The Wooden Bridge of the Taedong River was built in the period of Koguryo to link Chongho-dong in Taesong District with Hyuam-dong in Sadong District, Pyongyang City.
Around the bridge are several historical sites of the Koguryo age. To the north are Taesongsan Fort and Anhak Palace, and to the northwest and northeast are Chongam-ri Castle and Kobangsan Fort. To the south on the other side are the Mausoleum of King Tongmyong, the founder of Koguryo, and Jongrung Temple, the temple of the mausoleum. The location of these historical sites implies that the bridge was a major traffic route connecting the royal palace of Koguryo and the southern area to the Taedong River.
At the east entrance to the bridge is a log frame interlocked for a light pole. The frames of the bridge are mostly thick timber girders 38 centimeters wide, 26 centimeters thick and 8 to 10 centimeters long.
The traces of the bridge show that it was a large bridge about 375 meters long and about 9 meters wide, with a thick floor covering and railings on tightly-fit supporting planks on massive supporting pillars of interlocked log frames.
At the time of discovery, not only wooden frameworks but also many pieces of roofing tiles and earthenware of the Koguryo age were unearthed in the vicinity of the bridge, which indicates the long history of the bridge.
The bridge was one of the oldest and largest bridges of great rarity in the world as well as in our country at that time.
The size of the bridge and its structural elements, and the skills in strong fabrication by the dovetail joint demonstrate the high level of wooden construction techniques of the Koguryo people.
© 2021 Kim Chaek University of Technology