Triumphal Arch (Pyongyang)

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Triumphal Arch in Pyongyang
Triumphal arch
Korean alphabet : 개선문
Hanja : 凱旋 門
Revised Romanization : Gaeseonmun
McCune-Reischauer : Kaesŏnmun

The Arch of Triumph ( Kaesŏnmun ) in Pyongyang , the capital of North Korea , is located at the foot of Moran Hill in front of the Kim Il-sung Stadium on Chilsongmun Street in the Moranbong-guyŏk district and is located at the Kaesŏn metro station .
It is modeled on the triumphal arch in Paris , but three meters higher than its French counterpart and thus the highest triumphal arch in the world.

The monument serves to commemorate the return of Kim Il-sung from the so-called Patriotic War of Liberation . It is one of the main tourist attractions in the city. It was built by the North Korean company Mansudae Overseas Projects .

Architecture and symbolism

Verses from the song of General Kim Il-sung

The triumphal arch was built in 1982 on an area of ​​2210 square meters and from a total of 10,500 granite blocks and, like the Chuch'e Tower , was inaugurated on the 70th birthday of the then North Korean ruler Kim Il-sung . It is 60 meters high and 50 meters wide and has an archway framed with azaleas carved in stone on each of its four sides . The height of the arches decorated in relief is 27 meters, the width 18.60 meters.

The first two stanzas from the song by General Kim Il-sung can be read over one of the arches through which the four-lane road runs . The paektusan is pictured above another . On the supporting pillars on the left and right of this arch, referring to the Japanese rule in Korea , are the dates 1925 and 1945. Kim Il-sung is said to have moved to Manchuria in 1925 at the age of 13 to liberate the country Successfully returned in 1945. In the niches at the foot of these columns are statues on both sides that are supposed to represent fighters for independence from the Japanese Empire ; with waved flags, soldiers, workers, and an armed mother and children.

  • Left group of sculptures

  • Right group of sculptures

On the triumphal arch there are several viewing platforms that can be accessed with an elevator.

Motif on banknotes and postage stamps

The triumphal arch on the 500 won note

The triumphal arch is depicted on the front of the 2008 500 won note and as a watermark on the 1992 100 won note. There is also a photograph of the sheet on the 40 chon stamp of the series of stamps on the subject of building streets from 1993. There is a stop for the Pyongyang trolleybus in the immediate vicinity .

Russian postage stamp

In 2015, a stamp was issued in Russia on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of Korean independence with a motif of the triumphal arch.

Web links

Commons : Arc de Triomphe  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Philipp Meuser (Ed.): Architectural Guide Pyongyang. Volume 1: Photos and Descriptions. DOM publishers, Berlin 2011, ISBN 978-3-86922-126-7 , p. 112.
  2. ^ Paul French: North Korea. The paranoid peninsula. A modern history. Zed Books, London et al. 2005, ISBN 1-8427-7472-7 , p. 299
  3. ^ Arno Maierbrugger: North Korea Handbook. On the move in a mysterious land . 2nd, updated and expanded edition. Trescher, Berlin 2007, ISBN 978-3-89794-114-4 , pp. 112 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
  4. ^ Rüdiger Frank : North Korea. Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, Munich 2014, page 37, ISBN 978-3-421-04641-3 .
  5. ^ Philipp Meuser (Ed.): Architectural Guide Pyongyang. Volume 2: Background and Comments. DOM publishers, Berlin 2011, ISBN 978-3-86922-126-7 , p. 46.

Coordinates: 39 ° 3 '  N , 125 ° 45'  E