Our President's iron rule of life "I oppose eating from a small pot."

From the first days of his embarking on the road of revolution, President Kim Il Sung considered it an iron rule of life to "oppose eating from a small pot." and never allowed any special benefits or privileges for himself throughout his life. He always led a humble and simple life without an inch of interval with the people.

President Kim Il Sung said:

"Since the days of the anti-Japanese armed struggle, I have considered it an iron rule of life to ‘oppose eating from a small pot.' This means opposing to live in a manner different from the ways of the masses without mixing with them."

There are many impressive anecdotes on every page of his revolutionary history telling about his traits as a great man who never allowed any small special benefit but led a humble and simple life.

After the liberation of Korea, the President, who led a dormitory life with leading officials, strictly limited the number of dishes. He said to prepare less than three different kinds of dish for every meal.

So, in addition to soup dishes, kimchi, potato and bean paste stew, or bean curd and bean paste stew were always on the table.

Then one day, the typists discussed themselves and made two more dishes of chicken and bean sprouts. They were all worried about the health of the President who devoted himself to the work of building the Party, State and Army.

Seeing that there were unusually five kinds of dish on the table, the President inquired the reason. After hearing the whole story, he called the typists. After appreciating for their sincerity he said that no official should violate the dietary discipline. He continued to say that the officials should not eat delicious food nor wear good clothes, otherwise people would never hold up nor follow them. He emphasized that they should live a humble and simple life like everyone else and they should not exceed the standard of the people's living.

In September Juche 36(1947) the President gave field guidance to various units in North Hamgyong Province.

He was very busy visiting various units without a moment's rest. One day officials who were anxious to provide special food for the President once at least went fishing to the beach and cooked some fish they caught.

When he came back to the quarters after giving field guidance to various units that day, too, the President sat down at the simple table, saying that he felt a bit hungry because he had walked a lot.

On the top of the table were boiled rice mixed with white rice and millet rice, fish stew, fried vegetables and kimchi.

The President looked at the dishes and asked where they got the fish.

One of the officials said that the millet rice was prepared by the cook and the fish were caught by them during the day as a pastime

Thanking them for their efforts, the President recalled with deep emotion that when fighting in the mountains he had eaten fish as a treat with his comrades.

He continued to say that the country was liberated so the people should be supplied a lot of fish. Then he pushed aside his dish and told the official to bring a bowl of rice they ate.

The official felt a bit dissatisfied. The President told him that he had eaten the same food with his guerillas when fighting against the Japanese imperialists in the mountains. He said that if they made rice with an uncrushed maize, he also had the same rice with them and if they had eaten the porridge, he had eaten the same porridge with some salt.

The President continued to say that on a May Day he had eaten frogs with his men as they had run out of food. He said that if his men had edible herbs for their meals, he did so, and every time they brought special food he would return it to the young guerillas and the sick without taking a bit of it. He also recalled that when a quartermaster had suggested the food for the commander should be cooked separately in a small pot, he refused his offer, saying that if he did so, he would start his fast.

The President wouldn't taste the millet rice and fish, saying that he would be happy to accept the sincerity only when the people's dietary life improved.

He invariably maintained such simple and modest diet rules throughout his revolutionary life.

President Kim Il Sung, who had experienced all the hardships, sorrows and sufferings in the world for a long time since he embarked on the road of revolution, thought only of the people and wrote a history of devoted service, cherishing everything for the happiness of the people.

He staunchly opposed to the terms "large pot" and "small pot" because he had profound, great idea that this would create a gap between the people and that if this gap was widened, it would violate even the dignity and personality of the people and eventually destroy the revolution itself.

In his reminiscences "With the Century", President Kim Il Sung wrote about "small pot" as follows:

"We do not support the ‘small pot', as this will engender all kinds of ‘evil spirits'. The ‘small pot' will only produce capitalist ideas. If we were to retain such a ‘small pot', relations between the Party and the masses would be impaired and the people might forsake their belief in socialism. The strength of our socialism has to do mainly with the fact that our Party has not become bureaucratic and we do not allow the ‘small pot'."

He staunchly kept his traits of respecting human beings throughout his revolutionary life and consistently stressed the need for officials to possess such traits.

Indeed, the life of President Kim Il Sung was a precious life that set a noble example as a loyal servant to the people, and a sacred history of love and respect for the human being to educate and lead the officials as faithful servants of the people.