Jo Feb 3, 2023
The monument to Mausoleum of King Kwanggaetho is a stone monument erected in 414 by his son, King Jangsu (25th king), in praise of the meritorious deeds of King Kwanggaetho, 24th king of Koguryo (ruling period: ３9１－４１２). The mausoleum is located 6 kilometres north-east of Kungnae Walled City (Jian City, Jilin Province), the second capital of Koguryo.
The monument is made up of a body stone and a stone pedestal. On the four sides of the smoothly processed body are drawn lines vertically and horizontally where letters are inscribed clearly. Only 1 530 of the letters written vertically in 44 lines are recognizable.
The words on the monument are largely divided into three parts.
The first part covers from the legend of the founder of Koguryo to the enthronement and demise of King Kwanggaetho. The second part deals in detail with the meritorious deeds of extending the territory of Koguryo performed by King Kwanggaetho. The third part regulates the number limit of mausoleum guards and the rules they had to follow.
The monument reflects the struggle and desire of Koguryo people for the unification of the three kingdoms. It also has a lot of valuable information that is not found in documentary records of political, social and economic situations of Koguryo, class relations, and relations with Silla, Paekje and Japan, etc. of that time.
The letters are written in a peculiar font, Yeso. The majestic and vigorous font demonstrates the lively and vigorous spirit of Koguryo people.
The monument gives an account of the vastness of the territory and the might of Koguryo, the eastern power. For its magnificence (longest and biggest of all grave stones made by our ancestors) and rich content, it proves to be precious cultural inheritance of our nation and important material for historical research.
Kim Son Yong, researcher at the Academy of Social Sciences
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Jo Jan 8, 2023
The site of Anhak Palace, a royal palace of Koguryo, covers a large area of Anhak-dong, Taesong District, Pyongyang City.
It was built when the capital of Koguryo moved from present-day Jian, Jilin to Pyongyang. Anhak Palace was for normal times, while Fort on Mt. Taesong was for emergency.
The palace site is surrounded by earthen castle walls. Each side of the square castle is 622 meters. The area of the site is as large as about 380 000㎡. In the castle, 52 palaces stand with the eaves facing one another on the total floor space of 31 458㎡.
A moat was dug outside around the walls of the castle to reinforce the defence. There were three castle gates on the southern wall and one on the eastern, western and northern walls each.
The palaces in the castle were disposed along the north-south central axis.
The palaces constituted five architectural groups ― outer palace, inner palace, bedchamber palace, eastern palace and western palace.
The outer palace was for great state ceremonies and the inner palace was for ordinary state affairs. The bedchamber palace was the king’s dwelling place.
The eastern palace was the Crown prince’s palace, and in the western palace were people serving in the palace and administration facilities. In the palace castle were laid out ponds in various sizes and gardens with artificial slopes. The site of Anhak Palace gives us a glimpse into the excellent architecture of that time. Such system of Koguryo’s royal palaces was introduced into Paekje and Silla, the countries of the same blood, and the later feudal royal palaces of our country.
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Jo Jan 4, 2023
Hansan Great Victory, Jinju Great Victory and Haengju Great Victory, the major great victories won in the battles against Japanese invaders during the Imjin Patriotic War, are called Imjin 3 Great Victories.
Hansan Great Victory
In July, 1592, Admiral Ri Sun Sin in command of Jollado naval force decoyed 73 enemy ships in Kyonnaeryang in the southern sea of Kyongsang Province to the sea off Hansan Island with the tactics of allurement and encirclement. There, they annihilated 59 enemy ships and thousands of enemy soldiers.
Jinju Great Victory
In October, 1592, the warriors and people in Jinju Fort repelled the attack of Japanese invaders mercilessly under the command of Kim Si Min, thus defending the fort successfully.
Haengju Great Victory
In February, 1593, the defending warriors and women in the fort on Mt. Haengju achieved a great victory under the command of Kwon Ryul by fighting bravely to repulse the attack of ten times as many Japanese invaders.
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Jo Jan 2, 2023
The knowledge and visions of the map experts in our country in the fifteenth century were not restricted to the country but broaden to the world.
It resulted in two world maps: “Honilgangriryoktaeguktojido” in the early 15th century and “Chonhado” in 1469.
They are elaborate enough to show several tens of names of places in Europe, Africa and even the Middle and Near East
For clear distinction of different parts like lands, seas and deserts, seas are painted in blue and deserts in black, which ensures high visual effect as a map.
They contain not only the maps of our country and the world but also separate ones of other individual countries including then China, Japan, etc.
In conclusion, our ancestors, creators of time-honored and brilliant culture, made great progress in geography, too.
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Jo Dec 27, 2022
Every country has their symbolic animals that reflect the history and culture, excellent dispositions and extraordinary abilities of their people. Among them is a dog.
Phungsan Dog is a native breed of Korea that has left an indelible mark in the history of our nation for thousands of years. It has been tamed for ages by our ancestors in severe natural environments of the northern uplands where there were a large number of beasts such as a tiger, a bear, a wild boar, a wolf, etc.
Well adapted to the topography and climate of the mountainous forest areas in our country, the dog has features of a typical hunting dog. It is famous for its cleverness, persistence, bravery and swiftness. Though this dog is of smooth nature and quite obedient to its keeper at ordinary times, it shows a strong fighting spirit and bravery at the time of hunting and it never gives a fight up. Full of vitality, it is resistant to the cold and diseases.
It was registered as a state natural monument in April, Juche 45 (1956) thanks to the state measure taken by President
When visiting Ryanggang Province in May, Juche 47(1958), the President said that Phungsan Dog thoroughbred is a very good breed, underscoring the need to survey its thoroughbred.
Chairman
On November 7, Juche 103(2014), the respected Comrade
Today, Phungsan Dog is widely known as a national dog that symbolizes the spirit of properous Juche Korea and as a world’s famous dog.
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Jo Dec 24, 2022
The Korean people, who have loved cleanliness from ancient times, invented methods of making and altering national clothes suited to their physiques and hobbies in the course of creative labor. Constantly developing them, they have been proud of being dressed in neat clothes.
While washing their clothes, our people discovered effective washing methods to wash dirt away in consideration of the material for clothes. Laundry usually went through primary washing, main washing and boiling before being rinsed and dried. In the primary washing, the first step in the washing, laundry is dipped in warm water for a light rub. It was mainly for heavily soiled laundry such as the inside of quilts. In the main washing, detergents are applied to the primarily washed ones before rubbing, clubbing or stamping. Due attention should be paid to the washing of silk fabric or velvet that are widely used for Korean clothes.
When ironing velvet, it should be held up from the floor, with its naps facing downwards.
Korean clothes should be carefully stored according to the seasons. Neatly folded clothes should be placed layer upon layer in a drawer: those for the present season on the top, those for the next season under them and those for the last season on the bottom. Those for a long time of storage need special care. For example, Korean jackets are placed with their right and left skirts aligned before the breast-ties are brought together, and then they are folded on the shorter breast-tie. The sleeves are folded on the armpit line. The skirt trimly folded in five to six folds is folded in half length. It is a good idea to hang skirts on a hanger.
It is important to be well aware of the methods of washing and keeping Korean clothes and to get dressed culturally.
Kang Hyon Sim, researcher at the Academy of Social Sciences
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