KCNA | Article | First Toast Cup for Model Worker

It was May 2, 1946.

That evening, President Kim Il Sung called all the model workers from across the country and gave a reception to congratulate them on the occasion of the holiday of the working people of the whole world, the first in its kind after Korea’s liberation from Japan’s colonial rule, and personally attended the reception.

When the President appeared at the reception hall, the model workers warmly welcomed him.

With a bright smile on his face, the President waved to the cheering workers and told them to sit down repeatedly.

When all of them sat down, the President stood up with his cup and suggested to give the first toast cup to the best model workers, and gave the cup to a worker from the then Hungnam Fertilizer Factory sitting nearby him.

The worker was much excited with the toast cup. The President kindly offered him the cup.

All the model workers shed tears of gratitude.

Looking at them, the President said that they have done a lot of things up to now, but they should not be satisfied with the successes they have already achieved, and that we have more things to do in the future than what we have done so far.

He stressed that we cannot carry out all the tasks assigned to us by relying on the model workers and, therefore, we should train many innovators like the model workers, and that during the Japanese imperialists’ colonial rule, one knows alone, not informing others of anything, but we should help each other and thus all of us should become innovators and take the lead all together. -0-

www.kcna.kp (2025.08.19.)