The Leaders Honor an Educator

Labor Heroine and People´s Teacher Kim Ok Son, Chief of the Ponbu Kindergarten in Sinuiju City, North Phyongan Province, the Democratic People´s Republic of Korea, says:

“Now I am enjoying all happiness with unusual pride of the Chief of the Ponbu Kindergarten in Sinuiju City widely known to the whole country.

When I met the fatherly leader Kim Il Sung for the first time in 1968 I was a young kindergarten teacher fresh from a university. My guidance to an item of performance could not be so perfect, I think.

But President Kim Il Sung saw a duet dance of kindergarten children I created and guided and expressed great satisfaction, highly praising me for my efforts. Afterwards he saw children performing works I created on several occasions and expressed great pleasure.

The great Kim Jong Il widely introduced our kindergarten known to the President.

He highly praised children of our Ponbu Kindergarten for their rope jumping in the grand mass gymnastic and artistic performance ´Arirang´ in 2002.

He said:

´I was told that the children skillfully jumping rope are those of the Ponbu Kindergarten in Sinuiju City. Their rope-jumping is really wonderful. They are praiseworthy. Seeing the children and students participate in the mass gymnastic display, we get strength, thinking that we exist for them and they exist for us. We struggle for the future.´

His instructions represented his greatest love for the children.

On January 5, 2006, the fatherly Kim Jong Il met children Ku Tae Hong and Kim Hyok Il and their teacher of our kindergarten. I could not hold back my tears. Seeing brushwork and pictures of only six-year-old children, he expressed great satisfaction and gave them a complete set of drawing tools. He saw pictures, brushwork, collections of writings and art performances of many other talents of our kindergarten as well as Ku Tae Hong and Kim Hyok Il and let them be known to the people across the country.

In early January 2007, during his visit to North Phyongan Province, the great Kim Jong Il inquired after the little talents of our kindergarten. Saying the Chief of the Ponbu Kindergarten in Sinuiju City had made a great success in finding out good talents and training them, he highly appreciated the merits of an ordinary educator, showing his deepest trust in me.

His care shaped the bright and beautiful future of our country and honored the life of our educators. Once the head of a foreign government delegation visited our kindergarten and expressed great admiration at the educational policy of Korea, saying the high level of education and art of the kindergarten is a model to be followed by the world.

Under the loving care of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il, the great men of Mt. Paektu, many talented children grew up in our kindergarten and in the course, I became a heroine and People´s Teacher.

Marshal Kim Jong Un is another great man hailed by the Korean people and kindhearted father and teacher of the children.

I will do my duty as an educator by devoting the remainder of my life to the sacred education of the future pillars of the country.”