Today when the great event of national liberation is at hand I am going to talk to you about the need to intensify the study of the homeland and also about some urgent tasks.
The world situation is rapidly turning in favour of the revolution, and the great event of national liberation is now the order of the day.
The fascist nations–Japan, Germany and Italy–that unleashed the Second World War with the object of dominating the world are going downhill step by step as time goes on.
Backed stealthily by the US and British imperialists, fascist Germany treacherously surprised the Soviet Union with a huge force of 170 divisions, reinforced by aircraft and tanks. They boasted that they would defeat the Soviet Union within a few months, but the Soviet people and the Red Army, led by great Comrade Stalin, gradually resolved the unfavourable situation that prevailed in the first stage of the war. Single-handedly they checked fascist Germany in its frantic attack, for which it had mobilized all internal forces as well as the military force, manpower and resources of the 14 European countries already under its occupation, and they took the counter-offensive.
Early this year at Stalingrad, the incomparably brave Red Army crushed fascist Germany’s 30 crack panzer divisions equipped with
the latest weapons, marking a new turning point in the Soviet-German war. It is evident that the fate of the fascist German army was decisively sealed at Stalingrad.
The Red Army has now driven the German aggressors back to the vicinity of the Dnieper, and before long will destroy all the aggressors on Soviet territory and win a great victory.
Firmly believing Germany’s victory over the Soviet Union a fait accompli, the Japanese imperialists started the adventurous Pacific War, but they are also suffering one defeat after another on the vast fronts of China, Southeast Asia and the Pacific.
On the Chinese front, the Japanese imperialists are gradually getting into hot water owing to the counter-attack of the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army led by the Communist Party of China. The greater part of their armed forces sent to the Chinese front along with the puppet army was directed into operations calculated to “wipe out” the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army, but one after another their “punitive” operations have come to grief. In North China the Eighth Route Army is gradually expanding its liberated area.
The Japanese imperialists planned to surprise the Americans in Pearl Harbour of Hawaii and administer a mortal blow to the US Pacific Fleet and then, before the United States could recover, seize a wide area of Southeast Asia. They then planned to plunder the rich natural resources, such as oil and rubber, so that they would meet their shortage of strategic materials and cope with the protracted war. Their daydream was that this would enable them to defeat the US and British forces in Southeast Asia and in the Pacific together with Germany’s victory over the Soviet Union. But they have already completely lost balance in the Pacific and are suffering defeat after defeat.
Italy has surrendered and Germany and Japan have begun to retreat hastily.
When we analyse the Second World War, there is no doubt that the fall of the Japanese imperialists is inevitable and that the great event of national liberation is at hand.
Today, with the great event of national liberation almost in sight, one of our most important tasks is to study the homeland well.
A good knowledge of our country and our people is essential for us to discharge our duties successfully as patriots and communists and carry out the Korean revolution with honour.
In order to carry the responsibility for the Korean revolution, we must be well versed in the history and geography of the homeland and be well informed about its brilliant cultural traditions. This is indispensable to us in fostering ardent patriotism, increasing our readiness to serve the country and the people with devotion, and in educating our people by understanding their preferences and so persuading them to become actively involved in the revolutionary struggle.
At the same time, a good knowledge of our history, geography, economy and culture is essential for us communists to apply Marxist-Leninist principles creatively to the realities of our country, take an independent attitude and form our own views with regard to the revolution in our country.
Also, for the purpose of saving our fine national traditions and national riches from the Japanese imperialist colonial rulers’ policy of national eradication, we must know well about our history, geography and culture.
Not only are the Japanese imperialists now intensifying their cruel colonial plunder of our people in order to make up for their successive ignominious setbacks in the war, but also, with the object of erasing our country from the map forever, they are openly pursuing the national assimilation policy, raving about the “same ancestry” and “oneness of Japan and Korea.” Distorting or deleting our time-honoured brilliant history and cultural traditions and widely propagating the “samurai spirit” of the “Empire’s subjects,” these colonial rulers of Japanese imperialism are trying to stamp out all that is Korean. In order to prevent Korea’s resurrection, they forbid the use of our language, spoken and written. Furthermore, they prohibit the Koreans from using their proper names, forcing them to change their names according to Japanese fashion, such as Ushiichiro and Umasaburo.
Now that the Japanese imperialists are making a frenzied attempt to erase the history and culture of our nation and Korea forever, we, the true patriots of Korea, must study our homeland well. This is one of our most important revolutionary tasks.
We must study our country hard in order to reconstruct our liberated country well in the future.
The commanding officers and soldiers of the KPRA are all fig
The current situation with the great event of national liberation fast approaching makes it imperative that while studying Marxism-Leninism we acquire a deep knowledge needed for the buildup of the economy and culture in a liberated homeland.
As communists of Korea, how can we expect to cope adequately with the Korean revolution without being well versed in the history, culture, nature and geography of Korea and the good ethics and customs of its people?
Korean communists must know well, boast of and love ardently the 5,000 years of our people’s history and brilliant culture and the physical aspects and rich resources of the homeland. They must hold to the lofty ideal and firm resolve to build a communist society, a paradise for the people, in their beautiful country.
In the first place, we must make a thorough study of our history.
When we say we must study the history, we mean that we must be acquainted with the history of our people’s struggle and creative activities, not the history of kings or other feudal rulers.
A solid knowledge of this history is indispensable to us in order to develop an ardent feeling of patriotism and foster both national pride and revolutionary self-respect.
From olden times our people waged an unyielding struggle against the tyranny of the feudal rulers and foreign invaders and developed science and culture by their own creative labour and wisdom, thus making Korea famous in the East.
Our people are brave and resourceful, industrious and peace-loving. In particular, our people are highly patriotic and fight indefatigably against foreign invaders in defence of the dignity of the nation.
The invasion of our country by foreign aggressors has been ceaseless since ancient times, and it has been more rampant especially during the latter part of the 19th century, and after.
From olden times the Korean people rose as one man in a holy war to defe
