A "Newly-Tailored" Suit

The respected Comrade Kim Jong Un said:

"Even though he was held in high respect and admiration by our people and progressive people around the world, Comrade Kim Il Sung rejected any special favour or privilege for himself, and always led a simple and frugal life with his people."

President Kim Il Sung was the father of our people who lived a modest and frugal life just like our people without any privileges although he was the greatest man who was held in high esteem with boundless respect and reverence of our people and the progressive people around the world.

In the documentary films and photographs of his revolutionary activities from the mid-1950s to the mid-1960s, all the people may have seen him so often, in his grey suit with a closed collar which was made of plain cloth.

The grey suit with a closed collar clearly reflects the boundlessly plain, modest and lofty popular traits of the President.

It was March 29th, Juche50 (1961).

That day the President set out for field guidance to several regions and units of South Phyongan Province and South Hamgyong Province.

The officials, who had come out to Pyongyang Railway Station to see him off, were quite content to see him in a "newly-tailored" suit instead of a faded one. It was just because they had always concerned about his dressing with heavy hearts whenever they saw him off setting off for field guidance.

The miserable aftereffects of war had already been eradicated and the living standard of the people had improved a lot compared to the past as a result of vigorous struggle to realize socialist industrialization, but the President used to go away for on-the-spot guidance, still in his 7-year-old faded grey suit with a closed collar. That's why, the officials, who used to see off the President continuing his field guidance for the people in his old dressing, were quite delighted to see him in a "newly-tailored" suit and their delight was fully expressed on their faces.

However, it did not last long. They heard from one official in attendance on him that the suit was made by turning the old one inside out and mending it.

Then they were moved to tears and couldn't hold up their heads for their guilty conscience of failing their obligations as his revolutionary soldiers.

In fact, an official in attendance had offered him a pattern of suit cloth in the hope that he would have his new suit tailored.

The President held the cloth in his hands, turned it over and stroked its smooth surface. But he declined to have a new suit tailored saying that he appreciated his sincerity, what mattered if his suit was old and how he could wear a new suit while the people were poorly dressed.

Looking up to the President, who refused to make even a plain new suit for himself in spite of his constant field guidance for providing all the people across the country with all the good, the official asked him how he could set off wearing the faded suit and recommended again to have a new suit made.

With a benevolent smile on his face, the President said that he was going to Hamhung that time to appeal to the working classes and people to finish the construction of vinalon factory and hold an inaugural ceremony by early May of that year, tens of thousands tons of vinalon fiber would be produced every year and the people could be dressed in beautiful, new clothes made of vinalon fabrics when the factory started production and only then would he also wear a new suit.

And he made a request to turn his faded grey suit over inside out and mend it.

Those words, indeed, fully expressed the warm sincerity of the President, who had never thought of himself apart from the people and never violated his life principle to wear and live just like the others.

Thus the President gave on-the-spot guidance to Tokchon and Pukchang of South Phyongan Province and South Hamgyong Province from March 29th to April 7th, in that "newly-tailored" suit.

During his field guidance, he visited the vinalon factory to expound the methods to finish the construction by May Day and on May 7th he personally attended the Mass Meeting of Hamhung City, celebrating both the inauguration of the then vinalon factory and May Day and delivered a historic speech, "In order to develop the chemical industry further".

Under the energetic guidance of President Kim Il Sung, they began to produce vinalon on a large scale before long and the people were quite delighted to wear new clothes thanks to the Juche-oriented chemical fiber, vinalon.

It was then that the President also wore a new suit made of vinalon fabrics, just like the people.

Indeed, President Kim Il Sung was the father of the people who rejected any special favour or privilege for himself and always led a simple and frugal life with his people although he devoted himself to the people and achieved the greatest exploits.

That's why, today the Korean people look back on the lofty popular traits of President Kim Il Sung and how great man they have been upholding as their father with deep emotion, together with such an impressive story about the "newly-tailored" suit.