Because it was the village where the General was born and grew up, because it was the village where the parents and uncle of the General who had dedicated themselves to the liberation of the fatherland, had lived, this village had suffered from brutal persecution at the hands of the Japanese imperial-

ist army and police. That Mangyungdai bubbling joy and excitement. 538

was

now a hill of

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“Oh, you’re back at last. Am | dreaming or waking?” His white-haired grandmother burst into tears, flinging herself into the General’s arms. The General embraced his grandmother, calling her. Never had a hero of any romantic legend so moving a meeting. This was the most touching moment of the actual historical drama of the nation. “Am I dreaming or waking?’ In her words were implied all the feelings of the grandmother who realized such great happiness after long years of misery. Twenty years since the day of parting, what years they were! Long ago, her two sons and a daughter-in-law left their home with her grandchildren for faraway Manchuria., Days went by while the grandmother was waiting and longing for them. But what came to her was painful sadness. The news came that her eldest son had died in the fighting. Before her sorrow was healed, she heard that her daughter-in-law had also passed away. Then came the news that her youngest son had died in Seoul Prison. In the meantime, a rumour was afloat that General Kim I] Sung, who, coming and going over Mt. Baikdoo had fought and defeated the Japanese aggressors and had won such fame, was no other than her eldest grandson, Sung Joo. Much surprised and proud, the grandmother had _hardly slept. The Japanese authorities surrounded her house closely and ran wild in the house every day. How many times they searched every nook and corner of the house, even turned over the floor stones!... One day, she heard the news that her second grandson Chul Joo had died in battle against the Japanese aggressors, and there was a rumour that her youngest grandson Yung Joo was missing. Ah, was this possible? The police substation and myun office spread a dreadful rumour that General Kim I] Sung too had died in battle. (The Japanese imperialists repeated such false propaganda in order to discourage the Korean people who 539

KIM IL SUNG

rose up in the anti-Japanese struggle, adoring the General who was defeating the Japanese aggressors.) The rumour was too surprising for the grandmother to believe. However, because of the persistently repeated false propaganda, there were even neighbours who secretly brought wine for condolence. For the grandmother, they were days of nightmare. But it could not be true. As was expected, another happy rumour came, that General Kim I] Sung was still actively operating in the high and steep mountains, giving death blows to the enemy. But who were the men in Western clothes who frequented her house? They were Li Jong Rak and Pak Cha Sik, traitors and dogs serving Japanese imperialism. The enemy, with their help, threatened the grandmother. They wanted her to urge her grandson to “surrender.” They at last took her out at the point of the bayonet and roamed about in search of the General in the mountains and fields of Manchuria. The grandmother treated them with anger and dignity as became the General’s grandmother and poured fiery denunciations upon them for their vicious acts, so that the enemy had no choice but to send her home. The dark and dreary days never seemed to end. Time passed and the grandmother’s hair became whiter, and news of the General was not frequent.... However, as is said, pleasure follows pain; the days of darkness were gone, and her sufferings had disappeared like mist. Was she dreaming or waking? Her eldest grandson General Kim I] Sung, whom she had waited for till her black hair had turned silver, came back to her bosom! Her beloved grandson

came back as the Leader of the country, and the sun of the nation! Grasping the hands of the cheering villagers one after another and exchanging greetings, the General stepped in through the little gate of his old home. 540

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His grandfather, who was ill in bed, came staggering out into the garden barefoot, and cried: “My grandson is here, once we thought him dead!” Tears rained down the deeply furrowed face of his grandfather. “Grandfather! How much you must have suffered on account of me!” The General held him tightly in his arms, took him into the house, and greeted him heartily. The moment when the General entered the room, the thatch-roofed house, weather-

beaten by wind and snow, seemed as if it were a sparkling, gorgeous palace. Many people came into the room and sat down. The grandmother said in a choking voice, wiping her tears with the edge of her chima (Korean skirt). “When I look at you, I feel my lifelong sorrows all melting away!...”

“But... Why have you come alone? Where have you left

your father and mother?... They should have come with youl...” Hearing these heartrending words, the around wiped their tears silently. It was the children who broke the spell innocent children came to sit on the General’s them up in his arms with a cheerful smile. His grandmother smiled too. ‘Liberation is a good thing, indeed.... How

people who

sat

of sadness. The lap, and he took

glad your father

and mother would be in their graves!...” The General was full of thought. How long it has been since

he was home last! How many years have passed since he saw the people of his home village! Their too great joy did not allow the people to speak. People simply wiped their tears but could not speak. Words lost their meaning during this moment. After a while a simple feast was given. On the table at which 541

KIM IL SUNG

Moving scene of reunion with his family after his triumphant return to the fatherland (from left: Grandmother, uncle, General, grandfather and aunt)

the General sat together with his grandparents, the wine he had brought was served also, and the old people drank to the General’s health and his glorious return. What magnificent banquet can be happier and more meaningful than this simple one! The entire house was filled with laughter. The aunt could not restrain her feelings and began singing. It was a nursery song which Mr. Kim Hyung Jik and Mrs.

Kang Ban Suk had often sung the General to sleep with, in their arms long ago. Her thin voice, faintly trembling with emotion, brought back dear memories of the days gone by, and the listening people thought of the beautiful and noble flow of

time which this thatched house had witnessed. Suddenly the aunt recalled what the General had told her when they met amid the cheers at the Pyongyang City mass 542

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meeting.

“Aunt!... Today you take the place of my mother!... ” But who in this world could take the place of a mother? If I were his real mother, not aunt, how happier this day and this place would be for the General! Ten aunts cannot take the place of a mother! At these thoughts, hot tears streamed down her cheeks, as she sang, eyes closed. The General, with warm feelings welling up in his heart, was still smiling cheerfully, but a faint shadow of sadness lurked in his eyes. Soon the rooms and courtyard of the house which had been sO quiet were resounding with songs and dancing again. The grandmother went out into the courtyard and danced, too. It-was a quiet dance overflowing with hidden passion and joy. The entire village rejoiced with dancing and laughter. That day, the General, as a pure and innocent grandson of a peasant as in his childhood, enjoyed this pleasant time with his beloved grandparents, uncle Hyung Rok and aunt, and other relatives and old friends. When it was known that the General had tendered the greetings of his triumphant return to the people, all the publications in the country vied with each other to print interviews with him and introduce the General’s figure to the nation. Reporters for the “Seoul Shinmoon” who visited the General on December 29, 1945, wrote as follows: “A dimpled smile, gentle eyes and the light of genius glittering in them. Our hero General Kim II] Sung. ...This reporter is now meeting General Kim I] Sung, our peerless hero and military genius our nation has ever seen. During the period when our people were sunk in a miserable situation under the oppression of Japanese imperialism, the presence of General Kim II] Sung was, as his name indicates, the sun and hope of our nation. How many youths 543

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were encouraged by his name and rose up in the great strugele.... Let me present the appearance of the General in detail. Sunburnt brown complexion, short, modern-style hair, gentle, double-lidded eyes, dimples appearing when he smiles—he is

a perfectly handsome youth. His height is probably about five feet six, and he is not so plump. Generous, open and cheerful character and modest, yet clear-cut attitude make peop'e feel as if they have been his friends for a long time. It is difficult to guess where his ambitious spirit and daring are hidden. Though not piercingly sharp, his eyes flash sometimes when he turns his eyes right and left; a feeling of vitality hovering around his eyebrows... sonorous, powerful voice, these are... characteristics of his person. At the age of 19, he organized a partisan army and started the anti-Japanese struggle. Since that time the General’s activities have harassed the Japanese imperialists to such a degree that they allotted 15 divisions to cope with-

General Kim’s army.... The General uses simple and clear expressions. He is modesty itself, and when asked if he had any intention of becoming a statesman, he answered that he is not fitted for such a name. When youthful people or students call him General, he replies, ‘I am not a General, but your friend. Please call me dongmoo (friend)... He loves the masses of people; above all, young people he loves deeply; he meets everyone with good grace, listens to them with sincerity, and answers their questions with kindness....

General Kim is now among the people as a simple citizen. How his youthful wisdom and courage will reflect themselves in the development of our nation must be a great matter of concern of Korea.”* Responding to the nation’s great expectations and interest,

the General led them vigorously on the road towards the construction of a new democratic Korea. The people confidently saw the bright future of the new

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Korea in the road indicated by him and rallied ever closer a round him. Glorious victory alone was in store for the Korean people who had General Kim I] Sung as their great Leader.

545

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