Kim Jong Suk, the Anti-Japanese Heroine
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Kim Jong Suk The Anti-Japanese Heroine Kim Jong Suk The Anti-Japanese Heroine By Kim Ok Sun Foreign Languages Publishing House Pyongyang, Korea Juche 86 (1997) The great leader Comrade Kim Il Sung and the anti- Japanese heroine Comrade Kim Jong Suk in the secret base in the area around Mt. Paektu where the Headquar- ters was The anti-Japanese heroine Comrade Kim Jong Suk The great leader Comrade Kim Il Sung and Comrade Kim Jong Suk accompanied by young Kim Jong Il Comrade Kim Jong Suk among the girl students in Chongjin City (The first from the left in the front row) Introduction Ordinary happenings of the past fade gradually from the memory as the days go by. But to me, who worked with Comrade Kim Jong Suk, the anti-Japanese heroine, during the anti-Japanese revolutionary struggle and in the years of peace- ful construction, the memories of many events of more man 60 years ago are still vivid, as if they were of yesterday. During the grave and hard-fought anti-Japanese revolu- tionary struggle in the early 1930s, Comrade Kim Jong Suk took loving care of the members of the anti-Japanese Child- ren's Corps in the guerrilla zone on the Tuman River. She was both sister and mother to them, and brought them up to be unfailingly loyal to the respected General Kim Il Sung. After she took up arms on the road of struggle, she loved her comrades-in-arms in the revolution as she would her own family. Most importantly, at the Mt. Paektu Secret Camp Comrade Kim Jong Suk brought up her son, the dear leader Comrade Kim Jong Il, the great successor to the Juche revolutionary cause. She raised him to the roar of gun-fire of the sacred war against Japan to be the sun of the nation. After the country's liberation, Comrade Kim Jong Suk, in support of the respected leader's line of building a new coun- try, made many long and rugged journeys to visit our people and arouse them to the building of a new country. She even put off her visit to her own native town and her own kinsfolk, whom she had never forgotten for even a moment in the days of her anti-Japanese struggle. Indeed, Comrade Kim Jong Suk was the heroine of the anti-Japanese struggle, single-heartedly loyal to respected Comrade Kim Il Sung. As the days went by, my heart swelled with a strong desire to talk about her noble personality. So I had been thinking of writing a book for a long time. However, with my narrow mental vision, it was not easy for me to describe all her noble features. While I was struggling with this problem, time flew by and now I am on the wrong side of 70. On March 13, Juche 81 (1992)* the great leader Comrade Kim Il Sung received us anti-Japanese revolutionary veterans and posed with us for a souvenir picture. He said that we should live in good health until 100 years of age and bring up our sons and daughters, grandsons and great grandsons well so that they would loyally support the dear leader Comrade Kim Jong Il, the Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army. As one of the first generation of the revolution, I partici- pated in the celebration of the great leader's 80th birthday, the nation's greatest festival, and in the parade on the occa- sion of the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Korean People's Army. The moment I looked up at the great leader and the dear leader on the platform, I missed Comrade Kim Jong Suk very much. This made me resolve to write a book about her. * The Democratic People's Republic of Korea instituted the Juche era with 1912 as the First year when the great leader Comrade Kim Il Sung was born, in order to exalt the revolutionary life and immortal achieve- ments of the great leader who created the immortal Juche idea and led the Korean revolution and construction to victory for all ages, and carry forward and complete his revolutionary cause. The institution of the Juche era was made public on July 8, 1997, the third anniversary of Comrade Kim Il Sung's death. With the help of my comrades-in-arms I have written my reminiscences of her noble features, her sense of revolutionary obligation and her love for her comrades. Contents 1. To Bring Up the Future Generation of the Revolution...... 1 My First Meeting with Her................................. 1 Drawing a Map of Korea Herself........................... 5 "Character Examination Meeting".......................... 8 When the People's Revolutionary Government Was Being Established.......................................... 11 On a Visit to a Guerrilla Hospital........................... 17 A Story of "Jangsung" ..................................... 19 Entertainment at a Chinese Nationalist Anti-Japanese Unit........................................................ 25 In the Forest of Sandaowan................................. 29 2. At the Mt. Paektu Secret Camp.............................. 33 In Front of the Dear Leader Comrade Kim Jong Il's Birthplace at the Mt. Paektu Secret Camp................... 34 The Quilt Made of Patched Cloth Permeated with Loyalty .. 38 A Braid of Hair ............................................ 41 In Order to Expand the Organizations of the Association for the Restoration of the Fatherland........................ 43 To Speed Up Preparations for Nationwide Resistance....... 47 "You Must Study Even at Odd Moments" .................. 51 She Inspired the Guerrillas with Firm Conviction of Victory.................................................. 55 3. To Hasten the Liberation of the Country.................... 59 Setting an Example in Practice ............................. 59 During a Break in Military Training.........……...…… 62 "Consider the Other Side of This River to Be the Homeland".................................................. 64 To Qualify Women Guerrillas as Nurses.................... 67 Learning Radio Communications........................... 69 Before Receiving Bouquets of Congratulations ............. 73 A Pistol She Was Awarded................................. 76 True Love and Marriage.................................... 79 4. In the Period of Building a New Korea...................... 83 With an Invariable Attitude of Bodyguard................... 84 Echoes of Mt. Komal....................................... 88 Singing Nostalgia.......................................... 91 For the Founding of Our Republic.......................... 96 To Develop the Women's Union into a Mass Political Organization............................................... 100 A Loud Train Whistle ...................................... 107 Loving the Working Class Most Dearly .................... 112 Driving an Inspection Trolley Herself .……................ 116 A Blessed Girl Weaver..................................….. 120 Although Her Native Town Was within Hailing Distance... 124 First Press Interview ....................................... 127 "I Am Also a Peasant's Daughter".......................... 131 Showing Deep Concern for the Education of the Rising Generation................................................. 136 "Let's Study Hard for the Precious Motherland"............ 139 "Be Dependable Pillars of New Korea"................….. 145 Autograph ................................................. 148 On Her Turn to Cook....................................... 151 5. Upholding the Cause of Army Building ..................... 155 "Our Revolution Is Not Yet Finished"...................... 155 Like My Own Mother...................................... 160 At the Parade Ground ...................................... 165 Encouraging a Young Man to Join the People's Army ...... 171 Her Noble Idea of the Knapsack Design .................... 175 Benevolent Mother of the Children of Revolutionary Martyrs .................................................... 178 Saying That We Are Wives of Revolutionaries ............. 184 6. Anti-Japanese Heroine, Respected by Everyone............ 187 Bright Smile ............................................... 188 In Front of Her Bust........................................ 193 1. TO BRING UP THE FUTURE GENERATION OF THE REVOLUTION In early 1930, Comrade Kim Jong Suk set out on the road of the revolution in the village of Fuyan, inspired by the Juche idea of the respected General Kim Il Sung. In July 1932 she joined the Young Communist League of Korea (YCL) organized and led by the General. She worked at the district committee of the YCL and then at its county com- mittee and at the party secretariat, conducting the work of the Children's Corps, the Children's Vanguard and the YCL. She also did political work successfully in the enemy-held area. Busy as she was, she always paid particular attention to the work of bringing up the future generation of the revolution; she took charge of Children's Corps members and took loving care of them. Comrade Kim Jong Suk made every effort to rear us CC members as sons and daughters loyal to the General and reli- able heirs to our revolution. My First Meeting with Her Spring arrived in the guerrilla zone, and everything came to life again. It was the spring of 1933, the first spring that I greeted in the guerrilla zone. The joyous singing of the farmers echoed through the val- leys. Thanks to the land distribution, they had become the 1 owners of the land for the first time in their lives. The voices of children reading in the CC school in the village of Beidong floated through the air. The people were really happy and hopeful in the guerrilla zone that spring. In December 1932 I was enrolled in the Children's Corps and began studying at the Beidong School set up by the father- ly General. My joy