Into a monumental building

The great leader Comrade Kim Il Sung said as follows.

"She had an unusual ability to motivate the masses, awakening them to consciousness and enlisting them in action." (Rminiscences Kim Il Sung With the Century 8 continuing edition pp.2tion 153)

The anti-Japanese war heroine Comrade Kim Jong Suk took the lead in upholding the great leader's idea to build Kim Il Sung University into a monumental building after the liberation of the country.

Today, all the teaching staff and students of Kim Il Sung University are recollecting with deep emotion the immortal exploits performed by Comrade Kim Jong Suk, the anti-Japanese war heroine, in strengthening and developing the university.

One day in spring of Juche36(1947), the anti-Japanese war heroine Comrade Kim Jong Suk met an official of the Pyongyang City People's Committee responsible for the construction of a new school building, who visited to meet the great leader.

He told her that the group of designers was organized under the care of the great leader but it had not yet made even a draft document, so he came to meet the great leader to receive instructions as to the problems of the architectural style, the number of floors, and manpower needed in the university building.

Some days ago, officials had received valuable teachings and benevolence concerning the building of the university from the great leader.

Originally they had made a budget of 30 million won for the university building and made a building plan within the budget.

With regard to their building budget, the great leader had said that 30 million won must be small, and had instructed them to build a larger school building, saying that they would be given 130 million won.

With this new, larger budget, they started a fresh designing work of a new university building, but encountered many difficult problems, which needed the valuable teachings of the great leader.

Comrade Kim Jong Suk said that it was a great pride for the Korean people, who had been crushed by the Japanese, to set up a large university building with their own efforts, and encouraged him that if they were determined, nothing would be impossible no matter how difficult it might be.

Comrade Kim Jong Suk told him that the general gave several instructions to erect the university building into a monumental one, and that he was always thinking about how to build a university in a grand and dignified way while spending less money and building materials, and that in order to erect a new building of the university as intended by the general, it was necessary not to spend money on decorating appearances, but to make it convenient for students to study in. She continued that it would be better to increase the number of classrooms as students would continue to increase in number in the future.

Comrade Kim Jong Suk also told him that it would take a lot of labor to construct a large building in a short span of time, but as the patriotic enthusiasm of the Korean people was very high now and the people were greatly encouraged by the fact that the university was to be built, so everyone would turn out to build the university in response.

After that, the design of the new school building was completed and construction was accelerated on a full scale.

Comrade Kim Jong Suk visited the building site several times herself.

One day she taught officials how to relieve the workers of their arduous work, who were walking up to the 4th floor with bricks on their backs,and also took warm care of the lives of the builders and the citizens of Pyongyang who volunteered as builders.

It was one day in late August, Juche37(1948) when the construction project came to its final stage.

At that time, the university officials and builders were in a great hurry for the inaugural ceremony before the new school year.

That day, Comrade Kim Jong Suk visited the university building site and spent the whole day, trying to ensure the perfection of the university.

There were some flaws in plastering, and the door frame and the door did not fit well, and surroundings were not good to see.

But officials were only concerned about holding an opening ceremony as planned.

After familiarizing herself with everything, Comrade Kim Jong Suk told officials before leaving the construction site in the evening that the building was very magnificent, but it was too early to hold an inaugural ceremony while all was not in perfection, and that quick measures should be taken to bring everything to perfection.

Upholding this teaching, the work was actively organized and done to perfect the university building as quickly as possible.

Thanks to the far-reaching plan of the great leader and the warm care of Comrade Kim Jong Suk, the grand new building of Kim Il Sung University with the floor space of more than 12 000 square meters was completed as a monumental edifice in less than a year, and the grand ceremony was successfully held, demonstrating the might of the Korean people, on October 10, Juche37(1948).

That day, Comrade Kim Jong Suk, who accompanied the great leader, looked round the university which was decorated for celebration, said it was great that the Korean people built such a large modern building with their own hands in a little more than a year, adding that it was not long before the Korean people could dynamically build a new country with the large unit of national cadres they had trained.

Indeed, the great pains taken by andwarm care of Comrade Kim Jong Suk for the founding and construction of Kim Il Sung University will shine forever along withthe university.