In March Juche 12 (1923), President Kim Il Sung crossed the river through the ferry to make a 250-mile journey for learning to Mangyongdae, his birthplace, witnessing people leaving the homeland due to suppression by the Japanese imperialists.

When he was 14 years old he crossed the River Amnok again, determined not to return home unless he won the independence of the country. At that time he walked a 250-mile journey to arrive at the river bank near the ferry and picked up a pebble to keep as a token of the homeland before crossing.

In this regard he wrote in his reminiscences "With the Century":

"My dear Korea, I am leaving you. I know I cannot live even for a moment away from you, but I am crossing the Amnok to win you back. Across this river is a foreign land, but I will not forget you, even in there. Wait for me, my Korea. Then I sang the Song of the River Amnok again."

True to the resolution he made that day, he liberated Korea through a protracted anti-Japanese armed struggle and built a socialist country centered on the popular masses.

The ferry is also associated with revolutionary activities of his family members.