Juche Tower

The Juche Tower (more formally, Tower of the Juche Thought) is a monument in Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea, named after the ideology of Juche introduced by the country's first leader, Kim Il-sung.

Juche Tower
Juche Tower at night
Location in Pyongyang
LocationPyongyang, North Korea
DesignerKim Jong-il
MaterialGranite and white stone
Height170 metres (560 ft)
Completion date1982 (1982)
Dedicated toJuche ideology
Juche Tower
Juche Tower
Chosŏn'gŭl
Hancha
Revised RomanizationJuche Sasangtap
McCune–ReischauerChuch'e Sasangt'ap

Background

The Juche Tower is situated on the east bank of the River Taedong, directly opposite Kim Il-sung Square on the west bank. It was built to commemorate Kim Il-sung's 70th birthday. Although his son and successor Kim Jong-il is officially credited as its designer,[1] interviews with North Korean former officials contradict this assertion.[2]

The architectural style of the Tower is inspired by stone pagodas of premodern Korea.[3] The 170-metre (560 ft) structure is a four-sided tapering 150-metre (490 ft) spire – the tallest in granite – containing 25,550 blocks (365 × 70: one for each day of Kim Il-sung's life, excluding supplementary days for leap years),[4] dressed in white stone with seventy dividers and capped with a 20-metre (66 ft)-high 45-ton illuminated metal torch.

The torch on top of the tower is always lit.[5] It is possible to ascend the tower by elevator and there are wide views over Pyongyang from the viewing platform just below the torch.

At its base, there are reception rooms where videos explaining the tower's ideological importance are sometimes shown. It is presumed to be modelled on the Washington Monument, which it surpasses in height by less than a meter.[6] The Juche Tower is the second tallest monumental column in the world after the San Jacinto Monument, which is 2.9 metres (9.5 ft) taller.

Associated with the tower is a 30-metre (98 ft)-high statue consisting of three idealised figures each holding a tool – a hammer (the worker); a sickle (the peasant); and a writing brush (the "working intellectual") – in a classic Stalinistic-style reminiscent of the Soviet statue Worker and Kolkhoz Woman. The three tools form the emblem of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea. There are also six smaller groups of figures, each 10 metres (33 ft) high, that symbolize other aspects of Juche ideology.

A wall carrying 82 friendship plaques from foreign supporters and Juche study groups forms part of the Tower.[7]

  • The Tower and Workers' Party monument seen up close.
  • Tribute Plaques to the Juche interior contained in the interior entrance of the tower.
  • The lower part of the Tower of Juche Idea, with the Taedong River in the foreground and symmetric buildings in the background.
  • View from the Juche Tower looking at Kim Il Sung Square
  • View of the Tower from Kim Il Sung Square

See also

Notes
  1. Coonan, Clifford (21 October 2006). "Kim Jong Il, the tyrant with a passion for wine, women and the bomb". The Independent. Retrieved 11 October 2008.
  2. Martin, Bradly K. (2004). Under The Loving Care of The Fatherly Leader. Macmillan. p. 626. ISBN 0-312-32221-6.
  3. Harris, Mark Edward (2012). Inside North Korea. Chronicle Books. p. 24. ISBN 978-1-4521-1363-0.
  4. http://www.lonelyplanet.com/north-korea/pyongyang/sights/landmarks-monuments/tower-juche-idea
  5. Toimela, Markku; Aalto, Kaj (2017). Salakahvilla Pohjois-Koreassa : Markku Toimelan jännittävä tie Pohjois-Korean luottomieheksi (in Finnish). Jyväskylä: Docendo. p. 194. ISBN 978-952-291-369-2.
  6. McCormack, Gavan (2004). Target North Korea: Pushing North Korea to the Brink of Nuclear Catastrophe. Nation Books. p. 59. ISBN 1-560-25557-9.
  7. "Juche Tower". Visit North Korea. Retrieved 24 April 2019.

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