View source for Arch of Triumph (Pyongyang)

{{Short description|Monument in Pyongyang, North Korea}}{{Infobox monument
| name         = 
| native_name  = 
| image        = Vítězný oblouk - panoramio (1).jpg
| caption      = 
| location     = [[Pyongyang]], North Korea
| designer     = 
| type         = 
| material     = White granite
| length       = 
| width        = {{convert|50|m|ft}}
| height       = {{convert|60|m|ft}}
| begin        = 
| complete     = 
| open         = {{Start date|1982|04|15}}
| dedicated_to = [[Kim Il-sung]]'s resistance to Japan
| map_name     = Pyongyang
| map_text     = 
| map_width    = 
| coordinates  = 
| extra        = 
}}
{{Infobox Korean name
|context=north|title=Arch of Triumph
|hangul=개선문
|hanja={{linktext|凱|旋|門}}
|mr=Kaesŏnmun
|rr=Gaeseonmun}}
The '''Arch of Triumph''' ({{Korean|hangul=개선문|hanja=凱旋門|mr=Kaesŏnmun|context=north}}) is a [[triumphal arch]] in [[Pyongyang]], [[North Korea]]. It was built to commemorate the [[Korean resistance to Japan]] from 1925 to 1945. It is the second tallest [[Memorial gates and arches|memorial arch]] in the world, after [[Monumento a la Revolución]] in [[Mexico]], standing {{Convert|60|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} high and {{Convert|50|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} wide.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www1.korea-np.co.jp/pk/102nd_issue/99070703.htm |title=Guide to Pyongyang |publisher=The People's Korea |accessdate=2009-01-25 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080927014801/http://www1.korea-np.co.jp/pk/102nd_issue/99070703.htm |archivedate=2008-09-27 }}</ref>

Built in 1982 on the Triumph Return Square at the foot of [[Moran Hill]] ({{lang|ko|모란봉}}) in the North Korean capital city of Pyongyang, the monument was built to honour [[Kim Il Sung]]'s role in the military resistance for [[Korean independence movement|Korean independence]]. Inaugurated on the occasion of his 70th birthday, each of its 25,500 blocks of finely-dressed white [[granite]] represents a day of his life up to that point.<ref>McCormack, Gavan, ''Target North Korea: Pushing North Korea to the Brink of Nuclear Catastrophe'', p. 59. Nation Books, 2004, {{ISBN|1-56025-557-9}}.</ref>

==Design==
The structure is modeled after the [[Arc de Triomphe]] in [[Paris]], but is {{Convert|10|m|ft|0}} taller. The arch has dozens of rooms, balustrades, observation platforms and elevators. It also has four vaulted gateways, each {{Convert|27|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} high, decorated with [[azalea]] carved in their girth. Inscribed in the arch is the revolutionary hymn "[[Song of General Kim Il Sung]]", and the year 1925, when North Korean history states that Kim set out on the journey for national liberation of the country from [[Korea under Japanese rule|Japanese]] rule.<ref name="Corfield2013">{{cite book|author=Justin Corfield|title=Historical Dictionary of Pyongyang|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a46gFDWr3aMC&pg=PA9|date=July 2013|publisher=Anthem Press|isbn=978-0-85728-234-7|pages=9–}}</ref> Also depicted on the arch is the year 1945, when Korea was liberated.

==See also==
*[[Korean architecture]]
*[[Tourism in North Korea]]
*[[Juche Tower|''Juche'' Tower]]
*[[Kaeson Revolutionary Site]]
*[[Monument to Party Founding]]
*[[Memorial gates and arches]]

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
* ''Korean Central News Agency of DPRK''. [https://web.archive.org/web/20050301091748/http://www.kcna.co.jp/item/1998/9808/news08/11.htm#3 link] – last accessed on January 19, 2006.

==External links==
{{Commons category|Arch of Triumph (Pyongyang)}}
*[https://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&t=k&ll=39.044703,125.752891&spn=0.003283,0.006834 Satellite image from Google Maps]
*[http://www.naenara.com.kp/en/book/new_window.php?10+10026 ''Arch of Triumph'' picture book] at [[Naenara]]

* [https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=P46CZ7JzQn4 Video from the top]

* [https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4eCbjPWwWmY Video from inside]

*[https://www.dprk360.com/360/arch_of_triumph/ 360° Virtual Tour of Arch of Triumph]

{{Tourist attractions in Pyongyang}}
{{Authority control}}
{{coord|39|2|40|N|125|45|10|E|region:KP_type:landmark|display=title}}

[[Category:Buildings and structures completed in 1982]]
[[Category:Terminating vistas]]
[[Category:Triumphal arches|Pyongyang]]
[[Category:Monuments and memorials in North Korea]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Pyongyang]]
[[Category:1982 establishments in North Korea]]
[[Category:20th-century architecture in North Korea]]
[[Category:Military history of Pyongyang]]