Korean-Chinese elderly honored by Kim Il Sung wins order of merit from Putin

Korean-Chinese elderly honored by Kim Il Sung wins order of merit from Putin. June. 10, 2015 07:56. pen@donga.com.

A 90-something ethnic Korean Chinese woman has received an order of merit from Russian President Vladimir Putin for making her contributions in the fight against the Japanese military by supporting the former Soviet Union.

According to a Heilongjiang Newspaper published for ethnic Korean Chinese on Tuesday, the external affairs and execution office in Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, recently presented to Lee Min (91), a former senior member of the Chinese Communist Party living in Harbin, an "order of merit marking the 70th anniversary of Russia’s victory in the Second World War" and a certificate, at the request of Russian Consul General in Shenyang, China. The number of elderly fighters who received orders of merit for fighting Japan to secure China’s liberation amounts to a total of 40 including Lee.

The Russian Embassy in China said, “Chinese people including ethnic Koreans assisted the former Soviet Union to secure victory in the war. Russia would like to commemorate their contributions in the fight against Fascism by awarding an order of merit,” in explaining the reason for the citation. Upon receiving the order of merit, Lee, said, “Victory in the war was achieved through sacrifice by China and Russia. Future generations should not forget this.”

Lee, who was born in Heilongjiang province in 1924, started struggle against Japanese imperialists at age 12. Notably, she reportedly joined the Northeast anti-Japanese military, an armed militia that the late North Korean founder Kim Il Sung was involved, and was in close relationship with Kim. When Lee married to Chen Rai, former governor of Heilongjiang Province, Kim even served as officiant of the ceremony. When the late former North Korean leader Kim Jong Il was staying in Moscow in the company of his father when young, Lee took care of the junior Kim in person, as she maintained a close relationship with the Kim family.