Jo Jun 2, 2023
Pison Falls is located in Manphok Valley on Mt. Myohyang.
Clear waters forking down from the high cliff scatter around water drops, variegated by the sunlight like a seven-colour sunbow, as if the trains of fairies were hanging down.
The waterfall was given the name Pison Falls (pi means fly, son means fairy) as legend has it that fairies used to fly down there to enjoy the charming scenery of the Manphok Valley and fly up into the sky on a sunbow hanging over the fall.
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Jo May 7, 2023
“Rimwonsipryukji” compiled by a realist scholar So Yu Gu (1764―1845) in 1825, is a national classic where documentary records concerning economy and culture are arranged in categories.
Rimwonsipryukji, which is left incomplete, is a huge work, running to 113 volumes and 62 books. This enables us to guess what an enormous book he mapped out.
Divided into 16 parts, Rimwonsipryukji contains valuable information extracted from as many as 500-odd kinds of domestic and foreign records that was considered indispensable for developing the national economy and daily life. All the information is organized in categories and followed by the origins of the data and the author’s opinion of each item.
The front parts Ponriji and Kwangyuji are about agriculture. Here, general knowledge of agriculture and methods of cultivating and processing 33 kinds of vegetables and over 20 kinds of medicinal herbs are introduced. The author wrote that success or failure of agriculture depends on the skills and efforts of humans, not on natural conditions.
The horticultural parts Yewonji and Manhakji deal with methods of growing more than 50 kinds of flowers, over 30 kinds of ornamental grasses, 30 kinds of fruit trees, several kinds of trees, tea plants, tobacco plants, etc. and even those of changing the colours of flowers artificially.
Poyangji and Injeji give a detailed description of rules of diet for good health and longevity, exercise, massage, taking medicine, taking care of the elderly and children, and other things concerned with branches of medicine like gynaecology, paediatrics, surgery, etc.
Rimwonsipryukji serves as one of the invaluable national classics since it not only reflects the author’s aspiration to make a positive contribution to the development of the national economy and culture but also contains copious amount of all-round knowledge about the socio-economic situations, medicine, food culture, life style, etc. in the latter half of the feudal Joson dynasty.
Ri Won Chol, researcher at the Academy of Social Sciences
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Jo May 4, 2023
Fort on Mt. Taesong is the largest and oldest of all the fortresses on mountains of Koguryo.
Located in Taesong-dong, Taesong District, Pyongyang City, it was built to defend Anhak Palace, the royal palace of Koguryo from the 3rd to 5th century.
The fort is surrounded by wide and narrow rivers on three sides ― east, west and south ― and the north is linked to a mountain range, so it is very advantageous in terms of military affairs, economy and transportation.
It is 7 076 metres round and the total length of the walls runs to 9 284 metres. It could hold a huge number of people, combat equipment and supplies as it had two vast deep valleys between the six mountain peaks linked to one another. It had food storages, armouries, quarters, general’s terraces, gates, etc.
Pyramid-shaped stones were laid in single-sided piles on the peaks and in double-sided piles across the valleys. Double and treble walls were built on important spots. On the top of the walls were parapets, low zigzag walls, and on important points were bastions to strengthen the defense of the fort.
Abundant in water resource, the fort had as many as 170 ponds including a carp pond and Jangsu Pond. It had two gates ― Somunbong Gate and South Gate, which was 5 kan × 2 kan ( 1 kan = 5.965 feet) in size and 19.5 metres in height.
In the fort, a lot of relics and remains like Koguryo roofing tiles, gilt-bronze images of Buddha, stone boxes for keeping Buddhist scriptures, etc. were discovered, and many legends including the story of a Rok tribe lady associated with the fort have been handed down.
Many relics including some parts of the wall, Jangsu Pavilion, South Gate and Jangsu Pond are now restored to the original state to play an important part in the study of Koguryo’s fortress system.
Fort on Mt. Taesong with strong defences, which served as a reliable one in the fights against foreign invaders, was an impregnable fortress that had hardly been found in the world history of fortress construction.
Ko Ju Il, researcher at the Academy of Social Sciences
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Jo Apr 30, 2023
“Koryosajolyo” is a book where the history of Koryo, the first unified state of our nation, is recorded in order of year, month and date.
“Koryosa” (History of Koryo), which was written in 1451, touches a huge amount of materials divided into categories, so it was inconvenient to learn the contemporary history chronologically at a glance.
That is why after the completion of “Koryosa”, a more concise one “Koryosajolyo” was compiled.
“Koryosajolyo” was completed in 1452 by Kim Jong So, Jong Rin Ji et al. who had worked at “Koryosa”, and published in the following year 1453.
The title “Koryosajolyo” means “the main parts of Koryo history” and it consists of 35 volumes, which is about a quarter of “Koryosa” in 139 volumes.
In the book is recorded the history of the feudal Koryo dynasty in order of reign of the 34 kings from the founder king to King Kongyang, and the events and facts during their reigns are arranged in yearly, monthly and daily order.
It gives a large amount of information about the feudal Koryo State ― politics including the state machinery, ranks of government posts, punitive system, anti-aggression and anti-feudal struggle; economy including the land system and tax system; culture including education and art; military affairs including the military system, national defense, etc.; nature including astronomy, geography, natural disaster, etc.; information about individuals that made contributions to the development of science and culture.
Although it reveals some shortcomings due to the class restrictions of the compilers, “Koryosajolyo” serves as an important national classic legacy that shows the history of the Koryo since “Koryosajolyo” and “Koryosa” constitute key documents to the research into the history of the Koryo dynasty by compensating each other’s defects.
Ri Won Chol, researcher at the Academy of Social Sciences
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Jo Apr 9, 2023
Kuryong Falls is a famous waterfall in the zone of Kuryong Pool in Outer Kumgang of Mt. Kumgang, a world-famous scenic spot.
From ancient times, it has been accepted as one of the three famous waterfalls of our country along with Pakyon Falls in Kaesong and Taesung Falls on Mt. Solak, and what is more, it is known as number one of the four famous waterfalls on Mt. Kumgang.
At the bottom of the waterfall is a pool shaped like a large stone mortar dug by the falling waters.
The pool got the name Kuryong as legend has it that there lived nine dragons defending Mt. Kumgang in old days, and the water falling down into the pool was called Kuryong Falls (“Kuryong” means “nine dragons”). Above the falls is Sangphaltam (eight pools), which is well known for the legend about “eight fairies of Mt. Kumgang”.
Pak Sin Jong, researcher at the Academy of Social Sciences
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Jo Apr 5, 2023
A catapult, a bow that works in a mechanical way, was one of the excellent weapons of Koguryo.
It was made up of two parts ― a bow and a body. The bow was for loading shooting force on the arrow and the body was for holding and directing the arrow.
Our country has the longest history of a catapult in the East. A catapult was of two types ― single-shot and multi-shot.
The most well-known multi-shot catapult was a three-arrow-shot catapult of our country in the middle ages.
Upgraded from the Koguryo’s single-shot catapult, the three-arrow-shot catapult could hold many arrows and discharge three arrows at a time.
Other countries did not have such a multi-shot catapult in those days.
The catapults invented by our resourceful ancestors were absolutely unique in structure, way of working and manufacturing technique, so they are still attracting admiration of people.
A great number of people are particularly impressed by the line of sight inscribed on the catapult that can be seen only on modern weapons.
That is why even weapon experts from other countries praised, “The simple but clever construction of a catapult amazes modern people. It is so interesting since it works like a today’s rifle. As an invention 2 000 years ago, it is absolutely amazing.”
Indeed, the catapult of Koguryo demonstrates our ancestors’ extraordinary creative wisdom and talent.
Kim Kwang Jo, researcher at the Academy of Social Sciences
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