A Story of "a New 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."

Out of many stories about the President who always lived the same frugal life as the people without tolerating any privilege is the one about his wearing "new clothes" made from old faded suits with its inside out..

One day in mid-August Juche 73 (1984), an official presented to the President a new suit tailored with fine material with a hope of giving a pleasure to the President who returned home after his successful long foreign visit.

After receiving the suit, the President asked the official why it had been prepared.

The official earnestly told the President that he should wear the suit they had made for him after thinking that the President's suit was so worn out that he could not wear it any longer.

The President thought of something for a while with his hand on the shoulder of the impatient official and said: "I could well understand your concern about me. But think about this--it is not for the sake of my own well-being that we have built a socialist country like today through the difficult revolutionary struggle of various stages including the anti-Japanese armed struggle, the Fatherland Liberation War and the postwar reconstruction."

President Kim Il Sung warmly said that he had never thought of any joy and happiness apart from his people and that it was his greatest pleasure and happiness to be a faithful servant for the people and that he had not yet provided all the people with such high-quality clothes.

Then the President said that when all the people were wearing such clothes, he would wear the suit. He put it aside and told them they could make a suit using the material of his worn-out clothes with inside out.

Bearing deep in mind the lofty intention of the President who believes in the people as in heaven, the official made the suit again as instructed by him.

In the old pair of trousers of which waist band had been repaired five times before remained the visible needle holes.

Receiving the suit the President was pleased to say how good it was to have the inside out and it looked like a new one.

From olden times our nation has had a tradition, as a custom of etiquette, of devoting to their parents, particularly the trait of showing all sorts of sincerity to the head of the family-the father. But they could not do so to the President, the tender-hearted father of the great family of the whole country.

Other officials were pleased to see the "new clothes" of the President but they didn't know the true story of the so-called "new suit".

Our Leader's new suit--This is nothing but a piece of abundant episodes of the life of the great man.

The President continued his long and rugged field guidance to make the people better off, wearing "new clothes" and "new padded clothes", plain cotton socks and repaired shoes in his life.

It is a frugal life that contrasts so much with his fame and exploits that our people shed warm tears in their hearts, looking back upon the life of the President.

Today the President is always alive in our hearts as a great man and a great commoner as ever.