culture

Kim Un Ok, a 92-year-old woman living in Phyongchon District, Pyongyang, has collected more than 60 tons of scrap iron over the past 60 years to be of help to the country.

She has done so neither because her family is needy nor at the request of somebody.

In her maidenhood, she served as a wireless operator during the fierce Fatherland Liberation War. Even after getting married, she continued to serve the army for her outstanding communications technology, but she was pensioned off in her early 30s due to an unexpected illness.

When her condition improved to some extent thanks to the benefit of the socialist public health system, she wanted to do something beneficial to the country.

Thus she started to collect scrap iron.

She collected scrap iron every day, even in the places far away from her home and visited a purchasing shop every week with the scrap iron she gathered. She collected iron scraps even when she nursed her baby and has continued to do so until today.

As the gathering of scrap iron is toil, her children dissuaded her in their childhood.

But since they became aware of her pure patriotism associated with the scrap gathering, they have helped her with the drudgery.

When the whole country was out to make greater labour achievements in the run-up to the historic Eighth Congress of the Workers’ Party of Korea in 2020, Un Ok decided to give help to the country by collecting larger quantities of scrap iron.

She always carried a walking stick attached with a magnet to collect scrap iron and would wipe the scraps clean before bringing them to the purchasing shop. When her children asked her why she cleaned them which would be brought to the shop, she answered, “This reflects my pure conscience dedicated to the country.” 

And then one April day this year, unexpected glory was accorded to her. 

She was awarded the title of DPRK Hero for the feats she had performed as a wireless operator in defence of the security of the Supreme Headquarters of the Korean People’s Army during the Fatherland Liberation War (June 1950-July 1953).

Her acquaintances did not ask the war veteran how she could earn the title when they saw the medal of the DPRK Hero on the breast of her military uniform.

Because the patriotic deeds they had witnessed and admired for the past decades told them how she served during the war.

The medal of DPRK Hero shining on the breast of the uniform and over 60 tons of scrap iron can be said to represent Kim Un Ok’s brilliant life admired by all.