Kim Jong Il, in the Days of Devotion

The life of Chairman Kim Jong Il (1942-2011) was one in which he gave his all for the people.

Here are some facts from that days of devotion.

The story behind the dark glasses

People must have seen Chairman Kim Jong Il often wearing dark glasses when giving field guidance.

There is such a story here.

It was once when officials went to his office.

The officials who opened the door and entered the room stopped there. Chairman had covered his eyes with a towel and was leaning against the back of a chair.

After a while, he was awakened by the sound of a telephone bell. He noticed the officials standing at the door and called them to his side.

A official asked him why he was covering his eyes with a towel.

He said that it was not an ordinary towel, but that he soaked it in salt water and took it out. Every time his eyes get bloodshot from working all night, he soaks a towel in warm salt water and puts it over his eyes. He said that he used to wore dark glasses if red eyes were serious and couldn't loosen them, but now it has become a habit.

Doze and sweet sleep

One day this happened.

He guided a construction project all night in the field and went home at dawn. He fell asleep leaning on the chair back of the car. But after about 10 minutes, he woke up.

A official who was accompanying him told him that dozing is worse than not sleeping at all.

Then, he said that he didn't known how good the taste of dozing was before, but then there were works piled up and no time for sleep, and he would sit on a chair and close his eyes for a while.

People say that I work without sleeping, but as much as I am a human being, it is difficult to endure without sleeping at all. He said that it was a habit to doze, and although it is unsatisfactory as a sleep, it is a good sweet sleep that relieves fatigue intensively.

A train is like a house, a house is like an inn

One day, officials who were accompanying Chairman Kim Jong Il's on-site guidance went to his cabin to greet him in the train.

The chairman who stayed up all night on the running train was still doing his work.

When officials told him to take a break, he said that since the end of last year, he has been living on the train and giving field guidance to various sectors of the national economy through forced marches. For over few months there were many holidays, including lunar new year day, and I wanted to enjoy the holidays and rest with my family at home, but I couldn't do that because I was worried about the people's livelihood problems.

Also, at some point, while talking about life on the train, he said he feels like he is at home when he gets on the train, and on the contrary, when he enters the home, he feels like he is at the inn and rather uncomfortable.

For him, the train was a running office and home.

In this way, he continued the path of continuous field guidance, running 398,000 km in 1,647 train marches during his lifetime and he passed away on the train.

That day was December 17, 2011, 11 years ago from now.