Mansu Hill Grand Monument

Mansudae Grand Monument
Location in Pyongyang
Coordinates 39°1′55″N 125°45′12″E / 39.03194°N 125.75333°E / 39.03194; 125.75333Coordinates: 39°1′55″N 125°45′12″E / 39.03194°N 125.75333°E / 39.03194; 125.75333
Location Pyongyang, North Korea
Height 22 meters
Completion date 1972 (Kim il-sung statue), 2012 (Kim Jong-il statue)
Socialist Revolution monument

The Grand Monument on Mansu Hill (Chosungul: 만수대대기념비; Hanja: 萬壽臺大紀念碑) is a complex of monuments in Pyongyang, North Korea.

The central part of the monument are two 22-meter tall statues[1] of North Korean leaders Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il, made of bronze. Behind the statues is a wall of the Korean Revolution Museum building, displaying a mosaic mural showing a scene from Mount Paektu,[2] considered to be the sacred mountain of revolution. Next to the statues, leading away from the building, there are two monuments showing many different soldiers, workers, farmers, and so on, Anti-Japanese Revolutionary Struggle and Socialist Revolution. These memorials are 22.5 meters tall and 50 meters long. The long line of human figures depicted on them are on average 5 meters tall.

Changes made to the original statue of Kim Il-sung (left) and the initial statue of Kim Jong-il (top right) can be seen (bottom right).

The monument was constructed in April 1972, then displaying only Kim Il-sung. It was originally covered in gold leaf, but this was later altered to bronze.[3] Following Kim Jong-il's death in 2011, a similar statue of him was erected on the north side of Kim Il-sung. At the same time, Kim Il-sung's statue was altered to portray him at a later age.

The statue of Kim Jong-il initially featured a long coat but it was promptly changed to his signature parka.

Visitors who take photos of the statues are required to frame both leaders in their entirety in their pictures.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 Travel report from BBC, BBC, retrieved 2014-04-29
  2. ↑ Vale, Paul (2012-04-13). "North Korea Statues: Kim Jong-Un Attends Ceremony In Pyongyang For Unveiling Of Family Monuments". The Huffington Post UK. AOL (UK) Limited. Retrieved 2017-03-06. North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un has attended a ceremony to unveil the country’s latest political monuments - a statue of his late father Kim Jong-il, which stands next to that of his grandfather, Kim il-Sung. The twin behemoths, created from bronze, form the centre-piece of the Mansudae Grand Monument in the capital, Pyongyang.
  3. ↑ "Mansudae Grand Monument". Lonely Planet. Retrieved 2017-03-06. Every itinerary features this larger-than-life bronze statue of the Great Leader, to which a statue of Kim Jong-il in his trademark parka was added in 2012 following the Dear Leader’s death. The first statue was unveiled in 1972 to celebrate Kim Il-sung's 60th birthday. It was originally covered in gold leaf, but apparently at the objection of the Chinese, who were effectively funding the North Korean economy, this was later removed in favour of the scrubbed bronze on display today.
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