Jo Oct 1, 2025
The Korean people have celebrated Chusok (Harvest Moon Day) as a great folk holiday from olden times.
The term Chusok, which literally means autumn evening, originated from the practice of celebrating the full moon day in autumn of abundant harvest.
The Korean people have long regarded visiting their ancestral graves on the day of Chusok as a natural duty and a traditional custom.
When they visited their ancestral graves, they carried dishes cooked of new cereals to hold a memorial service, dressed in festive clothing.
For successful celebration of Chusok, they made all dishes the day before.
The special festival dishes of Chusok are half-moon-shaped new rice cake, steamed rice cake, chestnut dumpling, liquor, etc., among which half-moon-shaped rice cake has been accepted to be indispensable as a symbolic dish of Chusok.
Nochi made of glutinous rice powder, malty powder, etc. was also famous as a special dish of Pyongyang
People enjoyed the day playing several folk games including ssirum, swinging, tug of war, etc.
Enjoying the full moon was another custom of the day.
They either gathered in their house yards or climbed high mountains around them to see the rising moon.
This custom reflects the inner world of the sentimental and emotional Korean nation.
The Korean people still celebrate Chusok significantly as a traditional folk holiday and as an occasion of recollecting the unforgettable revolutionary forerunners, comrades, family members, relatives and friends who passed away.
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Jo Sep 10, 2025
Kwangbop Temple, situated in Taesong-dong, Taesong District, is one of the typical Buddhist temples in Pyongyang and the surrounding area. It was built during the period ruled by King Kwanggaetho of Koguryo and rebuilt in 1727. In July, 1952, during the Fatherland Liberation War, it was completely destroyed by the US imperialists’ bombing and it was restored to its original state in 1990.
Kwangbop Temple is comprised of Taeung Hall, eastern and western monasteries, five-storied octagonal pagoda, etc. The buildings are distributed symmetrically with the pagoda in the center. The way of siting buildings on the four sides of a pagoda was frequently found in the period of Koguryo.
Taeung Hall, the main building of the temple, is a magnificent two-storied gabled house. In the hall are placed three Buddhist statues including Shakyamuni Tathagata and some Buddhist images. The hall is painted colorfully in glittering gold.
The lotus pond transmitted from olden times and the monument to Kwangbop Temple erected in 1727 still remain around the temple. The legend about the nine dragons and ninety-nine ponds of Mt. Taesong, namely, Mt. Kuryong is recorded on the monument.
Kwangbop Temple on the picturesque Mt. Taesong is in good preservation and care as a national treasure and a precious cultural legacy demonstrating the advanced architectural skills of Korean ancestors in those times.
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Jo Sep 8, 2025
Hwajang Hermitage, belonging to Pohyon Temple of Mt Myohyang, was first built in the period of Koryo and was rebuilt several times after 1654. The present building was rebuilt in 1818. The hermitage is four kans (11.95m) long and two kans (5.55m) wide. The foundation stones are natural ones and the ceiling is coffered. The front wall is painted with fairies flying in the sky and there is a corridor along it.
Unlike other hermitages for sitting in religious meditation, Hwajang Hermitage was a place for teaching the Buddhist Scripture and even Confucianism-related things. Therefore, it is said to have been much frequented by those who worshipped Buddhism and Confucianism.
The priests decorated this hermitage colorfully to implant Buddhism into them. Hwajang Hermitage, one of the Buddhist temple buildings of the feudal Joson dynasty, is a precious historical relic visited by a lot of people as one of the sightseeing beauties of Manphok Valley on Mt Myohyang.
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Jo Sep 1, 2025
Jongum Gate is the southern gate of the northern castle of the Walled City of Pyongyang in the period of Koguryo. It is on Moran Hill in Pyongyang City.
First built in the mid-sixth century, it was repaired and reconstructed several times.
The present gatehouse, which was rebuilt in 1714 and burnt down during the past Fatherland Liberation War, was restored to the original state in 1959.
The embankment piled up with smoothly faced granite has a beautiful stable arched gateway, which is about 3 meters wide, 3.4 meters high and 6.35 meters long.
On the embankment is a gate house, which is three kans (7.36 meters) long and two kans (4.35 meters) wide.
Jongum Gate is a precious cultural relic that demonstrates the excellent architecture of the Korean ancestors and their patriotic spirit of bravely fighting against foreign aggressors.
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Jo Aug 11, 2025
A jottae (a Korean bamboo flute) is a national woodwind instrument from the period of Koguryo. It was also called transverse flute as it is played transversely. It was first made in Koguryo. In Paekje and Silla, they introduced the Koguryo jottae to make several kinds of bamboo instruments. Later, around the period of Koryo and feudal Joson dynasty, it became a major tune instrument. Its mouthpiece is oval and very big, which requires high technical skills to play.
You play the jottae with its head on your left shoulder and with your lips at the mouthpiece. You make vibrato by means of the up-and-down movements of your left elbow connected with the jottae. It is characterized by the gentle, soft, sweet and elegant timbre.
The Korean bamboo flute widely played by the Korean people was improved into three kinds: ordinary jottae, high-pitched jottae and low-pitched jottae, and it developed into the one capable of playing modern music skillfully with its peculiar features unchanged.
The improved ones are made of wood from paktal trees and red sandalwood instead of bamboo, which guarantees scientific accuracy and unity in their making.
Today, the Korean bamboo flute is mainly used for solos and ensembles, and, in particular, it is used as a major instrument for elegant and plaintive tones in the mixed orchestral music of a Juche type.
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Jo Aug 6, 2025
Sungin Hall is a shrine built at the end of the Koryo age, standing together with Sungnyong Hall by the Pyongyang Students and Children’s Palace.
It was first built in 1325 in the late period of Koryo. It underwent three thorough repairs in 1352 and 1428 and finally in 1954 immediately after the Fatherland Liberation War, to be in the present state.
Sungin Hall, which was originally comprised of 10-odd buildings including the main building, was damaged by the aggressors during the Imjin Patriotic War and the Fatherland Liberation War, as a result of which only the main building, the gate and the monument pavilion survived. The central building alone was moved next to Sungnyong Hall in 1977.
This building for ancestor worship was promoted in its name in 1612 to be called Sungin Hall. It is a precious historical relic that demonstrates the excellent architecture of Koryo, providing a lot of information for studying the architectural history of Korea.
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