With the Century
| Korean name | |
|---|---|
| Chosŏn'gŭl | 세기와 더불어 |
| Revised Romanization | Segiwa deobuleo |
| McCune–Reischauer | Segi wa tŏburŏ |
Cover page of the English edition of With the Century, Vol. 1
|
|
| Author | Kim Il-sung |
| Country | North Korea |
| Language | Korean |
| Subject |
|
| Genre | Autobiography |
| Published | 1992 (Korean ed.) |
| Publisher | Pyongyang: Workers' Party of Korea Publishing House (Korean ed.) Pyongyang: Foreign Languages Publishing House (English ed.) |
| Media type | Print in eight volumes |
| Pages | 3,447 (English ed.) |
| OCLC | 28377167 |
| 951.9303/092 B | |
| LC Class | DS934.6.K5 A3 1992 |
In a ruined country neither the land nor the people can remain at peace. [...] A man who perceives this truth before others is called a forerunner; he who struggles against difficulties to save his country from tragedy is called a patriot; and he who sets fire to himself to demonstrate the truth and overthrows the injust society by rousing the people to action is called a revolutionary.
Reminiscences: With the Century (Chosŏn'gŭl: 세기와 더불어; MR: Segi wa tŏburŏ) is the autobiography of Kim Il-sung, founder and 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 Korean resistance. Initially, a total of 30 volumes were planned but Kim Il-sung died in 1994 after just six volumes; the seventh and eight volumes were published posthumously. The work reveals early influences of religious and literary ideas on Kim's thinking. An important part of North Korean literature, With the Century is held as a valuable if somewhat unreliable insight into the nation's modern history under late colonial Korea. The book is considered one of a few North Korean primary sources widely available in the West and as notable research material for North Korean studies.
Authorship of With the Century is disputed with claims that it was written by professional writers instead of Kim Il-sung himself.
Up until the 1960s, Kim Il-sung had encouraged his fellow revolutionaries to publish their memoirs, and guerrillas such as Eul Ji Mun Deok, Kang Gam Chan and Lee Sun Shin were featured in North Korean history books. Kim Il-sung's son and future successor Kim Jong-il, however, called back such biographies and sought to reinforce Kim Il-sung's cult of personality by controlling the works that made reference to him. In this regard, With the Century effectively replaced another work, Reminiscences of the Anti-Japanese Guerillas, as one of the most important propaganda pieces.
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