In Memory of Bygone Days

Labour Hero An Myong Ok

"I retired on a pension three years ago while working as Chairwoman of the Phyongsong City People's Committee. It is said that an old man lives in memory. I often remember the past unforgettable days.

In July 2014 I visited Nepal as the head of the Phyongsong city friendly delegation of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

When I met members of the leadership of the Central Committee of the Nepal Worker-Peasant Party in the city of Baktapur, they asked me how I could work as chairwoman of the people's committee in charge of the seat of a province.

I told them again what I had said during my visit to Russia and Bulgaria some years before.

I was born as daughter of a forestry worker. After graduating from a university thanks to the state benefits, I became a middle school teacher in Sinyang County, a mountain county.

At that time I devoted my all to teaching students during lessons and extra classes, bearing in mind the instructions of the great leader Kim Il Sung that teachers should give good lessons to the students.

In those days, I was elected a deputy to the Supreme People's Assembly at the age of 29.

People in Sinyang County were pleased to learn that I, a girl, became a deputy to the SPA for the first time in the mountain county. Hearing the news, my mother said my father would have been very pleased if he was alive and earnestly told me to work as taught by Kim Il Sung.

In our country women can be active as deputies discussing the state affairs and when they do their jobs well, they are highly estimated and favours are shown to them time and again. But for this grateful socialist system, I, daughter of an ordinary worker, could not have worked as a deputy to the SPA for 35 years.

In our country there is the drama 'We Will Remember Today' awarded Kim Il Sung Prize. It shows the indomitable spirit and warm love for the native land of the people in a mountain county building a minor power station in their village in the latter half of the 1990s when the country had a difficulty. The leading part of the drama represented me who was active as the then Chairwoman of the Sinyang County Administrative and Economic Guidance Committee.

The great leader Kim Jong Il regarded the women as a powerful force pushing one of the wheels of the revolution and took all measures for them to do their jobs well.

Under his care, I could work as chairwoman of the city and county people's committees for 34 years. I was awarded official commendations of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il and had the honour of posing for pictures together with them at a number of national meetings.

I was awarded the title of Labour Hero in January 2012.

Listening to me, foreigners said: Your impressive story is the epitome of dignity and pride of the Korean women.

I often say to my children that as we have been blessed with the leaders, I am leading a glorious and happy life, the women are glorifying their lives and bright is the future of other people across the country."