Choe Kil Sun, an 84-year-old woman in Neighbourhood Unit No. 23, Kyogu-dong, Central District, Pyongyang, often recalls her youth with pride.

It was in August 1958 when she graduated from middle school and volunteered to work at Mirim Farm in the suburbs of the capital city. Around that time, in response to the call of the Workers’ Party of Korea for bringing about the great Chollima upsurge, an increasing number of middle school graduates and other young people across the country volunteered to work at coal mines, forestry stations, construction sites of power stations and farms.

Choe became a pig breeder in the farm. At first she was clumsy and awkward at work, but she read many books and studied to modernize the stockbreeding workteam and put breeding and nutritional care of pigs on a scientific basis, thus raising the weight ratio of pigs and the survival rate of piglets under her charge. Around those years the sector of animal husbandry launched a campaign to make each adult pig produce five litters for two years. She took the lead in the campaign. Once she managed to make the whole litter of 18 piglets survive, hitting the headlines.

Afterwards, she was appointed the workteam leader, and she led her workteam to overfulfil its production plan every year and win the title of Chollima Workteam twice.

In May 1964 she was honoured to attend the Fifth Congress of the Democratic Youth League of Korea held in the presence of President Kim Il Sung (April 15, 1912-July 8, 1994). After listening to what she said about her achievements as a stockbreeding workteam leader, the President wished that she would work harder, showing great trust in her.

She recalls that the Chollima era was a great era created by patriots who lived an ennobling life of working single-mindedly for the good of the country.

Since 1973 she had made a great contribution to the development of the country’s agriculture, working as chairwoman of the then Oryu Cooperative Farm Management Board in Sadong District, chairwoman of the then Nampho Municipal Rural Economy Management Committee and manageress of the then Pyongyang Municipal Vegetable Complex.

She was awarded the title of Labour Hero and served as a deputy to the 7th, 8th and 9th Supreme People’s Assembly.

Following the preceding generations, many young people are now volunteering to work in the countryside to implement the rural revolution programme in the new era.

Choe Kil Sun often tells young people that it is the noblest life to be ever lived to devote their all to the country.

Yang Ryon Hui