Opinion

At the Sixth Plenary Meeting of the Eighth Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea the respected Comrade Kim Jong Un stressed the need to vigorously organize and correctly lead socialist patriotic movements and revolutionary mass movements, a powerful driving force for national rejuvenation and development.

In retrospect, the history of socialist construction in the DPRK is that of creation, building and defence on the strength of patriotism.

Patriotic call arouses all nation

When it comes to patriotism, the Korean people first remember the patriotic call of General Kim Il Sung for a new nation building immediately after Korea’s liberation from Japanese military rule on August 15 1945.

At the time, the economic situation of the country was so wretched that it beggared description.

After having occupied Korea militarily for over 40 years, the Japanese imperialists destroyed everything in the country as it was defeated.

Kim Il Sung appealed to all people to positively contribute to building the country--those with strength with strength, those with knowledge with knowledge and those with money with money.

In hearty response to his call, the Korean people turned out for a new nation building and put their heart and soul into it.

Railway workers in Jongju initiated a creative patriotic movement of running trains by repairing damaged ones and mining coals by themselves. Following their example, workers across the country restored submerged coal and other mines to produce coal and iron ore and repaired damaged furnaces and fired them to turn out molten iron. 

Kim Je Won, a farmer in Jaeryong County, donated 30 straw-bags of rice from the harvest he had gathered in the first year farming after the agrarian reform. His patriotic deed sparked the “patriotic rice” donation movement throughout the country. 

Intellectuals also took an active part in building the country competitively.

As a result, many industrial establishments were restored, the plan for total state industrial output value was overfulfilled by 2.5 percent and 170 000 tons of more grains were produced than in 1946 during the implementation of the first national economic plan for 1947 after the country’s liberation.

Basis of patriotism

The Korean people dedicated their all to the patriotic movements, neither because they wanted to gain fame from them nor because they were forced by anyone.

General Kim Il Sung liberated the country and put them, who had been subjected to colonial slavery more miserable than a dog in a house of grief in the past, forward as masters of factories, land and the country. His warm embrace was really their homeland which provided them with fulfilling life and happiness.

Their homeland was just the embrace of Kim Il Sung.

To defend it the Korean people laid down their youth and lives unsparingly, shouting “Long live General Kim Il Sung!” in the three-year bloody war against the US imperialists and won victory.

With this loyalty they rebuilt the country, clearing the debris left by the war in two to three years and rushed forward in the spirit of Chollima (a legendary horse running 400km a day) to complete socialist industrialization in a matter of 14 years.

Loyalty to their leader was to defend the country and bring honour to it.

In those years patriotic movements were created one after another.

To cite a few, builders of the Haeju to Hasong railway line started the 300% target exceeding movement, movement against empty-handed trip, movement for carrying load 100 times an hour and various others to complete the huge project, which was believed to take 3-4 years, in only 75 days, and builders of Pyongyang constructed houses for over 20 000 families with materials, fund and labour for flats for 7 000 families. An increased production drive went full steam ahead in all sectors of the national economy. 

The Chollima movement, the Chollima workteam movement, the let-each-machine tool-make-more movement and others which began at the then Kangson Steel Works and a small flax textile mill gave a powerful impetus to laying the foundations of socialism and comprehensive socialist construction.

In particular, the three-revolution (ideological, technological and cultural) red flag movement for revolutionizing all members of society, enhancing the technical and economic capacity and civilizing the entire society gained strength during the whole course of socialist construction, putting all sectors on the right track of new change and innovation, growth and development unaffected by any world political turmoil and unprecedented challenges. 

The respected Comrade Kim Jong Un said at the Seventh Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea that the victories and successes the country achieved do not come from any mysterious divine power, but they are a precious fruit of the leadership of the WPK that has steered the revolution by believing in the great Korean people and relying on them, and a valuable outcome of the patriotic devotion of the Korean people who are boundlessly faithful to the Party’s leadership.

Patriotic movement goes on

Today the proud tradition of patriotic movements of the Korean people continues under the leadership of General Secretary Kim Jong Un.

It is his firm determination and will to provide the people, who have steadily followed the path of socialism trusting only the WPK, with affluent and happy life as soon as possible.

Mass movements of various styles have been waged in a variety of forms and methods for the prosperity of the country and the people’s wellbeing to put his plans into effect.

The socialist patriotic forest movement, the movement for winning the title of model forest management county and the movement for winning the title of model land and environment protection county have gained strength across the country, turning all mountains into useful ones and giving a facelift to the country’s territory.

In the flames of the youth shock brigade movement many young people volunteer to work in difficult and labour-consuming sectors to perform labour feats and the high-yield movement is in full swing, producing lots of high-yielding farmers, sub-workteams, workteams and farms.

As the movement for winning the title of model technical innovation unit goes full steam ahead, marked progress has been made in the country’s economic growth and improvement of the people’s living standard.

The ranks of meritorious persons of socialist patriotism who have invariably followed the path of patriotism for years for the building of a thriving country with pure-hearted conscience and civic consciousness increase and the country is abuzz with the movement of following their examples.

Last year the munitions industry workers donated thirty 600mm super-large multiple launch rocket systems they had made with intense loyalty and high sense of patriotism to the Sixth Plenary Meeting of the Eighth Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea.

Now the Korean people redouble their efforts to usher in a new era of prosperity on the strength of loyalty and patriotism keeping pace with the General Secretary who leads the Korean revolution along the road of victory, in high spirits and with renewed courage.