Juche

    Defending the leader at the cost of her life was the core personality of Kim Jong Suk, the anti-Japanese heroine.

    Through her life and struggle, Kim Jong Suk who joined the anti-Japanese war with a rifle in her hand from her early years, kept it as her faith as the iron truth that the destiny of the country and the nation is decided by the guidance of a distinguished leader. Holding Kim Il Sung, acclaimed by the Korean people as their leader for the first time, as the sun, she defended his safety and his revolutionary idea at the cost of her life.

    Stressing that Kim Jong Suk was firm in defending Comrade Kim Il Sung’s idea and intention, leader Kim Jong Il said in his life time that she had made untiring efforts to implement Comrade Kim Il Sung’s idea and line and waged uncompromising and principled struggle against the phenomena contrary to his idea.

    Following is a story about her.

    One day in winter in 1939, there was a discussion on the speech made by Comrade Kim Il Sung at the Nanpaizi meeting to steadily advancing the revolution by breaking the deadlock, at the Qingfeng camp.

    While making discussion on the profound idea, its validity and the historic importance of his speech, Kim Jong Suk and others made up their minds to implement a new policy of struggle set by him.

    Om Kwang Ho, the then chief of the camp, stood up to start his speech saying that the discussions were not perfect although they were reasonable. He found fault with their words. Citing the experience of the revolution in Russia, he spun out sophism that, since there existed a period of upsurge and a period of inactive in any revolution, the lesson of “one step forward and two steps retreat” should be considered in such circumstance, in other words, offensive and head-on collision should be evaded but retreat made until the favorable condition was created and that it was the way to save the revolution.

    At that time, Kim Jong Suk sternly said: We do not deny that objective situation had an effect on revolutionary struggle but I consider that we should not make it absolute. The more unfavorable the situation is, the more actively revolutionaries should strive to turn misfortune into blessings. It is the intention of Commander Kim Il Sung. Of course, it is good to consider Marxism-Leninism as a guide in the revolutionary activities and practice as it is the doctrine communism. But, as always stressed by the Commander, we should apply it, not blindly but creatively in accordance with the reality of the Korean revolution. I think that you misunderstand the content of “one step forward and two steps retreat,” and you don’t know that the Korean revolution has been advanced through manifold hardships. There is nobody who will create a period of upsurge for us if we retreat? As the Commander said at the Nanpaizi meeting, we should make headway against hardships so as to turn adversity into prosperity.

    Om was rampant but daunted by the resolute stand and attitude of Kim Jong Suk who grants generous forgiveness to other faults but does not make any compromise with those who dare to defame the Commander’s authority and slander his revolutionary idea and line.

    Making desperate efforts to save his face, Om asserted that they should rather retreat backward to hide themselves in deep mountains than counter the enemy under such unfavourable condition that the enemy has turned Korea and Manchuria into the military fortresses and the fields and mountains are covered with snow.

    Om’s sophism was neither a lack of recognition nor an accidental mistake, but his was a disobedience to Kim Il Sung’s revolutionary line and policy, which was caused by his ideological degeneration.

    Hence, it was not a simple academic discussion but a serious ideological campaign deciding whether or not they defend the revolutionary idea and policy of Kim Il Sung.

    Kim Jong Suk refuted Om’s sophism without hesitation.

    “You regard that all comrades here would believe classic proposition and words as they are if you recite them, but we are not entranced with them. We have embarked on the revolution following the banner of the Korean revolution upheld by the Commander and we are the Korean communists of who struggle with the determination of defending and implementing his revolutionary line to the end.”

    She said that, at present, the Commander personally led a unit to march into the border area in order to break through the difficulties and bring about an upsurge in the Korean revolution. She continued.

    “This is the only way to rescue the Korean revolution, restore the disrupted revolutionary organizations at home and instill a confidence in victory in the people. You insist not to counter the enemy nor march to the border area while reciting about the ‘period of inactive.’ In view of the just revolutionary policy of the Commander, yours is very unsound and dangerous insistence that is contrary to his revolutionary line.”

    Om made every desperate effort to harm the revolutionaries and save himself from being exposed as his true color was revealed by her acute political judgment and uncompromising struggle, but he was given a stern judgment of the revolution.

    Like this, Kim Jong Suk, the anti-Japanese heroine never pardoned any one who slanders Kim Il Sung’s revolutionary idea and defended it at the cost of her life.