A moving story associated with the site of Kim Il Sung University

The respected Comrade Kim Jong Un said:

"Regarding education, training of native cadres, as the most important of all national affairs that has a bearing on the destiny of the country and nation, Comrade Kim Il Sung had the university built first even in the difficult and complex situation that prevailed after the country's liberation."

Kim Il Sung University on Ryongnam Hill is demonstrating its name as the highest edifice of Juche Korea with the august name of President Kim Il Sung. The history of the university is closely associated with the leadership of President Kim Il Sung who took every possible measure to develop it into a comprehensive pedigree institution for national education, the first of its kind in Korea, and into a leading base for training native cadres shouldering the future of the country.

Though there were loads of things to do in the difficult and complex situation after the country's liberation, he worked out a grand plan to build a comprehensive base for training native cadres, the first university of people in Pyongyang for the future of the country, and devoted his heart and soul to its implementation.

One day in April, Juche 36(1947), President Kim Il Sung called officials of the construction sector concerned and set them a task of working out a plan for building of the university. He said that without modern university buildings and educational facilities, it was impossible to conduct the work of the university properly and improve the quality of education so we had decided to build a university with the "patriotic rice" donated by the peasants to the state with the joy of owning their own land. He also added that it was really significant to use the "patriotic rice" donated by the peasants for the education of the younger generation and for the eternal prosperity of the country.

It was not so easy to undertake such a large-scale construction as building a new university building in our country then since the country was just liberated from the yoke of Japanese imperialist colonial rule. The officials in the construction sector thought that it was difficult to conduct a large-scale construction due to the poor condition of the country and the lack of builders. On the other hand, they reckoned that they would first erect the buildings of the Party Central Committee and the government now that the Party was founded and the people's government was established.

But the construction of a new building of Kim Il Sung University and all other large-scale construction projects aimed to building educational institutions for the younger generation and welfare facilities for the people.

The President planned to build the structures associated with the future of the country and the happiness of the people in two or three years as modern buildings and mobilized all possibilities for its realization.

He visited the site of the university more than ten times and took every possible measure during the construction.

The pains taken by the President who visited the construction site early in the morning and at midnight and even on windy winter days and in hot summer days and initiated the solutions to the knotty problems arising in the construction are beyond enumeration.

One day in April, Juche 36(1947) when the construction of a new university building had been decided, he saw a miniature of a new university building made by the then engineering department of the university. He said that the location was more important than the structure in building the university and the university should be built near the Taedong river which has clean air and beautiful scenery. He went on to say that its surroundings should be convenient for the lecturers and students to study.

On August 10th and 12th that year, President Kim Il Sung climbed Moran Hill to look round Chongam-ri and chose the site for a new university building on the hill.

But then some days later the bulwark site from Koguryo times was discovered unexpectedly.

On September 8th, Juche 36(1947), President Kim Il Sung invited several scholars including Pak Si Hyong, a prestigious historian and welcomed them at the gate. The President asked them if it was true that the site for the university was bulwark site in the old days. Hearing that the site was known as Koguryo bulwark site, President Kim Il Sung inquired that how much of the bulwark would collapse in case the university was built there and how important it was to preserve the site historically.

Pak Si Hyong gave his opinion that it would be better to preserve it if possible, as there were only a few Koguryo bulwark sites left, though it had been destroyed severely due to the Japanese imperialists' policy of subversion and plunder and had been washed away by rain and wind over a long time, making it difficult to recognize.

After a while, President Kim Il Sung said to scholars that he would agree with their opinion in a soft but powerful tone, and added that historical sites should be preserved well in order to study the history of our country better and inherit and develop the national cultural heritage properly in the future.

Pak Si Hyong and other scholars were deeply impressed by the great personality of President Kim Il Sung who paid deep concern on the research into the history of the country and personally met the scholars to listen to their opinions.

As mentioned above, the first site for the university was associated with his warm love and great efforts.

However, President Kim Il Sung made a determination to move the site of the university and took his great loving care again valuing the history of the country to eternally instill the deep intention of educating and training the pillars of the country at the university with new outlook on education and noble outlook on the motherland.

Later, one early morning, he came to the spot to select another site for the university. He said that the historical relics should be preserved as they were and saw to it that the site of the university should be changed. And on September 8th, he climbed Miam Hill through the woods for a new site of the university building, but it was not suitable for a site, so he stepped back to Ryongnam Hill and finally settled the site for the university.

The famous site in Ryongnam Hill where Kim Il Sung University is located is closely associated with the noble intention of President Kim Il Sung, who valued the eternal future of the country and nation and precious cultural heritages for all ages and his earnest request to treasure and preserve the precious wealth of the nation.