Immortal Leadership Exploits the Peerless Great Persons of Mt. Paektu Performed in the Establishment and Development of Kim Il Sung University

Kim Il Sung University is associated with the immortal leadership history and achievements of President Kim Il Sung, Chairman Kim Jong Il, leader Kim Jong Un and anti-Japanese heroine Kim Jong Suk.

Chairman Kim Jong Il said.

'In light of its establishment, revolutionary relics and the tradition of loyalty, Kim Il Sung University is, in name and in reality, an institution which is closely linked to President Kim Il Sung and the Party.'

From the beginning of the university to the last period of his life, President Kim Il Sung took great care of the university. Though he was very busy with the whole affairs of the country, he visited the university 107 times and gave instructions on over 900 occasions, indicating the ways to improve the work of the university in every period and phase of the developing revolution. With parental affection, he paid deep attention to the life of the teaching staff and students.

Even in the post-liberation difficulties, he considered training of local cadres as a pressing issue for the development of the country and nation, set forth a revolutionary policy on establishing a university and clarified all issues with great wisdom from the nature and mission of the university to educational contents and methods and the management of the university.

When it was difficult to recruit lecturers, he sent letters of appointment he personally signed to educated persons throughout the country, and took a measure to run a preparatory course so that the sons and daughters of workers and peasants could gain access to tertiary education.

Credentials sent by President Kim Il Sung

Thanks to the noble intention and wise leadership of the President, the work to establish the university was accomplished in a matter of less than a year and the university was inaugurated on October 1, Juche 35(1946).

In each period of the revolution, Kim Il Sung gave detailed guidance to the university which was established with great expectation of the public so that it could fulfill its mission and role.

In the period, when a new history of democratic education was in the making, he directed the university work numerously, instructing to develop the educational curriculum and improve the contents of education and teaching methods. He took measures to bring up the students into the pillars of democratic Korea and competent socio-political activists. He instructed that the university should take the lead in arts and sports, too.

He ensured that material and technical foundations were built for the new-born university, including building of a library and press, supply of school uniforms and scholarships, improvement of the quality of school meals and dormitory conditions, preferential treatment of the lecturers and scholars and provision of better living conditions to those staff.

He visited the university which celebrated its first anniversary and delivered a speech, 'You Should Learn and Learn to Become Excellent Cadres of the New Korea'. He looked round an exhibition held to mark the anniversary for hours and gave important instructions.

He personally designated the site of a new university building, and when peasants donated rice to the country, he ensured that the rice was used in the construction. He visited the construction site 16 times and attended the inaugural ceremony on October 10, Juche 37(1948), the anniversary of the founding of the Workers' Party of Korea, to congratulate the lecturers and students.

The old building of the University

Kim Il Sung took measures to separate technical faculties from the university in order to set up new colleges. He attended the first graduation ceremony and made a historic speech, 'Be Cadres Equipped with Advanced Science and Technology and Patriotic Idea'.

At the height of the grim Fatherland Liberation War, Kim Il Sung took a special measure, with a vision of the war victory, to recall the lecturers and students from the front to the university. Despite his heavy burdens of the front and rear, he visited the university relocated in Paeksong-ri on April 12-13, Juche 41(1952) and gave instructions over the wartime university work and clarified the bright prospect for the building of a thriving country.

In the hard times of post-war reconstruction, he took measures to preferentially reconstruct the main building of the university which had been completely destroyed. During his on-the-spot guidance on July 1, Juche 44(1955), he indicated that establishing Juche was the lifeline of the university education and emphasized to further strengthen the education, training and scientific research.

In November Juche 65(1976), Kim Il Sung visited the university for two days on the occasion of its 30th anniversary and clarified the way to decisively improve the quality of education to meet the requirements of the reality, in which the cause of modeling the whole society on the Juche Idea was being undertaken in depth.

He ensured that Building No. 1 and 2, Science Library, Museum of Nature and Gymnasium were erected in grand style even in the tense period of simultaneously pushing the economic development and the building of defence capability.

Building No. 1 (top left). From clockwise: Building No. 2, Science Library, Gymnasium, Museum of Nature.

President Kim Il Sung often visited university buildings, dormitories, dining halls and took care of the work and life of lecturers and students. He would discuss research projects with lecturers and scholars and really appreciate them when they made successes.

In the last period of his life, he gave important instructions on 12 occasions, and saw to it that modern lab equipment and facilities were provided to the university to mark its golden jubilee.

After all, President Kim Il Sung had visited the university 107 times and given instructions on over 900 occasions, clarifying the directions and ways for the development of the university in every period of the developing revolution and leading the teaching staff and students step by step.

Anti-Japanese heroine Kim Jong Suk worked to make the university commit itself to its mission as the university named after the President, visiting it 14 times and giving instructions more than 40 times.

Kim Il Sung University is also known as the alma mater of Chairman Kim Jong Il.

With the noble intention and desire of President Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Suk in mind, Kim Jong Il entered the university on September 1, Juche 49(1960).

The monument on which the poem 'O Korea, I Will Add Glory to Thee' was inscribed

Kim Jong Il made a firm determination to glorify Korea on Ryongnam Hill, helped lecturers and students have a proper attitude and stand towards being loyal to the President, and established the revolutionary habit of thoroughly implementing the ideas of the President and faithfully following his leadership.

He made sure that the course of education and training at the university was transformed into a course of developing the sense of loyalty to the President, and Juche was upheld as a lifeline in education. He led the effort to improve the educational contents, teaching methods and administration and spruce up the educational environment as planned and intended by the President in every way.

After graduation Kim Jong Il paid deep attention to the university work, although he was very busy dealing with the Party and state affairs, and ensured that the university was committed to its noble mission and role in the efforts to carry forward the revolutionary cause of Juche.

In a bid to make the university carry on the tradition of loyalty to the Party and the leader, he bestowed the greatest honour upon the university to erect a bronze statue of President Kim Il Sung on Ryongnam Hill in September Juche 57(1968). On October 11 that year, he visited the university and provided a blueprint for developing the university into a revolutionary site and a base for education in monolithic ideology.

In the historic period of materializing the programme of modeling the whole society on Kimilsungism, he set forth a revolutionary policy on broadening the scope of education and improving its quality in keeping with the actual reality in which the work of establishing the monolithic ideological and leadership system of the Party was being further intensified. He took a series of significant measures to bring up lots of holders of master's and doctor's degrees in their 20s and 30s, to build the scientific and theoretical capacity of lecturers and researchers and to further intensify research so as to extend the frontiers of science and improve the quality of education.

Chairman Kim Jong Il repeatedly said that the university is an established institution of learning. On April 1 and 8, Juche 84(1995) he pointed to the need to make a radical turn in improving educational contents and teaching methods at the university.

He sent a historic letter to the university on its 50^th anniversary and visited the university on December 7, Juche 85(1996) to stress the need to bring about a turning point in the university work as required by the developing revolution.

He bestowed great loving care when the university was celebrating its 60^th anniversary and made sure that an excellent swimming pool and e-library were built as presents in the last period of his revolutionary life. He visited the university four times in a year and laid a grand plan to develop the university into a top-class one in the world.

He sent his own handwritten letter to the university as follows:

The Chairman paid 27 visits to the university and gave instructions on 2 100 occasions so that the university named after President Kim Il Sung could always hold up the red flag of the revolution in the van, which is a manifestation of his greatest care of and trust in the university.

Under the wise leadership of Marshal Kim Jong Un, Kim Il Sung University is now well known as the eternal university of the President and the Chairman.

In consideration of the earnest desire of the entire teaching staff, students, graduates and the people, Kim Jong Un saw to it that a bronze statue of Chairman Kim Jong Il in his university days was erected in front of the e-library to mark the 67^th anniversary of the university in Juche 102(2013) and a revolutionary museum was rebuilt to hand the immortal exploits performed by the great leaders down to posterity.

The revolutionary museum

He ensured that a new student badge bearing the images of smiling leaders was designed and full sets of latest lab equipment and facilities were provided to consolidate the university's material foundations for education. He affectionately answered letters of lecturers, researchers and students.

Handwritten letter of the respected Marshal

Saying that there was nothing to spare for the lecturers and researchers, he proposed himself building apartment houses for them and visited the construction site three times to make sure all living conditions and conveniences are provided with full furnishing. Thanks to his sky-high benevolence and care, the lecturers and scientists of the university are now enjoying all the benefits of socialism ahead of others in the top-class houses they have never dreamed of.