During the anti-Japanese revolutionary struggle (1925-1945) President Kim Il Sung began his revolutionary activities by going among the people and led the Korean revolution along the road to victory in reliance on them. The struggle produced a number of episodes showing his personality as a great man.

Early in April 1933, he, together with the soldiers of his unit, had a break at a peasant’s hut around Liangshuiquanzi of China. During his stay he chopped firewood for the owner, saying that he himself was a son of the people and, before leaving, gave some money to help him out. This moving story still remains in the minds of the Korean people.

Another episode shows the ennobling intention of Kim Il Sung who said that, as fish cannot live without water, so guerrillas could not live without the people and that they should not infringe upon the people’s interests under any circumstances.

Late in March 1938, a unit was billeted at Xigang, Fusong County of China on its march towards the areas around Changbai and Linjiang. Some soldiers picked insam (ginseng) at a field without its owner’s consent. Informed of this, Kim Il Sung told them off, asking when they started to lay a hand on the people’s property. The unit’s party cell and the branch of the Anti-Japanese Youth League held emergency meetings to launch a broadside against insam gatherers. After the meetings the guerrillas went back to the field to bury much more money than the cost of insam, together with a letter of apology wrapped in an oil paper.

Some other episodes represent the noble outlook of Kim Il Sung on the people that one can emerge victorious in the revolution only by believing in them and relying on their strength.

One autumn day in 1933, he was informed that the enemy was going to stage a large-scale “punitive” operation on the Xiaowangqing guerrilla zone. He stayed up all night together with an old man in order to find a solution to tiding over the risky situation, and successfully led the battle to defend the zone by organizing an all-people resistance.

Late in January 1933, a guerrilla unit was completely encircled by the enemy on the Luozigou heights on its return journey after carrying out its operation with a Chinese anti-Japanese army unit, but it broke through the siege with the help of an old man. Later, recalling the days with deep emotion, Kim Il Sung said that the only way out was to rely on the people.

He regarded as the maxim in his life and struggle the truth that one can always emerge victorious only when one believes in the people and relies on them at all times and that one will always fail if forsaken by them.

Such revolutionary episodes about him during the bloody, protracted anti-Japanese war still go down in the history of the Juche revolution.

Yang Ryon Hui