May Day, a holiday for working people around the world, has some stories in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
Workers and farmers in the vanguard
The working people of Korea started to celebrate May Day as their holiday after their country was liberated (August 15, 1945) from Japan’s military occupation (1905-1945).
Just before May Day in 1946, President Kim Il Sung, during his inspection tour of North Hamgyong Province in the northern part of Korea, examined a schedule for the celebrations of May Day made by officials. The schedule included a mass parade to be headed by officials of the province and Chongjin City on horseback. That evening, he met an official and stated in the following vein: Now that the country is liberated, workers and peasants are most precious and they are the pillars of the country. Therefore, they should lead the parade marking May Day. This is the steadfast stand and view of the Workers’ Party of Korea on the masses of people.
Accordingly, the Korean working people greeted May Day in pleasure and happiness for the first time after national liberation thanks to the benevolence of Kim Il Sung who put them forward as the masters of the country.
Unprecedented special invitation
A grand fireworks display took place in the capital city of Pyongyang in 2009 on the occasion of May Day.
In the run-up to May Day, Chairman Kim Jong Il of the National Defence Commission of the DPRK instructed officials to invite working people in major economic sectors to Pyongyang and organize a wonderful fireworks display for them.
At that time the officials were surprised as it would be an event unprecedented in the history of the country to invite 15 000 workers to the capital for the fireworks display and other celebrations.
Under his special concern, 15 000 labour innovators from the Chollima Steel Complex, the Hwanghae Iron and Steel Complex, the Anju Area Coal-mining Complex, the Jaeryong Mine and the Unryul Mine were specially invited to attend the fireworks display and banquet.
Banquet for workers
A banquet in honour of workers was given at the newly-built workers’ hostel of the Pyongyang Kim Jong Suk Textile Mill to celebrate May Day in 2014.
It has a touching story.
Kim Jong Un, president of the State Affairs of the DPRK, took a measure to build a good hostel for the workers of the mill, and looked round it when it was completed in late April 2014. Noting that the dining hall was better than a banquet hall or a wedding restaurant, he proposed holding a grand banquet in celebration of the upcoming May Day.
After making the rounds of the kitchen and outdoor resting place, he said that the banquet for workers should be arranged splendidly to be the envy of the whole country and promised to give the banquet himself.
As a result, a grand banquet in honour of workers was given at the hostel on May Day.
