In May 1985, North Korea's supreme leader, Kim Il Sung, received a letter from China, and after reading the letter, Kim Il Sung was overjoyed and rushed to entrust our staff to invite a Chinese farmer named Jang Kim-geun to visit North Korea. Soon after, Kim Il Sung personally received Zhang Jinquan, who first greeted Zhang Jinquan cordially in Chinese, and then took the initiative to hug him. Both shed tears of excitement, and Kim Il Sung said, "Child, seeing you is like seeing your father." Your father died for me, and I will be your father from now on. Why would Kim Il-sung say such a thing? To understand the ins and outs of things, we have to start from half a century ago.
The Korean anti-Japanese war site inspection delegation met with Zhang Weihua's family
Jang Kim-geun's father, who kim Il-sung sacrificed for him, was named Jang Wei-hwa, kim Il-sung's best friend and mo-in-law. How can a northeasterner, a North Korean leader, have such a deep friendship? It turned out that after Korea became a Japanese colony in 1910, Kim Il Sung's father, Kim Hyung-ji, joined many patriots in the anti-Japanese movement, and because of this, Kim Hyung-ji was repeatedly arrested and imprisoned by the Japanese. In desperation, in 1918, Kim Hyung-ji and his family fled to northeast China and settled in Fusong County, Jilin Province.
At that time, Fusong County gathered a large number of North Koreans who had fled, but the local residents instinctively repelled these foreigners. North Koreans like Kim Hyung-jae must first get a permit to live in Fusong County, but the county magistrate is more xenophobic and kim hyung-jae is even less popular. When he was cornered, Kim Hyung Ji heard that there was a local landlord surnamed Zhang who had been ill for a long time, so Kim Hyung Ji had an idea.
Jin Hengji's job is to be a doctor, and he took the initiative to come to the Zhang family and cured the man Zhang Wancheng. In order to thank Kim Hyung-ji, Zhang Wancheng used his personal connections to help Kim Hyung-ji's family get a permit. Through this opportunity, Kim Hyung Ji and Zhang Wancheng met and became friends, although Kim Hyung Ji is a foreigner, he loves Chinese culture and writes well, Zhang Wancheng admires him very much, the two have similar interests, and soon become friends.
Because of their father's interaction, Kim Il Sung, who was 13 years old at the time, and Zhang Weihua, who was 12 years old at the time, also met, often played together, and more coincidentally, the two were still at the same table at school, and the relationship was closer. At this time, neither of the two teenagers realized that their fate would undergo a huge change.
From his teens to his twenties, Jang Ul-hwa has always maintained a close friendship with Kim Il-sung, and under the influence of Kim Il-sung, Jang Il-hwa has also transformed from a rich son into a revolutionary fighter and become Kim Il-sung's most loyal supporter.
Jang Wei-hwa (left) and Kim Il-sung
In order to propagate revolutionary ideas, Kim Il Sung and Jang Wei-hwa wrote articles, engraved steel plates, and printed together, and in 1928 founded the revolutionary newspaper "New Day", which was officially recognized by North Korea as the first revolutionary publication in the history of the modern revolution in North Korea.
As the eldest son in the family, Zhang Weihua has been pinned high hopes since he was a child, and his father hopes that he can inherit the family business well. Kim Il Sung also knew the situation of the Zhang family, and often advised Zhang Weihua not to follow him in the revolution, it was too dangerous, and if he did not get it right, he would lose his life. However, Zhang Weihua had already accepted the revolutionary ideas, how could he easily give up, so he took over the shop while secretly helping Kim Il Sung's revolutionary cause.
In the winter of 1928, Kim Il Sung was arrested for conducting anti-Japanese propaganda, and Jang Wei-hwa, who heard the news, was so distraught that he did not hesitate to use all his strength to rescue his friends. The Zhang family can be regarded as a local famous and prestigious family, quite rooted, Zhang Weihua ran in many ways, and finally got Kim Il Sung out of prison. After this storm, Zhang Weihua was determined to devote himself to the anti-Japanese struggle, and he ran away from home with a pistol and 2,000 yuan in cash to join Kim Il Sung's anti-Japanese team. The father knew that his son had already made up his mind, so he had to go with him.
Jang Wei-hwa has a lot to offer kim Il-sung's rescue and help, and it's no wonder that half a century later, Kim Il-sung, who has become the supreme leader of North Korea, still remembers this old favor.
In the summer of 1930, the Japanese army increased its infiltration and control of the Tohoku region, and Kim Il-sung's situation became more and more difficult. On this day, Kim Il Sung returned to Jilin from other places, planning to stay here for a while and accumulate strength. However, after arriving in Jilin, Kim Il Sung found that the military police and Japanese agents in the city were rampant, and they were arresting progressive youth and Korean exiles, and for safety, Kim Il Sung had to evacuate immediately.
Kim Il Sung carried confidential documents with him, so he did not dare to get on the train at Jilin Station, so he had to go to a small station 10 kilometers away, but when he got on the train with fear, he found that there were a large number of military police in the carriage checking tourists in the name of checking tickets. Once Kim Il Sung is identified, not only is he unable to protect himself, but even the organization that has just been established for a few years is in danger of collapse.
Young Kim Il Sung
Just when Kim Il Sung was helpless, he saw a familiar figure in the crowd, it turned out that Zhang Weihua was not at ease with Kim Il Sung, afraid that he would encounter an accident, and specially came to meet him. The two have known each other for many years, extraordinary tacit understanding, needless to say, Zhang Weihua has already figured out the current situation.
For many years, Zhang Weihua has been using as a businessman as a cover, secretly doing things for the organization and Kim Il Sung, and on the surface he is still a big businessman with strong financial resources. After a short thought, Jang Wei-hwa first smuggled Kim Il-sung to the first-class carriage where he was. The passengers of the first-class carriages are generally either rich or expensive, and the military and police do not dare to easily offend, so they only hastily checked and left during the search.
After escaping the disaster, Jang Wei-hwa arranged for Kim Il Sung to get off at Hae-yong Station, where a large number of military police were also ambushed. However, Zhang Weihua had foreseen this long ago, and let his father wait nearby in a luxurious carriage with seven or eight bodyguards, and when he received Kim Il Sung, Zhang Weihua let him hide in the car and pretend to travel to hide his eyes. In this way, Kim Il Sung-cha finally averted the danger.
To carry out revolution, we must have weapons, but arms have always been the most expensive, so Kim Il Sung's organization has no weapons at all. After learning of this situation, Zhang Weihua persuaded his father to take out a large amount of money and bought nearly 80 guns for Kim Il Sung. In 1993, Kim Il Sung recalled the past: "Without the gun sent by Jang Wei-hwa, there would be no Korean People's Army today." ”
In April 1932, Kim Il Sung founded the "Anti-Japanese People's Guerrilla Group", the predecessor of the Korean People's Army, and he served as its captain and political commissar. In the same year, Kim Il Sung personally introduced Jang Wei-hwa to join the Communist Party of China. Since then, two friends of different nationalities have each fought on different fronts to overthrow the common enemy of China and North Korea, Japanese imperialism.
In order to cover his identity and facilitate the underground anti-Japanese activities, Zhang Weihua opened a brother photo studio and a brother book office. This was actually a stronghold where Zhang Weihua zhang provided material assistance to Kim Il Sung's troops. At that time, the control and blockade of the Japanese army was very strict, and the anti-Japanese troops were very short of materials in all aspects, not to mention guns and ammunition, and some troops could not even eat salt when it was difficult. Kim Il Sung's troops were hiding in the mountains, and the reason why they were able to support themselves was thanks to Zhang Weihua's continuous assistance. Under the surveillance of the Japanese army, Zhang Weihua not only had to lead the daily work of the Fusong underground party, but also grasped and sent the intelligence of the Japanese army in a timely manner, and at the same time secretly asked people to send daily necessities and combat materials to Kim Il Sung.
In 1937, the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression broke out in full swing. One day in October, Jeong Joo-hae, a North Korean who had made a good deal with Jang Wei-hwa and Kim Il,000, found Jang-hye-hwa. Because of their previous acquaintances, Zhang Weihua let down his vigilance, and inadvertently said in the conversation that he had sent food to Kim Il Sung's troops a while ago. However, Zheng Xuehai had already rebelled, and he deliberately came to set up Zhang Weihua's words this time, and Zhang Weihua was quickly arrested.
In prison, Zhang Weihua was tortured to the end, but he never said a word, refusing to reveal a word. After a period of time, Zhang's father spent a lot of money to bail his son out. However, Zhang Weihua knew very well in his heart that the Japanese would not easily let themselves go, and this time they could get themselves out of prison, probably because they wanted to use themselves as bait to lure Kim Il-sung to appear.
Thinking of this, Zhang Weihua was very uneasy, he was worried that his safety would expose Kim Il Sung and lead to the failure of the entire revolution, after a painful battle between heaven and man, Zhang Weihua made a shocking decision, he wanted to die to protect Kim Il Sung.
On October 27, 1937, Jang Wei-hwa walked into the Brothers Photo Studio, and he wrote a letter with a pen to bring to Kim Il Sung. Then, Zhang Weihua drank the highly toxic chemical reagent liters of mercury, sat in a chair and waited for death to come. The family rushed to hear the news, and at this time Zhang Weihua was already very weak, and he held his last breath and said to his wife: "I have no regrets, unfortunately, I did not hold a gun and fight with General Kim Il Sung to the end." But I exchanged my own death for the safety of my comrades, and repaid General Jin's trust and friendship to me, which is worth it..."
After saying these words, Zhang Weihua closed his eyes forever, and his young life stopped at the age of 25.
A few days later, Zhang Weihua's family sent him a letter into the mountains, and Kim Il Sung, who learned the news, was devastated, and Zhang Weihua's death became one of his lifelong regrets.
In the following decades, Kim Il Sung never forgot Zhang Weihua, and after the founding of New China, he even entrusted people to inquire about the whereabouts of the Zhang family. In 1984, after many searches by the relevant staff in china, Zhang Weihua's son Zhang Jinquan made contact with the Dprk side and was invited to North Korea as a guest in 1985, which led to the touching scene at the beginning.
Mr. Jang was warmly welcomed in North Korea, and what he did not expect was that his father's name could be said to be a household name in North Korea, even known to kindergarten children. In 1992, the 55th anniversary of Jang Wei-hwa's sacrifice, Kim Il-sung deliberately asked people to make a monument in North Korea, write an inscription, and then transport it to Fusong, Jilin Province.
Zhang Weihua was originally born superior and could live the life of a young master with no worries about food and clothing, but because of the faith and friendship in his heart, he threw himself into the revolutionary cause, not only took a lot of family wealth and energy, but also put himself in danger, and finally sacrificed. And his friendship with Kim Il Sung across countries and time is even more moving.