Kim il sung and chen. Pyongyang. Mausoleum of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il. Sightseeing tour. Rise to Fame

Kim Il Sung (Kor. 김일성, according to Kontsevich - Kim Ilson, born Kim Song Ju, April 15, 1912, Mangyongdae - July 8, 1994, Pyongyang) the founder of the North Korean state and its first ruler from 1948 to 1994 (head of state since 1972). Developed the Korean version of Marxism - Juche.

There is little accurate information about Kim Il Sung, and all because of the secrecy surrounding his biography. His name is not what he was given at birth. Kim Il Sung was born in 1912 in one of the suburbs of Pyongyang. The family moved to Manchuria in 1925 to escape the Japanese occupiers. In Manchuria, Kim Il Sung became a member of the Communist Party in 1931. The military authorities from the Soviet Union drew attention to him. There was a second one world war, and Kim Il Sung lived in the USSR. He claimed to have fought in the Red Army. Most likely, he was involved in politics rather than fighting. He adopted the pseudonym Kim Il Sung, in honor of the famous Korean patriot who died fighting the Japanese.

The Second World War is over. US troops occupied the South of Korea, and the USSR occupied the North. They announced that they would single state. Meanwhile, Kim Il Sung and other communists from Korea returned from the USSR to their homeland to lead the country. Many Koreans have heard a lot about Kim Il Sung. They waited for his return, but saw a young “new Kim”, not a war veteran. It is not known for sure whether this misunderstanding was resolved. In 1948, the Korean occupation of the USSR ended. Kim Il Sung concentrated power over North Korea th in your hands. He became the prime minister of the DPRK. The USA and USSR were never able to unite Korea peacefully. Kim Il Sung took advantage of the USSR's support and opportunity, and therefore invaded South Korea to forcefully annex it to the North. Resistance was weak, even after additional UN forces arrived. However, Kim Il Sung's army was unable to cope with Douglas MacArthur's army, which landed at Inchon. Kim Il Sung's troops were defeated and retreated. The war lasted another two years in the area of ​​the 38th parallel.

In 1953, the long-awaited peace was signed. For just over forty years now, the troops of the South and the North have been taking positions opposite each other along the demarcation line, which runs along the 38th parallel. After the truce, Kim Il Sung was still able to strengthen his power. In 1956, the last opposition forces within the country were suppressed. In 1972, he became president, while he retained full military and civilian power. Time passed, and the DPRK moved away from both China and the USSR. Kim Il Sung planted a cult of his personality in the country. His country lagged behind its southern neighbors in development. Quite often, Kim Il Sung had difficulties supplying the country with food. In the 1980s, Kim Il Sung's son became his father's successor. In 1994, Kim Il Sung died, and power was concentrated in the hands of Kim Jong Il. Kim Il Sung was far from a great leader and commander; he depended on China and Soviet Union. However, we must remember that North Korea is hostile towards South Korea, Japan, and the United States, and the regime established in the country by Kim Il Sung still exists.

Biography

Born on April 15, 1912 in Mangyongdae, Pyongyang, the eldest son of father Kim Hyun Jik and mother Kang Ban Sok.

The father named his son "Song Ju" (meaning "become a support"), wanting him to become the support of the country.

Following the path of his parents' revolutionary activities, during his childhood he often moved to different regions of Korea and China.

Thanks to my father's foresight, having learned Chinese early and studying in Chinese elementary school, fluent Chinese, which greatly helped him in the future when he launched a fight against the Japanese invaders in Chinese territory.

Fulfilling the holy will of your father: if you want to make a revolution, know well the reality in your homeland, in March 1923I've walked a thousand miles whether for study" from Badaogou China to Mangyongdae and studied at the Changdeok school in Chilgor, where his mother’s parents had their house.

In January 1925 received news that his father was again arrested by the Japanese police, and decisively left his native land of Mangende. Then he made a firm vow to himself never to return to his homeland until it became free.

After his father's death in June 1926, he entered Hwasongyisuk in Huadian, China, a two-year political-military school established by the anti-Japanese nationalist organization of Korea. On October 17 of the same year, he proclaimed the creation of the Union for the Overthrow of Imperialism. By the unanimous will of all participants in the meeting, he was elected leader.

In order to further develop revolutionary activities,
left Hwasongyisuk after six months of studies and moved the arena of his revolutionary activities to Jilin.

There he was enrolled in the Yuwen high school in Girin and continued his studies.

On August 27, 1927, he rebuilt the SSI into a more mass organization - the Anti-Imperialist Youth League, and on August 28 of the same month he created the Communist Youth League of Korea.

In addition to these, he created other various mass organizations and led their anti-Japanese struggle.

From June 30 to July 2, 1930convened a meeting in Kalun at which he illuminated the path of the Korean revolution. There he comprehensively covered the tactical and strategic issues related to the implementation of the main tasks of the Korean revolution.

July 3 of the same yearconvened in Kalun the founding meeting of the first party organization - the “union of comrades Consor”, and three days later, on July 6, created the Korean Revolutionary Army - a paramilitary-political organization - in Guyushu, Itun County, as a priority measure to prepare for the anti-Japanese armed struggle.

April 25, 1932 created a permanent revolutionary armed force - the Anti-Japanese People's Guerrilla Army (later renamed the Korean People's Revolutionary Army), and led the anti-Japanese armed struggle to victory, revived the motherland on August 15, 1945. In September of the same year he returned in triumph to his homeland.

Soon created the Central Organizing Committee of the Communist Party of North Korea and proclaimed the founding of the party on October 10, 1945.

February 8, 1946created the Provisional People's Committee of North Korea and was elected to the post of chairman of the same Committee. He published a "20-point political program."

In August 1946created the North Korean Workers' Party by merging the Communist and New democratic parties in North Korea.

In a short timesuccessfully led the implementation of the tasks of the anti-imperialist, anti-feudal democratic revolution in the North of the country.

Through the country's first democratic electionsproclaimed the reorganization of the Provisional People's Committee into the People's Committee of North Korea and was elected to the post of chairman of the Committee - the new central body state power. He set before the Committee the tasks of the period of gradual transition to socialism.

In February 1948turned the KPRA into a regular revolutionary armed force - the Korean People's Army (KPA).

September 9, 1948organized a unified central government of the Korean people - the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). According to the unanimous will and desire of the entire Korean people, he was elected to the high post of Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of the DPRK, head of government.

June 30, 1949 convened a joint Plenum of the Central Committee of the Workers' Parties of North and South Korea, at which he was elected Chairman of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK).

Under wise guidanceThe Korean people defeated the American aggressors in the Fatherland Liberation War (June 25, 1950 - July 27, 1953), defended the sovereignty of the nation and marked the beginning of the decline of American imperialism.

August 5, 1953 at the VI Plenum of the Central Committee of the WPKoutlined the main line of post-war economic construction and supervised its implementation.

In addition, he directed the socialist revolution - socialist transformation industrial relations in the city and countryside.

At the III and IV congresses of the WPK (April 1956, September 1961), he was again elected Chairman of the Central Committee of the WPK.

He came up with a new idea to lead a continuous revolution and defined its main content as three revolutions - ideological, technical and cultural.

In connection with the increasing attempts of US imperialists to provoke a new war in December 1962 at the V Plenum of the Central Committee of the WPK of the fourth convocationput forward a new strategic course: to conduct economic and defense construction in parallel.

In October 1966, at the XIV Plenum of the Central Committee of the WPK of the fourth convocation
was elected Secretary General Central Committee of the WPK.

From 1957 to 1970 successfully led historical process implementation of industrialization of the country.

According to the new Socialist Constitution of the DPRK, adopted in December 1972 at the First Session of the Supreme People's Assembly of the DPRK of the fifth convocation,elected President of the DPRK.

At the V (1970) and VI (October 1980) congresses of the WPKagain elected General Secretary of the Party Central Committee.

Kim Il Sung identified the transformation of the entire society based on the Juche idea as the general task of the Korean revolution.

In May 1972 put forward three principles for the unification of the motherland, in October 1980 - a proposal for the creation of the Democratic Confederate Republic of Korea, and in April 1993 - a ten-point program for the great consolidation of the entire nation for the unification of the motherland.

To protect socialism in the country and complete the work of the Korean revolution,successfully resolved the issue of his successor.

In June 1994 in Pyongyangreceived former US President Jimmy Carter and created favorable conditions for holding Korean-American negotiations on the nuclear issue and summit talks between North and South Korea.

He continued his energetic activities until the last minute of his life in the name of the party and the revolution, the Motherland and the people, in the name of the triumph of the cause of independence throughout the world. July 8, 1994 at 2 amdied in his office due to sudden illness.

“Worship the people like heaven” - this is the President’s life credo.

He was awarded the title of Generalissimo of the DPRK, the title of Hero of the DPRK (three times), and the title of Hero of Labor.

He received more than 70 thousand foreign guests, including heads of state, parties and governments of other countries of the world, and paid 54 visits to a total of 87 countries.

He has been awarded over 180 highest orders and medals from more than 70 countries and international organizations. He received the title of honorary citizen of more than 30 cities, the title of honorary professor and honorary doctor of sciences of more than 20 well-known foreign universities. About 165,920 gifts with good wishes were sent to him, as a sign of sincere love and deep respect for him by party leaders, heads of state and government, progressive individuals from 169 countries of the world. Bronze statues were erected in China and Mongolia
, the “International Prize” was established and awarded on a global scale", in more than 100 countries, over 480 streets, institutions and organizations bear the name. Publishing houses in more than 110 countries have published 24,570,000 units of his classic works translated into more than 60 national languages.

Kim Il Sung is the permanent leader of North Korea, the developer of Korean Marxism. He ruled the Land of Morning Freshness for 50 years. Some consider him an outstanding politician, a master of political intrigue. Others rank him among the most brutal dictators of the 20th century. The life of this unique person, who has gone from a simple boy from a poor Korean village to the “eternal president”, is full of mysterious events.

The biography of Kim Il Sung is full of fiction, and it is sometimes difficult to separate the truth from a beautiful fairy tale. Few people know that for 50 years this man ruled under a fictitious name, and his real name was Kim Sung Ju.

The eternal president of Korea was born on April 15, 1912 in the village of Namni in the family of a rural teacher and herbalist. At the age of 20, Kim Song-ju became the commander of an anti-Japanese detachment in China. He quickly advances in his career and it is then that he takes on the pseudonym Kim Il Sung, which means “rising sun.” There is no doubt that Kim was a successful guerrilla commander who fought successfully under the hellish conditions of the Japanese occupation.

As for the personal life of the future leader, this is where the mysteries begin. According to one version, his first wife fought with him in the detachment, then in 1940 she was captured by the Japanese and executed. According to another, official version, his first wife since 1940 was the daughter of a farm laborer, Kim Jong Suk. It turns out that when his first lover was executed, he immediately married another? In 1942, their first son appeared; according to the official version, he was born on the sacred mountain of Paektusan.

In 1991, in the Alma-Ata newspaper on Korean appeared " Open letter President Kim Il Sung." The author, Yu Sung-Cher, the former chief of operations of the Korean People's Army, argued that Kim Il Sung shamefully fled under the blows of the Japanese army into Soviet territory and miraculously managed to escape from the Japanese. And it was in the Soviet Primorye that his son was born. “You can’t help but remember all this. But it’s a shame for you to remember all this...”

It is also unclear how Kim Il Sung came to power in North Korea. After all, he belonged to the Korean lower classes, did not have higher education, and all the basic ideas about social and economic life received during political training in partisan detachments. In addition, in 1945, when he returned to North Korea, many believed that the partisan commander had been replaced, as everyone was struck by his too youthful appearance. This statement even found its way into American intelligence reports. The Soviet military authorities even organized a demonstration trip for Kim Il Sung to his home village along with correspondents.

Replaced or real, but, having seized power, Kim Il Sung became the permanent leader of this long-suffering country for many years and brought the principles of socialism in the territory entrusted to him to the point of absurdity. The economy has become completely planned, there is a distribution system everywhere. Probably, this did not happen even in our country in the most rabid socialist times. For example, personal plots and market trade were declared a bourgeois-feudal relic and liquidated. Each family was given strictly defined portions of rice, flour, and sugar.

The Koreans copied Stalin's personality cult, but even in this they surpassed their northern brother, the USSR. It all started with the renaming of Pyongyang University in honor of the beloved leader. Further - more. Monuments were erected to Kim Il Sung, his biography was studied, colorful glossy magazines were published with numerous portraits of the leader. In a poor country, magnificent celebrations in honor of the beloved president were tripled, at which portraits of the country's leader were hung next to portraits of Marx, Lenin, and Stalin.

After the 1960s The cult of personality of the Korean leader began to take on unprecedented forms and was especially evident on the day of the 60th anniversary. The country even adopted a new constitution, in which Comrade Kim Il Sung is described as a genius of ideas, an all-conquering commander of steel, and a great revolutionary. Every book in Korea was required to contain quotes from the leader's speeches; criticism was considered state crime and brought her to jail.

The stability of North Korean society was ensured only by strict control and mass indoctrination. In terms of the scope of its repressive bodies, North Korea has surpassed all countries in the world. The country's population was divided into several dozen families who lived in one block or house and were bound by mutual responsibility with the unlimited power of the head of the group. Without the consent of the headman, a simple Korean could not invite guests to his place or spend the night outside the house.

There were more than 120 thousand political prisoners in the country alone. In the late 50s, public executions were practiced in stadiums.

However, the leader himself and his son did not deny themselves anything. They had a special group of female servants under the significant name "Joy", into which only young, beautiful, unmarried women of good origin are selected. Virginity was also a special requirement. To ensure Kim’s joy was eternal, the Institute of Longevity, located in Pyongyang, was involved in maintaining health. In order to rejuvenate Kim Il Sung's body and enhance his male function, doctors used human placenta. Especially for the leader, virgins of 14–15 years old were impregnated, then provoking premature birth. The Institute managed the procurement of high-quality products abroad.

Despite national concern for his health, at the age of 82, Kim Il Sung died of a heart attack. His death was mourned by the entire nation. The Great Kim was buried in the mausoleum, declaring three years of mourning in the country. In 5 months, more than 23 million people climbed the hill where he is buried. By decree of July 8, 1997, the country adopted a calendar based on the birth of Kim Il Sung, and the date of his birth became the “Day of the Sun.” Amendments to the constitution were adopted: the post of president was abolished, since Kim Il Sung became the Eternal President of the DPRK.

His son, Kim Jong Il, continued his father's work, effectively receiving the throne after his death. He became “the key to the unification of the Motherland,” “the destiny of the nation,” “the bright star of Paektusan,” and, like Stalin, “the father of the people.” Although Kim Jong Il himself was not particularly musical, special composers wrote six operas for him, and he was declared a great composer. He was also famous as a great architect.

Kim Jong Il surpassed his father in terms of repression. Under his rule, labor concentration camps were created, public executions were carried out, and women were forced to have abortions. Western states have repeatedly accused North Korea of ​​human rights violations and found signs of slavery in its labor system. The socialist planned economy failed miserably; the impoverished country looked pitiful against the backdrop of the rapid development of capitalist North Korea.

Brigades of North Koreans were sent to different countries, including Russia and Kazakhstan, who worked from morning to night for the benefit of their homeland. Of course, access to information opened the eyes of many Koreans to the true state of affairs. Cases of desertion from the country and labor camps became more frequent, but the retribution in case of capture was terrible. The first attempt to escape will result in imprisonment in a labor camp; for the second, the death penalty.

The “Sun of the Nation” died on board his own armored train, but no one knew about it for 2 days. It was announced - “from mental and physical fatigue caused by continuous inspection trips around the country in the interests of building a prosperous state.” It is said that on the day of his death, even bears awoke from their hibernation to mourn their great loss, and flocks of magpies began circling the spire of Kim Il Sung's mausoleum to inform their father of his son's death. Three months of mourning followed. Those who did not mourn this grief enough were forced into labor camps. It was strictly prohibited to use mobile communications at this time.

Currently, the third son of Kim Jong Il, Kim Jong Un (Kim III), has become the new head of state. He also - " new star", "a brilliant comrade" and "a genius among the geniuses of military strategy." He also has a nuclear button.

Kim Il Sung is the founder of the North Korean state, Eternal President of the DPRK, Generalissimo. During his life and after his death, he holds the title “Great Leader Comrade Kim Il Sung.” Now North Korea is ruled by the grandson of the country's first president, although Kim Il Sung remains the actual leader (in 1994 it was decided to leave the post to the leader of Korea forever).

A cult of personality, similar to the cult in the USSR, was restored around Kim Il Sung and subsequent leaders of Korea. The cult of personality has made Kim Il Sung a semi-deity in North Korea, and the country itself one of the most closed in the world.

Childhood and youth

The biography of Kim Il Sung consists of many legends and myths. It is difficult to identify what events actually took place at the beginning of the life of the future Great Leader of the Korean people. It is known that Kim Song-ju was born on April 15, 1912 in the village of Namni, Kopyong Township, Taedong County (now Mangyongdae) near Pyongyang. Kim Sung-ju's father is the village teacher Kim Hyun-jik. Kang Bang Seok's mother, according to some sources, is the daughter of a Protestant priest. The family lived poorly. Some sources claim that Kim Hyun Jik and Kang Bang Seok were part of the resistance movement in Japanese-occupied Korea.

In 1920, Kim Song-ju's family moved to China. The boy went to Chinese school. In 1926, his father, Kim Hyun Jik, died. When he entered high school, Kim Sung-ju joined an underground Marxist circle. After the organization was discovered in 1929, he went to jail. I spent six months in prison. After leaving prison, Kim Sung-ju became a member of the anti-Japanese resistance in China. At the age of 20 in 1932, he led a partisan anti-Japanese detachment. Then he took the pseudonym Kim Il Sung (Rising Sun).

Politics and military career

His military career quickly took off. In 1934, Kim Il Sung commanded a platoon of the guerrilla army. In 1936, he became the commander of a partisan formation called the “Kim Il Sung Division.” On June 4, 1937, he led the attack on the Korean city of Pochonbo. During the attack, a gendarme post and some Japanese administrative points were destroyed. The successful attack characterized Kim Il Sung as a successful military leader.

In the period 1940-1945, the future North Korean leader commanded the 2nd direction of the 1st United People's Army. In 1940, Japanese troops managed to suppress the activities of most partisan detachments in Manchuria. Comintern (organization uniting communist parties different countries) suggested that Korean and Chinese partisan detachments move to the USSR. Kim Il Sung's partisans were based near Ussuriysk. In the spring of 1941, Kim Il Sung and a small detachment crossed Chinese border and carried out a number of anti-Japanese operations.

In the summer of 1942, Kim Il Sung was accepted into the ranks of the Red Army (Workers' and Peasants' Red Army) under the name "Comrade Jing Zhi-cheng" and was appointed commander of the 1st Rifle Battalion of the 88th Separate Rifle Brigade. The brigade consisted of Korean and Chinese fighters. The 1st Battalion consisted mainly of Korean partisans. Kim Il Sung, along with the commander of the 88th Brigade, Zhou Baozhong, met with the commander Soviet troops on Far East Joseph Opanasenko.

As a result of the meeting, a decision was made to create the United International Forces. The association was strictly classified, Kim Il Sung’s base near Ussuriysk was transferred to Khabarovsk, to the village of Vyatskoye. Many future party comrades of Kim Il Sung lived in the military dormitory of the village. The 88th Brigade was preparing for sabotage guerrilla activities in Japan. After the surrender of Japan, the brigade was disbanded. Kim Il Sung, along with other Korean commanders, was sent to assist Soviet commandants in Korean and Chinese cities. The future Korean leader was appointed assistant commandant of Pyongyang.

On October 14, 1945, Kim Il Sung delivered a congratulatory speech in honor of the Red Army at a rally at the Pyongyang stadium. Captain Kim Il Sung of the Red Army was introduced by the commander of the 25th Army, Colonel General Ivan Mikhailovich Chistyakov as a “national hero.” The people learned the name of the new hero. Kim Il Sung's rapid path to power began. In December 1946, Kim Il Sung became chairman of the organizing bureau of the Communist Party of North Korea. A year later he headed the Provisional People's Committee. In 1948, Kim Il Sung was elected Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of the DPRK.

By decision of the Potsdam Conference in 1945, Korea was divided into two parts along the 38th parallel. The northern part came under the influence of the USSR, and the southern part was occupied by American troops. In 1948, Syngman Rhee became president of South Korea. North and South Korea have made claims that their political system the only correct one. War was brewing on the Korean Peninsula. The final decision to start hostilities, according to historians, was made during Kim Il Sung's visit to Moscow in 1950.

The war between North and South Korea began on June 25, 1950, with a surprise attack by Pyongyang. Kim Il Sung took over as commander in chief. The war lasted with alternating success between the warring parties until July 27, 1953, when a ceasefire agreement was signed. Pyongyang remained under the influence of the USSR, and Seoul - the USA. A peace treaty between North and South Korea has not been signed to this day. The war on the Korean Peninsula was the first military conflict cold war. According to her model, everything was subsequently built local conflicts with the behind-the-scenes presence of the world's superpowers.

After 1953, the DPRK economy, supported by Moscow and Beijing, began a rapid rise. Since the beginning of the Sino-Soviet conflict, Kim Il Sung had to show diplomatic qualities, learning to maneuver between China and the USSR. The leader tried to maintain a policy of neutrality with the conflicting parties, leaving economic assistance to the DPRK at the same level. The Tzan system predominates in industry, implying the absence of self-financing and material dependence.

The country's economic planning is carried out from the center. Private farming is outlawed and destroyed. The country's work is subordinated to the needs of the military-industrial complex. The strength of the Korean People's Army has reached 1 million people. By the early 70s, the DPRK economy entered a period of stagnation, and the standard of living of citizens deteriorated. To maintain stability in the country, the authorities focused on strengthening the ideological indoctrination of the population and total control.

In 1972, the post of prime minister was eliminated. The post of President of the DPRK was established for Kim Il Sung. The personality cult of Kim Il Sung began to develop in 1946, when photographs of the leader were hung next to portraits of Joseph Stalin in places where rallies and meetings were held.

The first monument to the North Korean leader was erected during his lifetime, in 1949. The worship of “Great Leader Comrade Kim Il Sung” reached a wide scale in the 60s and continues to this day. During his lifetime, the leader of the DPRK received the titles “Iron All-Conquering Commander”, “Marshal of the Mighty Republic”, “Pledge of the Liberation of Mankind”, etc. Korean social scientists created new science"the study of revolutionary leaders", which studies the role of the leader in world history.

Personal life

In 1935, in Manchuria, the future Great Leader met the daughter of a poor peasant from North Korea, Kim Jong Suk. Since April 25, 1937, Kim Jong Suk served in the Korean People's Army under the leadership of Kim Il Sung. The wedding of Korean communists took place in 1940. A son was born in the village of Vyatskoye near Khabarovsk. According to some reports, the boy’s name was Yuri at the beginning of his life.

Kim Jong Suk died in childbirth on September 22, 1949 at the age of 31. Kim Il Sung forever preserved the memory of Kim Jong Suk. In 1972, the woman was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of Korea.

The second wife of the Korean leader in 1952 was Secretary Kim Song E. Children of Kim Il Sung: sons Kim Jong Il, Kim Pyong Il, Kim Man Il and Kim Yong Il, daughters Kim Kyong Hee and Kim Kayong-Jin.

Death

On July 8, 1994, Kim Il Sung died of a heart attack at the age of 82. Since the mid-80s, the leader of North Korea suffered from a tumor. Photos from that period clearly show bone formations on the leader’s neck. Mourning for the leader lasted three years in North Korea. After the end of mourning, power passed to Kim Il Sung’s eldest son, Kim Jong Il.

After the death of Kim Il Sung, the leader's body was placed in a transparent sarcophagus and is located in the Kumsusan Sun Memorial Palace. The mausoleum of Kim Il Sung and the second President of Korea Kim Jong Il forms a single complex with the Revolutionary Memorial Cemetery. The body of Kim Il Sung's mother and his first wife rests in the cemetery. The memorial is visited by thousands of citizens of Korea and other countries. In the halls of Kumsusan, visitors see the leader's belongings, his car and the luxurious carriage in which Kim Il Sung traveled.

Memory

Kim Il Sung is commemorated in North Korea with the names of streets, a university and a central square in Pyongyang. Every year, Koreans celebrate Sun Day, dedicated to the birthday of Kim Il Sung. The Order of Kim Il Sung is the main award in the country. In 1978, banknotes with the image of Kim Il Sung were released. Production continued until 2002.

On the occasion of the leader’s seventieth birthday, the second tallest structure was opened in Pyongyang - a monumental granite stele 170 meters high. The monument is called the “Monument to the Juche Ideas.” Juche is the North Korean national communist idea (Marxism adapted for the Korean population).

Every place in North Korea that Kim Il Sung has ever visited is marked with a plaque and declared a national treasure. The leader’s works are republished many times and studied in schools and higher educational institutions. Quotes from the works of Kim Il Sung are memorized by work collectives at meetings.

Awards

• Hero of the DPRK (three times)
• Hero of Labor of the DPRK
• Order of the Red Banner (DPRK)
• Order of the Golden Star (DPRK)
• Order of Karl Marx
• Order of Lenin
• Order "Victory of Socialism"
• Order of Klement Gottwald
• Order of the State Flag, 1st class
• Order of Freedom and Independence, 1st class

Comrade Kim Il Sung - the Rising Sun - a national hero from the breed of great Asian revolutionaries, granite colossi, characters rather Ancient world, than ours. Others are great helmsman Mao, the stunning uncle Ho Chi Minh, and the cruel dreamer Pol Pot, which translated from French is Pol Friend, Friend. All of them can be counted among the great brigade of giants towering over Asia like idols from Easter Island.

From the great, pale and nervous European revolutionaries - Lenin, Hitler, Mussolini - Asian colossi are distinguished by great honest wisdom, naivety, increased fanaticism and the obligatory Asian eccentricity, a penchant for universal formulas for universal salvation. “The Great Leap Forward”, “the rifle gives birth to power”, “let a hundred flowers bloom”, “the city is evil”, “agriculture is the key to building a nation”. To these condensed formulations of Asian political thought the great Kim added his own - the Juche idea.

Believing in the idea of ​​the dictatorship of the people, the Asian colossi with monstrous energy erected exotic fairy-tale states, in which, however, it is not easy to live, as in any fairy tale. And if huge China nevertheless mutated into a capitalist state led by the Communist Party, then small Korea keeps intact the legacy of the giant, idol, comrade Kim Il Sung. In Korea, the extravagant, warlike and fanatical regime of his descendants has become frozen in real estate, and in its harsh originality this regime has no equal.

This is a skillfully written biography of Idol.

Eduard Limonov

The old world was dying new world was born. On April 15, 1912, when horror froze in the eyes of the passengers of the Titanic plunging into the cold waters of the Atlantic, on the other side of the planet, a newly born baby let out its first cry. The parents named their first child Song Ju (Becoming a Support). In life he will be called differently: Chanson (Eldest Grandson), Han Ber (Morning Star), Tong Men (Light from the East)... But he will become known as Il Sen (Rising Sun).

You can see this as a simple coincidence, or you can see it as a symbol, a secret sign of history. Looking through the calendar for 1912, we discover many more symbolic dates.

The year began with the collapse of the world's oldest monarchy. On January 1, in Nanjing, Dr. Sun Yat-sen proclaims the Republic of China on the basis of the “three people's principles”: nationalism, democracy, and people's welfare. This event will change the development path of the East in general and Korea in particular. After all, there is no other country with which Korea is so closely connected as with China.

Another revolutionary to whom Kim Il Sung will owe his rise to the heights of power - Joseph Dzhugashvili - takes the sonorous pseudonym Stalin. On April 22, the organ of the party of Russian Social Democrats, the newspaper Pravda, began publishing in St. Petersburg, in the first issue of which his article “Our Goals” was published. He is arrested that same day. In exile, he wrote his first theoretical work, “Marxism and the National Question.”

On August 25, Kim's future comrade-in-arms in the socialist camp, Erich Honecker, is born. German communist imprisoned in Nazi concentration camp, leader of the German Democratic Republic. They will also die in one year. Alone as the leader of a country, mourned by his people. The other is in exile, on the opposite side of the world, forgotten by everyone.

Kim himself recalled other events in connection with the date of his birth, news of colonial policy - the landing of American marines in Honduras, the French protectorate over Morocco and the occupation of the island of Rhodes by Italian troops. Well, and the Japanese occupation of Korea, of course.

Kim's home village is called Mangyongdae - "ten thousand landscapes." This is truly a very picturesque place in the vicinity of the city of Pyongyang, in the very heart of the Korean Peninsula. Near the village there are Mangyong Hill and Mount Nam, covered with pine forests, which offer beautiful views of the Taedong River and its islands. These lands have long been popular with the local nobility, who bought plots here for family cemeteries.

“They say that our family came north from Jeongju, North Jeolla Province under the ancestor Kim Kye-sang in search of a livelihood,” he writes in his memoirs. - Our family took root in Mangyongdae under our great-grandfather Kim Eun Woo. And our great-grandfather was born in the Chunson quarter of Pyongyang, farming from an early age. At the end of the sixties of the last century, he and his entire family moved to Mangyongdae, purchasing a house there for the guardian of the family crypt of the Pyongyang landowner Lee Pyong-thaek" 1 .

Kim Eun-woo, according to North Korean historians, led the battle against the American pirate ship General Sherman.

This episode is well known to world historical science. The closed Korean society in the 19th century fiercely resisted the influence of foreigners, especially since they themselves gave many reasons for such an attitude. In 1866, the American ship General Sherman sailed to Korea under the pretext of concluding a trade treaty. Using a tidal wave, the ship was able to ascend the Taedong River to the island Yangak within the city limits of Pyongyang. Trade with Western countries was prohibited, and the local governor, Park Kyu-soo, politely asked the uninvited guests to leave where they came from, having first sent water and food to the ship.

However, the Yankees considered this behavior a sign of weakness. They took hostage the Koreans who were delivering food and began firing a cannon along the shore. To top it all off, they launched a veritable pirate raid through the surrounding villages, killing seven and wounding five. By that time, the tide was low, and the Sherman ran aground. The governor, losing patience, ordered the ship to be burned, resulting in all twenty-three crew members dying in the fire.

Unlike Kim's semi-legendary great-grandfather, his grandparents are very real individuals. Journalists who visited Mangyongdae after the end of World War II talked with them more than once. Kim Bo Hyun and Lee Bo Ik outlived their son Kim Hyun Jik for a long time and even saw the days when their beloved grandson became the head of the country. And in late XIX centuries, they rented land in Mangyongdae, engaging in peasant labor. They lived hard and poorly, almost starving.

Kim Hyun Jik was born in 1894. He grew up as a determined and willful child, standing out among his many brothers and sisters (there were six children in the family). This is evidenced by the following act: at the age of eleven, he climbed the mountain behind the village and cut off his braid. This was an unheard of violation of tradition. In Korea, young people were required to wear a braid before getting married, and they could cut their hair only on their wedding day.

In order to give the boy an education, the family had to strain all their strength. Hyun Jik successfully entered Sunsil High School - one of the many educational institutions founded by American missionaries in Korea. Studying here was considered prestigious and included modern sciences: mathematics, physics, geometry, history.

However, Hyun Jik never finished school. His character did not allow him to stay in one place for a long time. In his life, he changed many professions: he was a teacher, he practiced herbal medicine, and he collaborated with various Protestant missions. He immersed himself quite deeply in Christian culture - he could read a sermon, play the organ and perform the duties of a priest.

At the age of fifteen, he married seventeen-year-old Kang Ban Seok, whose parents were also devout Christians. True, she came from a wealthier, intelligent family. The girl's father, Kang Dong Wook, was the founder and director of the Changdeok secondary school in the village of Chilgor, neighboring Mangyongdae, and part-time a priest in the local Protestant church. So Kang Bang Seok was raised in a religious spirit from childhood.