Immortal Leadership Cherished In The Book "Folk Traditions Of Korea"

In sustaining the excellent national traditions of one's nation properly, the folklore and propaganda take a very important place.

The folklore is one of the fields of historical science that clarifies life tradition of nation and the lawfulness of its formation and development and it plays an important role in giving national pride and confidence to people.

Under the meticulous guidance of Chairman Kim Jong Il who had boundlessly noble patriotism and love for the nation, the Korean folklore could make a genuine contribution to properly carrying forward and developing the excellent national traditions.

With his extraordinary scientific insight and outstanding leadership ability, Chairman Kim Jong Il ensured that the Korean people cherished the Korean-nation-first spirit in every period of the revolution and construction and further strengthened the struggle to glorify the dignity and excellence of the nation, while directing great efforts to the folklore to carry forward the national tradition correctly.

Chairman Kim Jong Il said:

"All the officials, working people and younger generation should be fully aware of the fine customs and traditions of their nation and sustain them, so as to add lustre to the dignity and excellence of the nation cherishing the Korean-nation-first principle."

The resourceful, intelligent, diligent and brave Korean people have created and developed the excellent national traditions peculiar to our nation for five thousand years.

National tradition is the one that has been formed, consolidated and carried forward through the history of national development and it includes national culture, lifestyle, costums, morality.etc and it intensively embodies its national pecuiar characteristics.

Chairman Kim Jong Il, who valued the Korean nation most and correctly developed the folk traditions created by the ancestors, clarified the theoretical and practical issues arising in intensifying the study of the national traditions created and inherited by Korean people in the days of his revolutionary activities at Kim Il Sung University and lightened the theoretical and practical problems arising intensifying the propoganda about it..

At that time, he gave precious instructions arising in defending the national tradition in several works and talks including "We Should Retain the Traditional Dietary Patterns of Our People", "On the LifeStyle of Koguryo People with Priority to Martial Arts", "On Properly Inheriting and Developing Folk Heritage".

On July 30, Juche 77 (1988), when the preparation of the 13th World Festival of Youth and Students was vigorously under way for the first time in Juche-oriented Korea amid the great expectation and concern of the Korean people and the world progressives, Chairman Kim Jong Il made an initiative to make a book of the form of a cycle that comprehensively systematized the excellent folk traditions of the Korean people. That day, he said to officials that each nation has a folk tradition created and developed from generation after generation, adding in a serious tone that some officials didn't think that they should say about folk tradition but that it was a wrong idea. He said that there made a blank in inheriting the national tradition because they neglect nation and didn't concern about it saying that they opposed restorationism.

And he also said that he decided to complete the book on the folk traditions of the Korean nation in our own way and hand it over to the younger generation in our generation, and put forward the principles and ways arising in the compilation of the book.

That day he earnestly said that the book should be fixed as the folk traditions of the Korean nation and handed it over to the rising generations when the book was completed, stressed to write the book on the folk traditions in our own way in conformity with the aesthetic tastes of the times and the socialist way of life while sustaining the folk traditions of the Korean nation. Indeed, the teachings of Chairman Kim Jong Il that day reflected his noble patriotic intention to hand down the folk traditions created by his ancestors.

Afterwards, he clarified the title and main framework of the book, the number of books and the publishing and the principled matters arising in the writing the book, and provided all conditions for fully ensuring the writing, editing and publishing the book.

As a result, the book "Folk Traditions of Korea" (It consists of 7 volumes.), which comprehensively systematized the excellent folk traditions of the Korean people, was compiled and published as a book of national value in the era of the Workers' Party in October Juche 84 (1995) and on the occasion of the 50th founding anniversary of the Party.

The newly published "Folk Tradition of Korea" dealt with comprehensive contents including the Korean nation's dietary habits, national costumes, various customs and uses of dwelling houses, pipe-wedding and birthday customs, folk holidays and folk games, folk music and dances, legends and proverbs, puzzles and other customs of cultural and emotional life, work and lifestyle including silkworm and beekeeping and hunting; and other customs of national art including ceramics, wood, incrustation and crafts.

The book deals with rich historical records, relics, legendary materials, the occurrence of each custom and object, the process of change according to the stage of historical development, and the traditional contents in details and describes how the excellent folk traditions of the Korean nation are successfully carried forward and developed in the era of the Workers' Party scientifically and theoretically. It is a comprehensive book has 2115 pages in total with over 1 800 visual aids including color photos and charts. The publication of the successful compilation of the book "Folk Tradition of Korea", which systematized the whole of the folk tradition in a scientific and theoretical way for the first time in our country, served as an important occasion in correctly studying folklore from the Juche-oriented standpoint, implanting the Korean-nation-first spirit in the minds of our people, youth and students, and powerfully displaying the loftiness and excellence of the Korean nation at home and abroad.

Indeed, the book "Folk Tradition of Korea" shines as a collection of Juche-oriented folklore and an excellent book of national treasure which systematized the excellent national tradition created, developed and enriched by the Korean nation under the meticulous guidance of Chairman Kim Jong Il in line with the requirements of the times.