She was born into a poor peasant's family and had suffered all sorts of humiliation and insult before the country's liberation. It was not until President Kim Il Sung liberated the country from Japan's colonial rule that she was able to lead a true life.

She had worked hard in the fields of agriculture and textile industry for a long time, and keeps working even after becoming a pensioner.

She prefers foods made with bean and potato, and even now cultivates a kitchen garden and raises domestic animals like goat and rabbit.