culture

Kim Un Ok is a war veteran who is living in neighbourhood unit No. 35, Haeun-dong No. 1, Phyongchon District. 

The old woman maintains an intimate relationship with many people like a family.

They habitually visit her home on such holidays as V-Day to encourage her and always look after her life carefully. They include officials of the municipality, district and dong office, members of the neighbourhood unit, doctors of the clinic, employees of the Pompit materials supply company and Yangdok Hot Spring Resort and others.   

Among them are the employees of the Jongsong General Pharmaceutical Factory.

They established relations with the old woman for the first time at the meeting with war veterans organized by the factory in celebration of the war victory day more than 10 years ago.

The story of Kim Un Ok, who fought for the country by sacrificing her life in the grim war, left deep impression on them.

Since then they have developed a family relationship with her.

They often visited her in leisure time as well as on her birthdays to look after her health and life.

When she was ill, they came with medicines and tonics and sometimes visited her with wartime songs to please her.  

In July when she returned home after participating in the celebrations of the 71st anniversary of victory in the Fatherland Liberation War, they came to her first with bouquets to congratulate her.

Her neighbours said that they were so pleased as if they met their grandmother that they looked like her sons and daughters.

According to head of the neighbourhood unit, an official of the factory asked her whether the war veteran grandma was well in midsummer heat by phone on his business trip to a local area in August and took appropriate measures. 

A woman employee told her recently that she gave birth to twin boy and girl. Hearing her pride, the war veteran made diapers and clothes for the newborn twin by herself out of joy and sent them to her.

When the mother of newborn babies and officials of the factory expressed thanks to her, Kim said that it has been a long time since she did needlework and she was very pleased and happy to do it. “And I thought of my mother, who used to do needlework overnight for me, and my youngest brother who was killed by enemy bombing while doing it.”

The employees of the factory said that as they developed a close “family” relationship with her, they remembered the instructions of General Secretary Kim Jong Un at the Seventh National Conference of War Veterans that the defenders of the country and the builders of the country in the 1950s who created the immortal heroic spirit, which should be carried on through generations, by honourably defending the glorious DPRK are the benevolent benefactors and genuine teachers who should be praised and followed for all ages.  

They continue to show their utmost sincerity as they look after the war veteran.