An Unforgettable Memory

The great career of President Kim Il Sung tells many impressive anecdotes about his activities, which are unprecedented in the history of the great men in the world.

Chairman Kim Jong Il said:

"The history of Comrade Kim Il Sung's revolutionary struggle is a glorious history of struggle involving exploits that will shine down through all the ages; it is an enduring textbook of life and struggle which rouses the hearts of all the people."

On receiving the news that his father had been arrested again by the Japanese police, President Kim Il Sung left Mangyongdae for a 1 000-ri journey for national liberation with a firm determination not to return to his native place until he regained his lost country.

Looking back, the revolutionary journey he covered was not a journey that ordinary people could follow.

For more than half the journey he would have to walk over steep, craggy mountains which were virtually uninhabited; even in full daylight beasts of prey prowled about there.

There were passes, including Mt Oga, which he had to cross the whole day.

But with matchless courage and will, Kim Il Sung set out in his teens alone on such a journey.

One snowy day in late January Juche 14 (1925), a teenager entered the yard of a small inn in Kujang County, North Phyongan Province.

The moment when they saw him, the owner of the inn and his wife welcomed him.

True to his father's instructions that he should study in Korea to know his country two years ago, a 12-year-old boy had left Badaogou, Changbai, China, alone for Mangyongdae, his hometown, with a book depicting a route from Badaogou to Pyongyang and stayed overnight at the inn on his way.

At that time, an inn was a place where people on traveling used to take a night's rest, and it was usual that the host of the inn did not remember much about them.

The same was true of the owner of the inn and his wife.

But they kept deep in their minds the unusual image of the 12-year-old boy.

It was at dusk on one March day in Juche 12(1923), when he arrived at the inn on his 1 000-ri journey for learning.

From the first moment of the meeting, the modest character of the young boy, who had greeted the landlords and travelers politely and entered the room, caught the eyes of many people.

Looking at the boy, who looked polite and brilliant, the owner of the inn asked him how old he was and where he was going all alone in this cold weather.

The moment he heard that the boy was going to his hometown to know Korea better while studying in Badaogou, China, the man was surprised at the noble world he could not imagine.

But they didn't know until they could see more amazing things the next morning.

Early in the next morning the hostess went out to sweep the yard as usual.

For a moment she couldn't help being surprised.

The little boy, who had checked in the day before, swept the yard. It was the first of its kind since the inn had set up.

The travellers had taken it for granted to sleep and take meal for charges, and the host had thought it natural.

The hostess marveled at the clean yard.

Now the little boy suggested burying the rubbish and the leftover of cattle feed in the ground around the apricot tree behind the inn as manure saying:

My grandfather in Mangyongdae buries such manure in the ground around peach trees. Then tree bears tasty fruits and free from insects.

The woman was more surprised to find the young boy so simple, so profound and so knowledgeable.

Her admiration did not end there.

When a woman was struggling with disordered sacks of grain on the back of an ox on her way to a mill, the boy ran to her and helped her reload the sacks.

The owner of the inn and his wife was struck with admiration by the extraordinary traits and personality of the young boy.

On the day when the unforgettable little boy left, they had long talked about the young traveller, saying, "A great man is distinguished in his childhood. We don't know whose son he is, but he will do great things when he becomes an adult."

The unforgettable boy came two years later, and their joy was beyond description.

But at that time they were unaware of what a great man had been to their inn twice.

A long time later they came to know that the young boy was General Kim Il Sung, who defeated Japanese imperialists and liberated the country.

At that time, there was an old guest registration book, in which "Kim Song Ju," Kim Il Sung's name in his childhood, was written.

Seeing the name written on the book, they first recalled his unusual personality and traits.

It is one night each to calculate the number of days President Kim Il Sung stayed at the inn during his 1 000-ri journey for learning and again 1 000-ri journey for national liberation.

Even if a person devotes their whole life, it is difficult to leave clear memories in the people.

However, he left an enduring memory in the hearts of the people with his devotion and love for the people and extraordinary personality and traits only at one night.

It would be endless to talk about the noble traits of the President, who regarded himself as the son and servant of the people and devoted himself to the people even though he performed such great exploits for his country and fellow people.

Together with his ennobling traits, which evoke precious memories that will never be erased in the minds of the people no matter how many years may pass, President Kim Il Sung will shine as the eternal sun in the minds of not only the Korean people but also the world people down through the generations.