One day in September 1948 there was a serious discussion on the draft constitution of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea at the conference room of the then People’s Committee of North Korea.

A lot of problems cropped up in the course of heated discussions and words ran high.

When there was a discussion on cultural life, a deputy proposed to include an article of doing away with a long-established custom in the draft constitution and cited a few instances.

President Kim Il Sung listened to him and said, by nature, the long-established custom is a custom of remote antiquity, it is difficult to easily abandon to the custom as it was formed in the long-drawn-out life and so it is necessary for the people to eventually know that it is wrong and abandon it of their own accord, not by means of government power such as law and order.

He went on to say, our nation is a resourceful people who made a long history and culture and thus in the process of building of new democratic Korea our people will be aware of the irrationality of the outdated custom left over from the past and break it down without legal sanctions and create an advanced, highly civilized new life.

The deputy blushed at his words. He realized that he failed to see the good qualities of the Korean nation and he was imbued with national nihilism, seeing the people as an obsolete and backward nation.