In the difficult postwar period the President decided to overcome manifold hardships and trials in reliance upon the popular masses' strength.

So, he visited the Kangson Steel Plant in December Juche 45 (1956) to arouse its workers to a great revolutionary upsurge, saying it would be good for the country if it has 10,000 tons of rolled steel in addition.

In response to his appealing call, the workers of Kangson launched the Chollima Movement based on self-reliance and turned out 120,000 tons of rolled steel at a blooming mill with capacity of 60,000 tons.

Under the slogan "Charge at the speed of Chollima!" all other people in the country joined the steel workers in the Chollima Movement and had wrought such miracles as manufacturing large-size water pump, tractor, excavator, 3000-ton press, bulldozer, electric locomotive and other kinds of machinery and vehicles in a short span of time and building a flat in a matter of 14 minutes.

Through this movement, the DPRK people carried out the socialist industrialization within 14 years.

Collectivism of helping and leading forward each other pervaded the whole country under the slogan "One for all and all for one!" and the spirit of Chollima Korea was also displayed in sports, literature and arts and other fields.

The Chollima age, provided by President Kim Il Sung, had turned ordinary workers, peasants and intellectuals into ardent patriots, able persons in creation and construction and persons strong in self-reliance.

To commemorate this era, the Chollima Statue was erected in the capital city of Pyongyang on April 15, 1961, as a monument displaying the heroic stamina of the Korean people and a symbol of the DPRK.