February 17, 2026Feb 17, 2026
KCNA Pyongyang Times

‘Our father’

Date: 16/02/2026 | Source: Pyongyang Times | Read original version at source

When February comes every year, Min Hong Dan, an officer of the Korean People’s Army, remembers the extraordinary story of her name.

Her birthplace is Taehongdan County, a famous potato-growing area.

When Chairman Kim Jong Il visited the county 26 years ago, he called at the house of a married couple of discharged soldiers who volunteered to work there and showed parental care for them.

At the time the wife asked him without reserve to name her baby to be born. He granted her request, telling them to name it Tae Hong if it is a son and call it Hong Dan if it is a daughter.

As a result, she was named Min Hong Dan and as soon as she was born, she became a happy child well known to the whole country.

Ko Hu Hoe on Kubong Pass also has a treasured memory of her name.

There is a road repair workteam on Kubong Pass, a remote mountainous area. A family has worked there for decades. And one day in August 2000, they became patriots widely known to the country.

Several cars climbed up the mountain pass and pulled to a stop near the place where the family workteam members were working and unexpectedly Chairman Kim Jong Il got off his car.

That day he highly praised their laudable deeds of maintaining the road in the deep mountain for the safe traffic of vehicles with deep sincerity, without caring whether they were appreciated or not, and had a photo session with them. At the time, a baby was sound asleep in her mother’s bosom and she was trying to wake her up impatiently. The Chairman held the mother back and laughed a hearty laugh, saying she would regret having slept if she grew up and saw the photo later.

Later, her father and mother named their daughter Ko Hu Hoe (given name meaning regret) to cherish the happy memory of that day.

Many other children were also born and grew up with the blessing of Chairman Kim Jong Il.

Among them are Ri Chuk Bok (blessing), Ri Kyong Yon (contest), Ryu So Gum (salt) and Kim Kwang Myong (bright future).

He was really the tender-hearted father of all children across the country, who showed all sorts of loving care for them, the king and future of the country, busy as he was with his revolutionary leadership while continuing his field guidance tour.

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