Admiration of the Chief of Public Health Department

In September Juche 34 (1945) the chief of the public health department of the South Phyongan Provincial People’s Political Committee was summoned by Comrade Kim Il Sung.

After an official of the South Phyongan Provincial Party Committee introduced the chief to him, Kim Il Sung offered him a seat and asked him where he was born, what his parents were doing and which school he had attended.

On hearing his answer that he had attended a medical college in Pyongyang, Kim Il Sung said: You must have suffered a lot in the past as a colonial intellect; now that we have become the masters of the country, we will work together for building a new Korea.

Then he asked him how many doctors there were in Pyongyang.

When he answered that there were about 15 Korean doctors, Kim Il Sung lost deep in thought for a while. Then he asked the medical official how many hospitals there were in Pyongyang, how they obtained medicines and what kinds of epidemic diseases were spreading. 

After hearing his answer, he asked what kind of medical education establishments there were.

The chief answered that there were a medical college and a nurses’ school attached to the provincial hospital. Then Kim Il Sung said: Public health is the most important work for the happiness and well-being of the people; it holds a very important place in building a new democratic Korea; we should build a democratic, independent and sovereign state which strives for the well-being of the people.

He continued: Establishing a democratic public health system fully accords with this purpose; we should eliminate the vicious aftereffects of the Japanese imperialist colonial rule in the public health sector as early as possible and build a genuinely democratic public health system which would serve the people. 

The medical official was surprised and struck with admiration for Kim Il Sung  who had won back the country and was now so concerned about the people’s health problem.