culture

All the Korean people know little Jang Ryong Hung as his birth was unusual.

“In our country, a special medical system is in force from the Pyongyang Maternity Hospital to similar hospitals in provinces and city and ri hospitals to help women in childbirth. However, Ryong Hung was born in pharmacy, not in hospital,” Yu Un Bang, head of the Hyongjesan Ryonghung Pharmacy, said.

In May last year the DPRK switched the national epidemic prevention system to the top-level emergency anti-epidemic system and took measures to lock down and isolate regions and units across the country.

Just at that time, Han Mi Hyang in pregnancy started to suffer the throes of it before the expected date of confinement.

She had to go to the hospital at midnight, together with her mother-in-law and her husband’s sister, as his husband is blind. However, on the way to the hospital, she found herself just about to give birth to the baby. 

Just then, she was saved by the medics of the Korean People’s Army who were on duty at the aforesaid pharmacy.

At that time thousands of army medics were supplying medicines for 24 hours at pharmacies of the capital city to stably contain and control the spread of COVID-19 there.

Though they were strangers to assistance in childbirth, the army medics managed to help her in giving birth to the baby with the only thought that they should save them without fail.

The baby born with the help of the army medics in the pharmacy was Jang Ryong Hung.

His parents named the child Ryong Hung after the pharmacy.

The news was broadcast on TV to impress the whole country and for a year after then, the baby’s home was visited and phoned by many people.

Jang Il Hong, the father of the baby, said, “The army medics are paying fatherly attention to my son’s growth and many people regard him as their son and grandson like my family do.”

Thus, his first birthday (May 24) was celebrated as a happy event of the villagers and many other people as well as his family.

Even before the first birthday of the child, his parents received letters of congratulation and baby clothes, toys and many other things necessary for his growth. And the soldier “fathers”, officials of the village and district, neighbours, friends of his parents and many strangers attended the birthday celebration to wish him gook luck for the future.

 “At that time, though it was in the most difficult situation, the state took the most benevolent measures to defend the people’s lives and safety unconditionally. Then Ryong Hung was born thanks to such benevolence. So he is not merely the baby of our family. He owed his birth to our Party and army and our socialist system under which the whole country is a harmonious family and he has now grown healthily to spend his first birthday,” Han Mi Hyang said repeatedly, expressing her sincere gratitude to the people on behalf of her whole family.