On March 1, 1946, a mass rally was held in Pyongyang, with Kim Il Sung present. During the rally, a member of a South Korean government-backed terrorist group – known as the White Shirt Society – tossed a grenade onto the stage near several Soviet and North Korean officials and the Great Leader himself.
Soviet officer Yakov Novichenko quickly jumped on the grenade and saved Kim Il Sung’s life. Thanks to a large book strapped underneath his belt, Novichenko survived the attack but suffered terrible injuries: He lost one of his arms and suffered severe damage to his eyes. However, he gained the lifelong friendship of the Kim family, and the only personality cult the North Korean state has ever devoted to a non-Korean.
Foreign figures from “friendly” nations, such as China and Russia, routinely make appearances in North Korean propaganda. In posters and newspaper articles, these figures from “fraternal nations” are depicted as sharing North Korean values such as honoring the Great Leader and the Dear Leader. However, Novichenko is different, as the Great Leader (and his wife) personally honored the foreigner who saved his life. While recovering in the hospital, Kim Il Sung sent Novichenko a cigarette case in the hospital with the inscription: “To hero Novichenko from the chairman of the people’s committee of the DPRK, Kim Il Sung.” According to Novichenko, Kim Il Sung’s wife Kim Jong Suk, notable heroine in North Korean propaganda herself, was the first person to visit him in the hospital and brought him food she had personally prepared.
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