On January 1, 1997 Kim Jong Il visited Mangyongdae Revolutionary School.
The teacher, who was assigned to guide him at the room for education by means of revolutionary relics, was determined to perform her task with credit.
The General stopped in front of a picture.
The teacher began to explain, “This is a picture of President Kim Il Sung delivering a speech at the inauguration ceremony of the school.”
Kim Jong Il said that the picture reminded him of the day, and continued: That evening he came back home and told my mother that while giving a speech at the inauguration ceremony of the school, he looked closely at the bereaved children and thought of his revolutionary comrades who had fallen in the mountains. Noting that he could hardly keep back his tears, he said we should become their parents and take good care of them. My mother said that she stood all along dropping her head as she was also crying at the sight of the children. She vowed that she would be their mother. I cannot forget what my parents talked.
The teacher was struck dumb with surprise because she knew nothing about it.
Looking more closely at the picture, the General told her that the bespectacled man sitting in the front row was the first headmaster of the school and he had accompanied An Jung Gun into Manchuria to kill Ito Hirobumi.
The guide who was supposed to explain to Kim Jong Il was absorbed by his explanation.
He resumed:
The President said that if a father with his own child became the headmaster, he might not love the bereaved children as much and, seeing the child call his father, they would envy him missing their parents. So he appointed the childless man as the headmaster.
He then saw a picture of the President being among the children.
The guide felt quite sure about it.
Surprisingly, however, Kim Jong Il, pointing at the several children in the picture, spoke about their parents and even an official of the school whose face was half-veiled by that of another man.
The woman marvelled at his unusual memory. It was dozens of years ago and the General was only five at that time.
She stood still, looking in admiration at him.
