Han Myong Hye living in Ryonghung-dong No. 1, Taesong District, Pyongyang, often climbs Moran Hill together with her children on holidays or days off.

They are so fascinated by the charming scenes of the picturesque hill and strolling people and the panoramic views of Pyongyang that they put them all on the canvas.

It has been part and parcel of their life to climb the hill and enjoy painting, sharing views with each other over their drawings.

Her family has been devoted to fine arts for three generations.

Her father Han Sang Ik (1917-1997) was a celebrated oil painter who pioneered a new style of oil painting by introducing traditional techniques of Korean painting into it. He produced hundreds of works including scores of works of national value such as Mt Paektu and Chrysanthemum , and demonstrated the development of the country’s fine arts at different shows at home and abroad.

Born in the period of Japan’s military occupation of Korea, he was attached to fine arts from his childhood, but he had to suffer maltreatment and humiliation, far from realizing his dream. It was not until the great leader Comrade Kim Il Sung liberated the country that he could enjoy a genuine life. He used to say that he could lead a successful life thanks to the benevolent country that found his talents and helped him cultivate them.

Han Myong Hye learned the rudiments of fine arts at Wonsan Art School in her childhood and later she studied at Pyongyang University of Fine Arts. And she still creates oil paintings as a member of the Central Committee of the Korean Artists Union. At present her daughter is studying at the oil painting department of the Faculty of Pictorial Art at Pyongyang University of Fine Arts, and her son at the fine arts group of Ryonghung Senior Middle School in Taesong District. Both of them want to become a famous oil painter.

“There will be no one in the world like us who are fortunate to develop our talents and realize our hopes under the clear blue sky,” says Han Myong Hye. “At the thought we are filled with pride and determined to add more brilliance to our beautiful and great country through generations by means of painting.”

Everyone translates his or her dream into reality and lives a happy life under the benefits of the socialist system, helping and leading each other forward in good harmony—this is what the people living on this land feel about their country.

So they are pooling their wisdom and efforts to turn their benevolent country into a socialist paradise.

So Kyong Hyok