PhD., Assoc. Prof. Ri Myong Chol, Faculty of History, Kim Il Sung University
2026.8.11.
Chairman Kim Jong Il said:
"Ode to Marshal Kim Il Sung can be called a hymn that praises the greatness of the leader and reflects the firm determination of our army and people to remain loyal to him to the last."
In the days of national sufferings under the Japanese colonial rule, President Kim Il Sung organized the anti-Japanese people's guerilla army and led the anti-Japanese armed struggle to victory, thereby performing the immortal exploits of accomplishing the historic cause of national liberation by the efforts of our own people.
In the post-war period, the anti-Party, counter-revolutionary factionalists, who had been concealing themselves in the Party, tried by overt and covert maneuvers to slander the high prestige of the great leader.
The composition of an ode of a revolutionary character is a clear proof of this.
When the ‘Ode to Marshal Kim Il Sung' was completed, the anti-Party, counter-revolutionary factionalists talked nonsense about it criticizing that it was too long and difficult to sing, and they even went so far as to demand corrections be made to the words and tunes of the song, referring to the general truth that the the morning of Korea dawns with sunrise from the East Sea, not from Mt. Paektu.
Having acutely seen through the factionalists' maneuvers, Chairman Kim Jong Il had a talk with commanding officers of the Korean People's Army on February 5, 1958, "Ode to Marshal Kim Il Sung is an ode reflecting the loyalty of the service personnel and people" In his talk, he mentioned that the song deserved to be called an ode which reflects the high admiration of our army and people for the greatness of President and their firm determination to remain loyal to him. He referred to the fact that it was the great leader who founded a revolutionary armed force in the forests of Mt. Paektu, led the anti-Japanese armed struggle to victory and accomplished the historic cause of national liberation. Chairman went on to say that if he hadn't waged a bloody war against the Japanese imperialists in the forests of Mt. Paektu during the days of national sufferings when the fate of the nation was at stake, our country would not have been liberated and our people would not have become proud masters of their country as they are now today, and resolutely declared that no alteration should be made to the song.
‘Ode to Marshal Kim Il Sung' was the song of our people's transparent faith.
Chairman Kim Jong Il was, undoubtedly, the true soldier of President, who set an example as to how one should uphold and safeguard the leader of the revolution.
