[imText1]In North Korea, receiving gifts from Kim Il Sung or Kim Jong Il is the most honorable event. The most typical of such gifts is a watch with either of the Kim’s name engraved on it.
Kim Jong Il often gives presents during field inspection or on holidays to the people. Each individual or organization that received a gift from Kim is supposed to be ‘very grateful’ and solemnly swears an oath of loyalty to the dictator. It is not easily understandable from the western-democratic perspective. Nonetheless, the Kims exploited the gifts to rule the country with the ‘Suryeong (the Great Leader)’ dictatorship.
However, 18 years ago, four young soldiers died because of a soccer ball, a gift by Kim Jong Il.
It was a fine spring day in 1988, in a coastguard regiment under the Korean People’s Army’s Fourth Corps in South Hwanghae Province. As a Kim Il Sung’s birthday commemorative gift, Kim Jong Il sent various gifts to the troops stationed near DMZ (demilitarized zone). Soccer balls were included.
Several soldiers, relaxing after a coastal patrol mission, played soccer with the ball given to them by Kim Jong Il.
Every KPA soldier spends 10 years in the army without a single vacation, in most cases. So a soccer game during free time is the most anticipated moment of furlough for them.
During the soccer game, somebody who could not control his power kicked the ball into the sea. There were angry waves smashing the coast.
Someone shouted, “Save the ball.” A platoon leader dove into the sea. The lieutenant, however, failed to get the ball and almost drowned.
Other platoon members jumped into the sea to save the lieutenant. 3 others and the platoon leader were swept away by the waves.
A rescue team from the company headquarters arrived, but it was too late. The part of the sea was an estuary, where a river joined with the sea and created a powerful whirlpool. Four soldiers were swept too fast.
Dear leader Comrade Kim Jong Il’s gift must be saved regardless of the situation.
The coastguards knew the danger of diving into such waters. However, they sacrificed their lives to save a soccer ball because the ball was Kim Jong Il’s gift. Dear leader Comrade Kim Jong Il’s present must be saved regardless of the situation.
After a few days, the South Korean army notified the KPA through Panmunjom, a North-South Korean negotiation post along the DMZ, to accept four bodies of North Korean soldiers. The bodies were buried in a mountain near the platoon they served in. It was reported to Kim Jong Il and Kim ordered to award the soldiers medals and other honors posthumously. The four were recorded as killed in action.
When I found out about the incident, I thought to myself, as did every other North Korean, “as worthless as a soccer ball.”
