"Our Heavens" (Uri ŭi Hanŭl) is a short story by Ju Sŏl Woong that appeared in Chosŏn Munhak in November 2017. The title has a dual meaning in Korean as "Hanŭl" can be variously translated as sky, heaven, or god, depending on the context.
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| A North Korean weather forecast. |
The story follows a mother who works as a mid-level official at the central Weather Bureau (종합기상수문국), carrying on her father's legacy in developing the country's weather forecast technology. A subplot highlights parent-child struggles over career choice. This story delves into psychology and human relationships much more deeply than most stories I've read so far, and several passages lead me to suspect that the author is something of an armchair psychologist.
North Korea has long blamed droughts and floods for its food supply woes, and the almost annual flooding has taken an increasingly heavy toll on infrastructure due to the severe deforestation of the countryside since the 1990s. Consequently, advancing the accuracy of weather forecasting has been emphasized as one of the Party's key priorities since Kim Jong Un took power.
1
A line of vehicles winds down from the mountains and turns onto the road to Wonsan. The lead vehicle brings the train to a halt, and out steps KJU, shading his eyes, to gaze out over a field of withered corn. “Doesn’t look likely to rain,” he remarks.
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| Drought-stricken North Korean farmers struggle to water crops. |
The accompanying officials nod. They have been suffering through an unusual drought brought on by global warming (지구온난화). It hasn’t rained in a month and the reservoirs are drying up.
Kim stoops to touch one drooping stalk, observing, “The corn is withering in this heat. But probably the farmer’s hearts are hurting even more.”
An aide from the general political bureau (총정치국) remarks, “The weather report said there’d surely be rain this afternoon.”
Deputy Cabinet Minister Kim Myŏng Shik feels remorseful; the Weather Bureau is his responsibility. KJU knowingly comments, “Predicting the weather is not as easy as it seems.”
Kim Myŏng Shik hangs his head in shame. The Leader had ordered the Weather Bureau modernized back in early 2012, calling for better measurement and predictive techniques. But despite the Leader’s direct and intensive guidance, their progress has been slow. The department director had taken charge of setting up 45 measurement points along the Daedong River, and the vice-director oversaw development of new automated meterological readers. But the greatest achievement was the real-time weather data analysis system (기후관측과예보의실시간정보화체계) that Rim Ki Ok, head of the Central Forecasting Agency (중안예보실의 실장), had developed in cooperation with top scientists from Kim Il Sung University.
It was indeed a non-trivial achievement. But as Rim Ki Ok’s old friend from college, Kim Myŏng Shik knew better than to give her too much praise. She had inherited her father’s sense of personal responsibility and drive.
After the previous day’s failed prediction, Kim Myŏng Shik had commented “A wrong report is just as bad as a misfired weapon.” To which Rim Ki Ok replied, “It’s worse than that. A misfire is a single person’s mistake, but this report was our collective failure.” When Kim suggested that the fault lay in their outdated equipment, Rim rejected that explanation saying “How can you blame mute instruments for a false report?”
KJU interrupts his reverie, saying “Why so serious? If only the sky was as overcast as your face.” He asks Kim Myong Shik what he thinks is the cause of the latest mistake, to which the minister replies “inadequate support from the Cabinet and lack of personal responsibility.”
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| A rainy day in Pyongyang. Src: VOA |
This reminds KJU of an encounter he had with a KPA work crew one rainy day. Seeing that their clothes were soaked, he asked the workers if they’d been working outside. They explained they’d been caught in the rain while stacking materials into storage.
“We are to blame, for believing the weather report that said it would just be cloudy.” The worker added that they got the construction materials stored just in the nick of time, thanks to a woman from the Weather Bureau who had come running after them and warned them it was going to rain.
“We are to blame, for believing the weather report that said it would just be cloudy.” The worker added that they got the construction materials stored just in the nick of time, thanks to a woman from the Weather Bureau who had come running after them and warned them it was going to rain.
“Did you catch her name?” KJU asked.
The worker replied that they’d all been in such a rush to get the materials stored, they’d forgotten to ask her name. She’d stayed to help them finish loading, but by the time he thought to thank her she had already disappeared.
KJU admires the woman’s work ethic and thinks, How can there be "a lack of personal responsibility” in a department with such conscientious employees? Clearly something is amiss here, and he must figure it out. Otherwise, how will he be able to face all his people exposed to the cold wind and rain?
In the car on the ride back, he quizzes Myong Shik at length about the inner workings of bureau. He learns that the Forecasting Office manager, Rim Ki Ok, is the daughter of former Weather Bureau Director Rim Hak.
“Ah, Comrade Rim Hak? I know of him. Our General always remembered him fondly, said he was stubborn but earnest, and so meticulously precise people called him ‘the rain gauge.’” A smile crossed His face. “So she’s his daughter.”KJU suggests that Weather Bureau workers should be allotted fun excursions in addition to the usual work holidays. Kim Myong Shik feels ashamed that he was not more considerate of Ki Ok’s feelings.
“Yes, indeed. And I hear they’re calling her ‘the thermometer.’”
“Why is that?”
“Well, in the kinder interpretation, it’s because she’s so essential and so precise.”
“A chip off the old block, it seems. And what’s the ‘unkind' interpretation?”
“Well, they say that her facial expressions can change very suddenly, especially around men.”
At this, Comrade Kim Jong Un laughs heartily. Recalling Ki Ok’s prim attitude, Myong Shik joins in.
After thinking a bit, He [KJU] says, “Of course it’s not good for her to be so volatile around coworkers. But the people around her need to be more understanding. Women are sensitive and easily wounded, after all. And it might be a side effect of her profession, dealing with numbers all day long. Numbers are very helpful and precise, but they can also be extremely tedious. After a long day of wrestling [씨름을 하고] with numbers, anyone can lose their appetite. Her colleagues should understand that, and not nit-pick about her behavior."
2
Ki Ok’s daughter Jung Ae watches her all the way home, her eyes filled with a mix of hope and doubt. Those perceptive eyes, so like her husband’s, seem to stare right into her soul. How could her daughter doubt her? Has she not lavished her with love her whole life, given her everything? Now, for the first time in the 22 years since her birth, her first child watches her with distrustful eyes.
This morning at breakfast, Jung Ae had chattered with her father about a new central agency job that she had her heart set on. Her mother Ki Ok is stunned. Hadn’t she always said she wanted to follow in her mother’s and grandfather’s footsteps? She’d even entered the math department at an engineering college, and amazed her teachers with her senior thesis on weather forecasting; but now she declaimed about how she didn’t want to be some useless layabout [똥딴지] in a “for-show” [맵시나는] position.
When she reminds Jung Ae of this, her daughter responds, "It’s not like girls are expected to follow their maternal grandfathers' profession!” She then storms off to her room, throwing a last angry retort over her shoulder: “Mom, all you understand is numbers. You’re so full of numbers, you can choke on them!”
Ki Ok and her husband then have a heated argument about their daughter, in which she utters the lines “Don’t look at me like I’m one of your patients” and “I’d like to hang you upside down and whack you good.” Her physician husband remains calm throughout, “like a rubber band that doesn’t get twisted no matter how much you pull it.” He reminds her, “you don't get a pear from an apple tree,” suggesting their daughter will turn out just fine.
At this point her daughter comes out and, apparently having heard everything, gently reassures her mother that she hasn’t made up her mind yet about the job. Ki Ok reluctantly concedes that she is an adult after all, and will have to learn to “kick your own ball” (네 공을 네가 차거라). But inside, she feels deeply hurt by her daughter’s words, especially the accusation that she “only understands numbers.” She suddenly regrets that she has been devoting so much energy to her work and neglecting her family.
3
It was the dark days of the Arduous March. On the night train, the General [Kim Jong Il] pored over a report on misappropriation of funds within the Weather Bureau. It said that Rim Hak had been recklessly spending state funds, despite the desperate plight the country was in (어려운 시기임에도 불구하고). He had gone abroad and purchased equipment at his own discretion, rather than adhering to the official government-approved order - very expensive, cutting-edge equipment. Because he went for top-shelf stuff, he was only able to purchase about half of what was needed, making the whole upgrade pointless. The report recommended that the aging Rim be replaced with a younger, more forward-thinking official.
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| KJU advising workers at the Weather Bureau in 2014. Src: Yonhap |
Lost in thought, Comrade Kim Jong Il re-read the report. “Looks like he tried to bag two rabbits and lost them both,“ (게도 구럭도 다 잃었다) he chuckled.
Turning to the report’s author, He laughingly explained, “Rim Hak is the sort who picks up one rock and then wants the rock underneath it (웃돌을 뽑아 아래돌에 고이면서). It looks like he went a bit overboard this time.”
At that time, the country was indeed in rough shape. The Yankee imperialists, emboldened by their alliance forces, were trying to tear down the last bastion of socialism. With the nation’s economy suffering from the collapse of the socialist markets and a series of natural disasters, the enemies were gleefully predicting that it would only be a matter of days or months before the country would be crushed like a chunk of pig iron between hammer and anvil (함마에 얻어맞는 모루우의 주철덩어리 같이 당장 깨여지기 ).
Even at such a difficult time, Rim Hak had been thinking toward the future, buying cutting-edge equipment. Of course, it was wrong to overspend his funds without permission, but his actions reflected his positive outlook. After all, someone with no optimism about the future would not make such purchases. His optimism was all the more amazing in these trying times (이렇듯 준엄하고 시련에 찬 시기에).
Comrade Kim Jong Il pronounced: “What Comrade Rim Hak did was wrong - not because of the reckless spending, but because he acted on his individual prerogative without thinking of the group. (조직과 집단에 의거하지 않고 자의대로 행동한 것). Even though he made a mistake, his faith in the future is admirable. People who are uncertain about the future do not make plans for tomorrow... Does a mother blame her child for wanting more?”
Responding to the recommendation that the old man be retired, He objects “His body may be old, but his thoughts are young. How else could he think of the future in such difficult times? Stubborn optimists are my favorite kind of people.” That night KJI personally made arrangements to acquire the rest of the equipment that Rim Hak had wanted.
Several months later, KJI was surprised to hear that Rim Hak had resigned his position. His resignation letter cited painful rheumatism as the official reason, but an internal investigation revealed a different motivation.
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| The rugged mountain base at Osŏngsan, near the southern border, has been a favorite stop for KJU on guidance tours. |
Apparently, the Dear Leader had been caught in a sudden downpour during a guidance visit to a military unit in Osŏngsan, and his SUV had slid down a muddy embankment. Hearing this news, Rim Hak was aghast to discover that the day’s weather forecast had only predicted “light rain.” He was overcome with guilt at having failed his Leader, who just months earlier had rewarded him so richly. The word was that his office window had stayed alight all that night, and in the morning arriving office workers were stunned to see that their formerly hearty director had the wispy white hair and bent back of an old man. He resigned soon after.
Hearing this, KJI dictated a message to be delivered to the Weather Bureau:
“On the road of our revolution, there are not good days only. Even if the report had predicted a tornado that day, I would still have gone to visit our beloved troops in Osŏngsan. Such are the demands of revolution. Like the song says, 'Whether rain or snow, we must walk the road to revolution.' …
“This afternoon I got really angry. I thought I had misjudged someone. When Comrade Rim Hak overspent his order, I took it for revolutionary optimism. But now I think perhaps I was wrong, if he can lose faith over such a small thing.
“Go and tell him this: He should worry about the people, not me. If it were possible, I would want to absorb all the rain and snow for my people. Tell him that I want him to get up and get back to work, that I believe in him.”
The bureau workers are astounded. Didn’t some poet say the General’s love for his people is like a mother’s love for her child?
“The problem is Comrade Rim Hak's health. It must be tough working at his age, and with arthritis to boot. Since he’s so stubborn, he won’t say a word about it.” He ruminated over the report for a moment, then brightened. “Since he’s on leave anyway, let’s give him a vacation. A one-month recuperating holiday (료양) at Mt. Chilbo should do him some good."
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| Photo from promo of Mt Chilbo in North Korean monthly magazine Chosŏn |
And so Rim Hak returned to work, after a month’s much-needed rest and rejuvenation at Mt. Chilbo.
4
Ki Ok walks home in the evening, mulling over the contentious strategy meeting she has just suffered through. Addressing the department’s failures, the director had blamed everyone and everything but himself. Cabinet Secretary Kim Myong Shik, the Party representative, then made an impassioned speech about how “Without a high sense of personal responsibility, no amount of modern equipment will improve matters.”
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| Technicians at the North Korean Weather Bureau. North Korea announced in 2015 it had developed a new, more accurate meteorological prediction system. Src: NoCutNews |
Ki Ok thinks that a lot of her co-workers share the director’s attitude. In fact, she had been one of the loudest voices demanding newer equipment; their current office computers could hardly keep up with global numerical weather prediction models or process all the weather data coming in from the provinces. She had worked with researchers at KIS University to develop a real-time information processing system (실시간정보화체계) that raised their processing capacity to the level of developed countries, but their prediction success rate remains abysmal.
Passing a local park, Ki Ok encounters a rowdy group of boys horsing around. In their midst, a small girl of about five or six bravely holds her own. Ki Ok is reminded of her daughter, who since preschool had a reputation for scuffling with the neighborhood boys. One day in 2nd grade, she came home in tears. Some of her classmates had picked on her after they got caught in the rain, saying “Your mom lied!” She fought back, but there were too many of them, and she had to run home in defeat.
Ki Ok thinks of the Weather Bureau as a battleground where people fight with nature (자연과의 싸움에 나선 사람들의 전장), imagining her team as a "scouting party pushing through the bogs at the head of the struggle to reform nature" (자연개조투쟁의 앞장에서 진펄을 헤치는 척후대). But to her daughter, it is a dull and inglorious profession.
Her psychiatrist husband would often joke, "It's a good thing you study the weather, because you're clueless when it comes to people." Her father always used to say, "The work is never the problem; it's people that are the problem." She can't shake the feeling that something was missing, and it was affecting both her work and family; but what could it be?
Still puzzling over this, Ki Ok returns home. She senses immediately that something is different. Her husband has rearranged the furniture again, something he does whenever he senses that a change of mood is needed.
Her daughter wanders in, humming absently. "Oh, Mom's home!" Since entering university, as if in protest at growing up, she had reverted to calling her "Mommy," so this appellation is suspicious. Jŏng Ae's attitude has done a complete 180 since this morning; she is chipper, bouncy, coquettish.
In the back room, her husband hands her a booklet. It's Jŏng Ae's medical record. On the front page, the title of her senior thesis has been printed: "Solving meteorological data equations."
"What's this? She's changed her mind again?"
"Oh, that was just an adolescent fit. She's bound to have a few."
"That punk kid!" [못된 놈의 개집애]
"You can't let yourself get so hurt over a mere whim that doesn't last 24 hours."
Kim Jong Un is doing a guidance tour on the construction site of a new teacher's dormitory. He is accompanied by many aides, including Deputy Minister Kim Myŏng Shik.
The General ascends rough, unfinished stairs, examining every aspect of the building and pointing out various defects. Outside, he instructs his aides, “No matter how magnificent the building looks, if people find it inconvenient to live in, the Party won't approve it.
Returning to the car, KJU and Kim Myŏng Shik discuss the latest report on the Weather Bureau.
KJU remains convinced that there is something more going on behind the failures and the lack of motivation.
Passing a local park, Ki Ok encounters a rowdy group of boys horsing around. In their midst, a small girl of about five or six bravely holds her own. Ki Ok is reminded of her daughter, who since preschool had a reputation for scuffling with the neighborhood boys. One day in 2nd grade, she came home in tears. Some of her classmates had picked on her after they got caught in the rain, saying “Your mom lied!” She fought back, but there were too many of them, and she had to run home in defeat.
Ki Ok thinks of the Weather Bureau as a battleground where people fight with nature (자연과의 싸움에 나선 사람들의 전장), imagining her team as a "scouting party pushing through the bogs at the head of the struggle to reform nature" (자연개조투쟁의 앞장에서 진펄을 헤치는 척후대). But to her daughter, it is a dull and inglorious profession.
Her psychiatrist husband would often joke, "It's a good thing you study the weather, because you're clueless when it comes to people." Her father always used to say, "The work is never the problem; it's people that are the problem." She can't shake the feeling that something was missing, and it was affecting both her work and family; but what could it be?
Still puzzling over this, Ki Ok returns home. She senses immediately that something is different. Her husband has rearranged the furniture again, something he does whenever he senses that a change of mood is needed.
Her daughter wanders in, humming absently. "Oh, Mom's home!" Since entering university, as if in protest at growing up, she had reverted to calling her "Mommy," so this appellation is suspicious. Jŏng Ae's attitude has done a complete 180 since this morning; she is chipper, bouncy, coquettish.
In the back room, her husband hands her a booklet. It's Jŏng Ae's medical record. On the front page, the title of her senior thesis has been printed: "Solving meteorological data equations."
"What's this? She's changed her mind again?"
"Oh, that was just an adolescent fit. She's bound to have a few."
"That punk kid!" [못된 놈의 개집애]
"You can't let yourself get so hurt over a mere whim that doesn't last 24 hours."
5
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| On-site guidance at a construction site. |
The General ascends rough, unfinished stairs, examining every aspect of the building and pointing out various defects. Outside, he instructs his aides, “No matter how magnificent the building looks, if people find it inconvenient to live in, the Party won't approve it.
Returning to the car, KJU and Kim Myŏng Shik discuss the latest report on the Weather Bureau.
"According to this, the root cause of the forecasting errors is a 'lack of personal responsibility' among the bureau workers. Do you agree, comrade deputy minister?" Kim Myŏng Shik gave his honest opinion: "Yes, there are some who don't take responsibility. Particularly the workers." "And is this universal? What about the Forecast Office manager?" Kim Myŏng Shik called up the image of the self-effacing Rim Ki Ok in his mind's eye. "Well, no, she's not like that, but... I think she's just exhausted."
KJU remains convinced that there is something more going on behind the failures and the lack of motivation.
"I see the bureau still has a long wish list of equipment upgrades, but there's no proposal to supply them. Why is that?"KJU is disappointed. What he wanted from this report was not a dry accounting of the bureau's work, but rather a humanistic portrait of the people who work there. It's far too cold and impersonal of a document to address a problem so vital to the health of the nation.
Kim Myŏng Shik hesitates before answering, "It's true that they are lacking several types of cutting-edge equipment, but at the moment, it's difficult for us to accommodate them...." he trails off lamely.
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| North Koreans survey damaged fields after severe flooding in 2012. |
At present, the country was in difficult straits (지금 나라의 경제사정은 어렵다). Yet at such times it was all the more vitally important to invest in the future. As KJU knew better than anyone, supplying the needed equipment would strain the nation's budget to the limit. But when he thinks of his people struggling through the cold rain and sleet, any amount seems worth it.
At last he perceives the root of the problem - not a lack of responsibility or ideological zeal, but a failure to see their own work in human terms. Their work has a deep impact on everyday people's lives; every line of the weather report must be inscribed with deep love for the people. The missing ingredient is love!
KJU notices and tries to cheer him up with a joke: "You're so sensitive. Shall we start calling you 'the barometer'?"
6
That day, the whole Weather Bureau has to pinch themselves to make sure they are not dreaming. The Leader has appeared to them right there in their office, smiling like the sun. |
KJU doing on-site guidance at the Weather Bureau in 2014.
Src: Chosŏn Shinbo
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In the Forecast Office, KJU is introduced to Ki Ok.
"You look much like your father," He told her. "He was known to both the General and myself as a man of great ability. And I've already heard much about you, comrade."KJU announces that he will arrange for the supply of all the new equipment they need, as well as order a big new building for their offices. He also suggests that the bureau employees should wear uniforms "to improve cooperative feeling between departments." He concludes with a little speech:
Kim Jong Un proceeded to relate to the astonished Ki Ok and her colleagues the story of her mad dash to warn the KPA work crew on that rainy day. He praised her for being earnest and stubborn just like her father. Ki Ok felt unbelievably humbled as He spoke glowingly about that incident, which she had already completely forgotten about.
He had conducted a lengthy investigation into the recent problems with the weather report, and now He questioned Ki Ok extensively on numerical weather forecasting technology.
After giving a detailed report on the new weather data processing system, Ki Ok confessed that their prediction success rates were still unacceptably low.
He gazed thoughtfully at the desktop computer. "How hard is it to develop a world-class data processing system on computers like this?"
Ki Ok felt her eyes brim with tears and bowed her head. The whole office was on the verge of tears, realizing how thoroughly He had investigated their problems.
...
Turning to Kim Myŏng Shik and his aides, He continued, "Every time I watch the weather report, I feel like an element of kindness (친절성) is missing. It's not enough to just recite a bland warning whenever something like a high pressure system or sand storm is approaching. How great would it be if they also offered commonsense steps and simple folk remedies (민간료법) people can take to prepare?"
He added that while it is important to resist the kind of formalism seen in capitalist countries, where content is crowded out by colorful advertisements and gaudy packaging, it is wrong to completely prioritize content over form.
"You know the expression, 'If it costs the same, why not get a red skirt' (같은 값이면 다홍치마)? We must raise the overall quality of our weather service, particularly the expert climatology service."
"For thousands of years, people have looked to the skies with reverence and fear. In working to understand those skies inside and out, you are bound to make some mistakes. So don't lose heart, and keep working for the people with purpose and responsibility. You study the changeable skies, but your love for the people must remain constant."
7
On the TV, the announcer reports tomorrow's weather. For each region, after showing the data, she offers a little advice: watch out for this, here's how it can affect your health, try this simple folk remedy, etc.The next day at 2 pm, the skies finally open up after the long drought. The June rain is warm, and even the people who had forgotten their umbrellas smile to feel it.
"Lack of human feeling"
At the climax of this story, KJU reveals his epiphany that the root of the problems at the Weather Bureau is not a "lack of personal responsibility" (책임성의 부족) but rather a "lack of human feeling" (인간정의 부족). At one point he also cites a "lack of kindness" (친절성의 부족). The mirroring of these phrases is clearly intentional. "Lack of personal responsibility" was often invoked in the bad old days to explain the breakdown of various public services, and it was a particularly useful expression for justifying the purging of cadres who failed to deliver on targets.
In this story, as in many new stories of the KJU era, the personal and emotional are emphasized. The propaganda department seems to be trying to rebrand the old slogans in new ways that appear to give people a little more slack, a little more room to experiment and make mistakes. Like other recent stories, KJU is shown repeatedly encouraging people to let "love" shape their decisions - including love for one's family as well as love for the nation. Another phrase associated with the KJU era is "opening up a new chapter in human love" (인민사랑의 새로운 장을 펼쳐가시는 그이).
As KJU instructs the Weather Bureau workers to put more "kindness" into their work, he clarifies:
"Kindness is an expression of love. The sort of kindness I'm talking about is fundamentally different from capitalist kindness, which is only a tool for making money. Our kindness must be clearly rooted in love for our people and all humanity (인민사랑, 인간사랑에 바탕을 두어야 합니다)."After hearing this, Ki Ok castigates herself for her "paucity of feeling" (정의 결핍) and "lack of love" (사랑의 결여) in thinking about her job only in terms of boring numerical accuracy. She concludes that "How much can a person achieve, in life or at work, without human feeling or love for the people?" (인간에 대한 정, 인민에 대한 사랑이 희박한 사람이 사업과 생활에서 무슨 성과를 거둘수가 있으랴.)
Group vs Individual
This story periodically detours into a discourse on the value of collectivism over individualism. When Ki Ok contemplates her daughter's desire for a "more exciting" job, she wonders if this is a sign of excessive individualism, and considers this to be a quite dangerous tendency. When Kim Myŏng Shik is fretting that Ki Ok seems overworked and exhausted, he thinks "Everyone has moments of despair when they want to just give up. But that's when the collective - one's organization and coworkers - are supposed to step in to restore one's strength and courage."
These asides seem a bit tacked-on and irrelevant to the main thread of the story. There's no sign that greater teamwork contributes to the story's resolution, which is far more focused on the "human feeling" theme. It's almost as if the author realized belatedly that the story needed more than just one moral, and threw in a few passages about collectivism to satisfy an editor.
이민위천(以民爲天)
This phrase (a classic Chinese 4-character compound meaning "The people are as heaven") pops up frequently in conjunction with references to the first two leaders. It is said to have been the life-long motto of Kim Il Sung. This story is one of many that makes reference to it. It means the people are the top priority and the leader is wholeheartedly committed to providing for them - particularly their health and happiness.
The phrase comes from the classical Chinese text Records of the Grand Historian, but South Koreans today strongly associate it with North Korean propaganda. A few years ago, a former Democratic Progressive Party representative got in hot water over allegedly working as a secret agent for North Korea. When the police raided his home, people were scandalized to hear that one of the items uncovered was a framed calligraphy inscription of this phrase. This was seen as proof positive that the official was a secret admirer of Kim Il Sung.
Links
Here you can see a North weather report from last August, when heavy rains were approaching. And here's a report from almost four years ago (January 2015).
This phrase (a classic Chinese 4-character compound meaning "The people are as heaven") pops up frequently in conjunction with references to the first two leaders. It is said to have been the life-long motto of Kim Il Sung. This story is one of many that makes reference to it. It means the people are the top priority and the leader is wholeheartedly committed to providing for them - particularly their health and happiness.
The phrase comes from the classical Chinese text Records of the Grand Historian, but South Koreans today strongly associate it with North Korean propaganda. A few years ago, a former Democratic Progressive Party representative got in hot water over allegedly working as a secret agent for North Korea. When the police raided his home, people were scandalized to hear that one of the items uncovered was a framed calligraphy inscription of this phrase. This was seen as proof positive that the official was a secret admirer of Kim Il Sung.
Links
Here you can see a North weather report from last August, when heavy rains were approaching. And here's a report from almost four years ago (January 2015).
