Sonnyo Peak

This happened on August 30, 1999, when Chairman Kim Jong Il was looking round a fish farm.

An official of the farm was giving him an account of the geological features of the area around the ponds, when he indicated a mountain called Sonnyo(Fairy) Peak.

“Why is it called Sonnyo Peak?” the Chairman asked out of curiosity.

The official answered, “According to an old legend, fairies in heaven would descend on the peak to have a bath in the crystal-clear spring here.”

To his surprise, Chairman Kim Jong Il made a loud laugh. He asked the dumbfounded official where the fairies would undress themselves in the mountain with no trees to hide them.

All burst out into laughter, but it lasted only a moment. They realised that his humorous remark was tantamount to a reproach for not giving due attention to tree-planting. They should have covered the area with trees to preserve the picturesque scenery of the peak, lest they should disgrace the name given to it by their forefathers.

The officials stood reticent, feeling a pang of guilt for the barren landscape.

Chairman Kim Jong Il said to them: I can see trees planted around the new ponds. They are small in number and, worse still, the surrounding mountains are bald. So the scenery of the fish farm is not beautiful. You should plant many trees in the compound of the fish farm and the mountains around it, so as to make this area clothed in greenery.