The noble patriotic intention of President
President
"If we want to see our land covered with thick foliage, we must plant many trees and, meanwhile, also protect and manage them with loving care so that they can grow well."
One day in 1954 when the reconstruction of Pyongyang was in full swing, he visited the construction site of a road leading to the Moranbong Stadium from the then West Pyongyang Square.
At that time, soldiers were excavating to install drainage pipes as part of the road construction.
While he looked round the construction site acknowledging the cheers of the soldiers, he stopped in front of a willow tree standing at a place where the ditch was to be dug.
He looked for a while at the tree with leafy branches swaying in the wind as if it were boasting of having survived the enemy bombings during the war, and kindly asked the soldiers how they were going to handle it.
He asked the soldiers, who were at a loss for what to do, whether they could possibly preserve it and added in a low voice that more trees should be planted in the future.
Looking up to him, an ardent patriot who took loving care of even a tree of the country, with boundless reverence, the soldiers courageously said that they would dig a ditch while keeping the tree there.
After his visit, the soldiers began to install the drainage pipe while keeping the willow alive as he intended, and therefore they dug a tunnel under the tree to save it.
The work of digging the tunnel without damaging any roots was not easy, but the soldiers excavated inch by inch to pass the pipe under the tree, bearing in mind the ardent patriotism he had instilled in them.
At last, the drainage pipe was installed and the willow swayed in its original place as if conveying the noble patriotic intention of the peerlessly great man.
