President Kim Il Sung and Nostalgia

The immortal classic work Nostalgia was created by President Kim Il Sung in the 1930s.

When I left home my mother saw me off

And through her tears she said a “Farewell!”

That is still ringing in my ears.

Near my house a brook is trickling.

There my little brothers would be frolicking

Whom I still see vividly before my eyes.

A lovely spring at Mangyongdae with the Taedonggang flowing by,

O I do not forget this sweet home even in my dreams.

I shall return when the country is set free.

The words of the song lyrically sing of the dear image of his mother in tears who saw off him leaving the beautiful home village and country.

It also sings of the yearning for Mangyongdae in spring through which the Taedong River meanders and where all flowers come into full bloom, as well as the ennobling patriotism and ideological feelings of anti-Japanese revolutionary fighters determined to win back their lost country at any cost and return to it.

The soft and gentle yet optimistic and lyrical colour of its melody leads the audience to the recollection of their past days and the world of unlimited philosophical speculation.

The sentiments of yearning and affection reflected an ardent love for the country and the nation, an aspiration to live independently in the world free from exploitation and oppression and a strong will to build a free, ever-thriving new country.

The anti-Japanese revolutionary fighters often recalled that on a moon-lit night in the secret camp, they would sing Nostalgia together with Kim Il Sung and renewed their indomitable faith to win back the ruined country at any cost and build a new country where all people live happily.

Cherishing the love and conviction in his mind, Kim Il Sung fought the 20-year-long bloody war against the Japanese imperialists and accomplished the historic cause of national liberation on August 15, 1945.

With his noble responsibility for the country and the nation, he sang the song not only in the period of the anti-Japanese armed struggle but in the period of building a new Korea after liberation and in the grim period of the Fatherland Liberation War (June 1950–July 1953).

One midnight of December in Juche 39 (1950) when the war was at its height, he arrived at Myongmun Pass in Jagang Province during his inspection tour of the front, shouldering the heavy burden of the war. After asking the accompanying officials to have a rest, he got off the car and walked on the pass silently, deep in a thought.

When they approached him, he said he used to sing Nostalgia with a longing for the dear motherland by the campfire on a moonlit night during the anti-Japanese armed struggle, and sang it quietly. After a good while, he said he had destroyed the Japanese imperialists in the past while singing Nostalgia and that he was fighting against the US imperialists, singing the song.

As he loved the song more than anyone else, he always sang it whenever he was in difficulty or in joy and sorrow. He sang it when he pictured in his mind the more prosperous future of the country on the road for the sake of the people’s happiness and when he looked back on the heartrending past.

He sang it when Son Won Thae, a Korean resident in the US who was related to the anti-Japanese revolution, came to see him in 1991. He also sang it in memory of his fallen revolutionary comrades on December 30, 1992.

Keeping the melody of the song in his mind throughout his revolutionary career, he built the people-centred socialist country on this land.

The song is still widely sung by the Korean people, conveying his ennobling revolutionary career and exploits as he dedicated his all to the country and the revolution.

Yang Ryon Hui

2023-07-03