The destiny of the Korean nation was miserable in the early 20th century.

The Japanese imperialists deprived Korea of her national rights and culture. Korea was a medieval dark land and a large living hell.

Lamenting over the tragedy of the ruined country, Korean people conducted the March 1 Popular Uprising against the Japanese imperialists, waged a volunteers' struggle and petitioned for independence. But they were given only the barbaric suppression of aggressors and the cold treatment of the great powers.

All the fellow countrymen waited eagerly for a great man to save the country and nation from destruction.

Just at the time, the great leader Kim Il Sung was born on April 15, 1912.

In his teens, he embarked on the road of revolution with a great ambition for national liberation and declared a total war on the Japanese imperialists.

In his early years, he found the profound truth that one is the master of one's own destiny and one has the strength to carve out one's destiny. He put forward a line that the armed enemy can be defeated only with arms and led the anti-Japanese war to victory and finally accomplished the historic cause of national liberation.

Korea was liberated from the harsh colonial rule of the Japanese imperialists on August 15, 1945.

On the historic day, the whole country was wrapped in emotion and delight of liberation.

Lecturer Ri Yu Jong at the Korean Revolution Museum said the name of Kim Il Sung was a symbol of liberated Korea and he was called a savior of the nation at that time, and continued:

"A mass rally was held at the Pyongyang Public Playground on October 14, 1945 to welcome the great leader Kim Il Sung returning home in triumph.

Concerning it, the then 'Pyongyang Minbo' wrote under the headline: 'Cheers of 400,000 People Rock the Land of Korea, a Brocade of Nature':

'Pyongyang has a long history of 4,000 years and its population is as large as 400,000 people. But has such a large crowd ever before met in one place?...

...What made this meeting particularly significant historically, and turned it into a storm of emotion, was that General Kim Il Sung, the great patriot of Korea, and the hero whom Pyongyang produced, was present in person there and had extended joyful and enthusiastic greetings and words of encouragement to the masses of people. ...As soon as General Kim Il Sung, whom the Korean people most deeply adore and have been looking forward to meeting, appeared at the meeting, a storm of enthusiastic cheers arose and all the assemblage were deeply moved and shed silent tears of joy.'"

Indeed, Kim Il Sung was a hero of the Korean nation, peerless patriot and liberator of the country who was hailed for the first time in the 5,000-year-long history.