Jo May 11, 2024
Every country and every nation in the world have their own manners of salutation.
However, hardly any of them are like ours, which satisfactorily and clearly expresses politeness to people in different social standings and age ranges.
From olden times, our people have observed the proprieties by either making a deep bow or bowing their heads when they see or part from one another.
According to our greeting etiquette, a deep bow is supposed to be made to the elders and seniors respectfully with some polite words for their health, and a slight bow to the people of the same age. Lowering one’s heads is appropriate for greeting younger ones.
Josonjol, the morally superior, hygienically impeccable and cultured greeting manners of our own style, is the best of all.
How our country could be widely known to the world as a country of courteous people in the East is also attributable, to some extent, to the fact that the people had created and constantly developed such admirable greeting etiquette.
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Jo May 9, 2024
Steamed rice cake (paeksolgi in Korean where paek means ‘white’) is named after its colour which is as white as snow. It was first introduced as paeksolgo in “Kyuhapchongso”, a book of the early nineteenth century.
Snow-white steamed rice cake reflects our people’s honesty and faithfulness. Steamed rice cake has been regarded as indispensable for several occasions like a party given to a hundred-day-old baby, the first birthday of a baby, a wedding, etc.
The custom of preparing steamed rice for hundred-day-old babies is associated with parents’ wish for them to grow up healthily and honestly like snow-white steamed rice cake.
Sharing with neighbors the dishes including steamed rice cake prepared for the day, Korean people have exchanged congratulatory remarks and shared joy with one another for good harmony and unity. Such beautiful characteristics are still being handed down.
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Jo May 5, 2024
The crater of Mt Paektu full of mysteries gives a view of extraordinary falls, too.
In the rainy season, the cliffs of the crater are covered with falling water, forming crater waterfalls. When a strong northwesterly wind blows up the slopes of the crater, it changes the downward flow into “upward waterfalls” like spout from a fountain. These extraordinary “upward waterfalls” are seen in the spring thaw from May to June and in the rain spell from July to August.
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Jo May 3, 2024
PhD. Associate Prof. Kwon Chang Dok, a section head at the Faculty of Mining Engineering, is a competent scientist who has made a distinguished contribution to the agricultural development of the country and to the improvement of the people’s living standard. Having developed a paddy rice cultivation method by electrical pulse water treatment, he has introduced and generalized it to a huge number of farms across the country in the last nine years.
Finding that the water treatment technology highly effective in floatation and leaching of nonferrous mineral significantly influences the growth of animals and plants by activating water, he started research for introducing it to stockbreeding, fish farming and vegetable farming followed by paddy rice farming. Starting from a 500-phyong (1 phyong = 3.954 sq. yds) test rice field, he rapidly expanded the area year by year. As a result, he made proud successes of increased yield of a huge amount of rice in a hundred thousand jongbo (1 jongbo = 2.451 acres) of paddy-fields in 2023.
In the course of making a lot of scientific research successes, he was highly appreciated by Chairman
During those days, he moved into a new flat in Kyongru-dong in April, 2022, and he had the greatest honor of having a significant photo session with the respected Comrade
Now he is full of enthusiasm to devote all his talent, wisdom and passion to open up a breakthrough for the economic development of the country with torchlight of science and technology, bearing in mind the trust and expectation of the Party and the fatherland that put him forward as a state top-honor scientist & technician.
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Jo Apr 7, 2024
Kyuhyonginjiui, the first surveying instrument invented in Korea in 1467, was used to identify targets and directions on the ground and measure heights and distances.
It was also called injiui.
The instrument consists of two parts; a vertical axis and a horizontal scale plate that revolves around the axis vertically.
Kyuhyong, a device for aiming at target objects is attached to the axis, goes up and down vertically.
There are 24 directions inscribed on the plate for direction finding.
You can aim at any objects by turning the vertical axis round and moving kyuhyong up and down along the axis.
The compass installed on the instrument helped correct aiming.
Kyuhyonginjiui survey was, in principle, the same as present plane table surveying.
Such instrument for surveying was not found in European countries until the late 16th century, and a similar one to Kyuhyonginjiui was finally built in a German factory in the 17th century.
The fact that Korean ancestors made and used such a surveying instrument as Kyuhyonginjiui a century before other countries demonstrates their high creative wisdom and talent.
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Jo Apr 4, 2024
Moran Hill is located on the bank of the Taedong River, which flows through Pyongyang City. It was called Kumsu Hill during the feudal Joson dynasty. Later, it was given the name “Moran Hill” as it resembles a peony (pronounced like ‘moran’ in Korean)
Regarding it as a pride of Pyongyang from olden times, Korean people have created many legends related to the hill.
The legends reflective of the attachment to and love for Moran Hill are associated with the pride in having the beautiful Moran Hill and with the patriotism of Korean people who defended it from foreign aggressors.
The legends in praise of the beauty of Moran Hill are “Hungbudong” and “Story of Chongryu Cliff”. The former is about a mysterious spring and the latter says that the beautiful Chongryu Cliff was formed by the wonder of nature of the Dragon King, who was impressed by a boy with a heart of gold in Pyongyang.
The beautiful and noble customs and manners of Pyongyang people are depicted in such legends like “Chongryu Pavilion in Moonlight” conveying the sincerity of a boy in Kangdong who tried to save a girl in the Walled City of Pyongyang from misery and “Door of Happiness” reflective of the sentiments of the people.
Among the legends that represent the fighting spirit of the Pyongyang people who defended the beautiful city Pyongyang are “Ulmil Warrior” about a warrior who devoted himself to the defense of Pyongyang and Moran Hill, and “Kye Wol Hyang and ‘A Man of Heroic and Noble Mind’” about the struggle of Kye Wol Hyang, a young woman, who turned out in the fight against Japanese invaders.
As mentioned above, the legends of Moran Hill serve as priceless cultural heritage of our nation as they represent the desire and aspiration to boast of the beauty of Moran Hill to the world, the patriotism of Korean people, who defended it against foreign aggressors, and their beautiful sentiments.
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