Pak Hung Jin is an engineer at the industrial laboratory of the Kumya Youth Coal Mine, over several hundred kilometres away from Pyongyang. It was 30 years ago that he made up his mind to volunteer for the coal mine together with his family members.

At the time he worked as section chief of the then higher education research institute of the Education Commission in Pyongyang. He once taught at a university. People still wonder how he came to volunteer for all that career.

There is a story behind Pak’s decision.

Once he had a chance to talk with the manager of the Kumya Youth Coal Mine while on his business trip to the country’s first large-scale open-cut coal mine.

As they conversed, the manager came to know that Pak majored in welding engineering at the then Kim Chaek College of Technology, and said: “As you know, ours is an opencast mine. We can boost the output when we operate excavators at full capacity. By the way the welding rod is holding us back. Could you help us with this?”

Since then, Pak had sent findings from his painstaking research work to the coal mine and informed it of his good idea whenever it came to him.

However, the manager’s remarks that even a competent welding technician could be a great help to them refused to go out of his mind.

In fact, he had frequently stayed away from home for his research work at the university and his family life had not been settled until he was transferred to the Education Commission.

At first he found it hard to tell his wife, who had unselfishly helped him in his work, and his two daughters, who attended the Pyongyang Students and Children’s Palace, to follow him to the coal mine.

But he knew well that his knowledge and technology would be certainly useful for increasing coal production. He hardened his resolve.

Having been told about the deeds of Pak and other officials and working people who volunteered to work in difficult sectors, Chairman Kim Jong Il praised them and called them excellent persons.

No sooner had he moved to the coal mine than he buckled down to the work to improve the quality of welding rods. To develop a new kind of core wire and coating material, he surveyed the geological conditions around the Kumya area for several months and made the rounds of relevant places to obtain necessary minerals.

With a tangible progress in the production of welding rods using locally-available raw materials, he became the toast of the coal mine.

Over the three decades Pak has come up with several inventions, introduction of scores of sci-tech achievements and dozens of innovations.

Pak, near 80, still follows the road of patriotism.

Jong Hwa Sun