Pak Kyong-suk (, 1921 – 31 August 2020) was a

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and ...

n politician. She was a seamstress in

Kim Il-sung Kim Il-sung (; , ; born Kim Song-ju, ; 15 April 1912 – 8 July 1994) was a North Korean politician and the founder of North Korea, which he ruled from the country's establishment in 1948 until his death in 1994. He held the posts of ...

's guerrilla forces during the 1930s. After the

liberation of Korea The surrender of the Empire of Japan in World War II was announced by Emperor Hirohito on 15 August and formally signed on 2 September 1945, bringing the war's hostilities to a close. By the end of July 1945, the Imperial Japanese Nav ...

, she held posts in the

Workers' Party of Korea The Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) is the founding and sole ruling party of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, commonly known as North Korea. Founded in 1949 from the merger of the Workers' Party of North Korea and the Workers' Party of ...

(WPK),

Democratic Women's League The Socialist Women's Union of Korea (; formerly the Korean Democratic Women's Union, KDWU; ) is a mass organization for women in North Korea. Founded in 1945 as the North Korea Democratic Women's League, it is the oldest and one of the most ...

, as well as being a delegate to the

Supreme People's Assembly The Supreme People's Assembly (SPA; ) is the unicameral legislature of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), commonly known as North Korea. It consists of one deputy from each of the DPRK's 687 constituencies, elected to five-year ...

Career

Pak Kyong-suk was born in Eastern

Manchuria Manchuria is an exonym (derived from the endo demonym "Manchu") for a historical and geographic region in Northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day Northeast China (Inner Manchuria) and parts of the Russian Far East ( Outer ...

in 1921. In the 1930s during the anti-Japanese struggle, she was a member of

's sewing unit. Kim Il-sung remembers her as one of the best radio operators in his autobiography ''

With the Century ''Reminiscences: With the Century'' () is the autobiography of Kim Il-sung, founder and former president of North Korea. The memoirs, written in 1992 and published in eight volumes, retell Kim's life story through his childhood to the time of ...

'', writing: Her political career began in c. 1948 when she became the director of the secret documents department of the

Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea The Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea ( ko, 조선로동당 중앙위원회) is the highest party body between national meetings of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), the ruling party of North Korea. According to WPK rules, the ...

(WPK). In 1954 she became a member of the Central Committee of the

. In July 1956, she became a deputy department director in the WPK South Hamhyong provincial committee. In October 1959 she became the chairwoman of the Pyongyang Paper Mill party committee. She became a candidate member of the WPK Central Committee in September 1961. In May 1963 she became the deputy director of the Light Industry and Commerce Department of the WPK Central Committee. With these qualifications, she was considered a "veteran Party cadre". In

1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wo ...

she was elected to the

. She renewed her seat in

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establ ...

. She was awarded the

Jubilee Medal "70 Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945" The Jubilee Medal "70 Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945" (russian: Юбилейная медаль «70 лет Победы в Великой Отечественной войне 1941–1945 гг.») is a state commemorativ ...

on 6 May 2015 by

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime m ...

and

Jubilee Medal "75 Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945" The Jubilee Medal "75 Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945" (russian: Юбилейная медаль «75 лет Победы в Великой Отечественной войне 1941–1945 гг.») is a state commemorativ ...

on 6 May 2020. She was on the funeral committees of

Kim Chol-man Kim Chol-man (김철만; 2 November 1920 – 3 December 2018) was a North Korean politician and military official. He was a member of several important committees and organizations, including the 6th Central Military Commission, the 6th Politb ...

Ri Ul-sol Ri Ul-sol (리을설; 14 September 19217 November 2015) was a North Korean politician and military official. He played an important role in the administrations of Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il, achieving the rank of Marshal of the Korean Peop ...

, and

Hwang Sun-hui Hwang Sun-hui (; 3 May 1919 – 17 January 2020) was a North Korean politician who served in several high-ranking positions in the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), including in the Supreme People's Assembly and the Central Committee of the WPK. ...

References

Works cited

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pak, Kyong-suk 2020 deaths 1921 births Workers' Party of Korea politicians 21st-century North Korean women politicians 21st-century North Korean politicians 20th-century North Korean women politicians 20th-century North Korean politicians North Korean military personnel Military personnel of the Second Sino-Japanese War Female military personnel Women government ministers of North Korea

Career

See also

References

Works cited