The Mansu Hill Grand Monument () is a complex of monuments in

Pyongyang Pyongyang () is the Capital city, capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is sometimes labeled as the "Capital of the Revolution" (). Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. Accordi ...

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...

. There are 229 figures in all, commemorating the history of the revolutionary struggle of the Korean people, and especially their leaders. The central part of the monument consists of two

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals (such as phosphorus) or metalloid ...

statues A statue is a free-standing sculpture in which the realistic, full-length figures of persons or animals are carved or cast in a durable material such as wood, metal or stone. Typical statues are life-sized or close to life-size. A sculpture ...

Kim Il Sung Kim Il Sung (born Kim Song Ju; 15 April 1912 – 8 July 1994) was a North Korean politician and the founder of North Korea, which he led as its first Supreme Leader (North Korean title), supreme leader from North Korea#Founding, its establishm ...

and

Kim Jong Il Kim Jong Il (born Yuri Kim; 16 February 1941 or 1942 – 17 December 2011) was a North Korean politician who was the second Supreme Leader (North Korean title), supreme leader of North Korea from Death and state funeral of Kim Il Sung, the de ...

History

In April 1972,

erected the monument in honor of Kim Il Sung's 60th birthday. The monument features the Great Leader alone overlooking Pyongyang. Five years later, the statue was covered in gold leaf. Soon after, this gold plating was removed after a visit from

Deng Xiaoping Deng Xiaoping also Romanization of Chinese, romanised as Teng Hsiao-p'ing; born Xiansheng (). (22 August 190419 February 1997) was a Chinese statesman, revolutionary, and political theorist who served as the paramount leader of the People's R ...

, who, after seeing the monument, expressed displeasure with how Chinese aid was being spent. 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 and smiling. Kim Il Sung's original Mao suit was also replaced with a Western-style

suit A suit, also called a lounge suit, business suit, dress suit, or formal suit, is a set of clothes comprising a suit jacket and trousers of identical textiles generally worn with a collared dress shirt, necktie, and dress shoes. A skirt su ...

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

parka A parka, like the related anorak, is a type of coat (clothing), coat with a hood (headgear), hood, that may be lining (sewing), lined with fur or fake fur. Parkas and anoraks are staples of Inuit clothing, traditionally made from Reindeer, cari ...

. South Korean sources have estimated the cost of the additional statue at $10 million, with North Korean workers working overseas being ordered to donate $150 each towards the monument.

Daily NK ''Daily NK'' () is an online newspaper based in Seoul, South Korea, where it reports on various aspects of North Korean society from information obtained from inside and outside of North Korea via a network of informants. North Korea is ranked 17 ...

reported that satellite images showed construction activity (cranes and canopy) around the statues from late April until early June of 2024. According to Daily NK, construction activity included: cleaning, polishing, painting, plating, rust removal, upgrading the lightning rods, and upgrading the sound system which plays solemn music around the clock. They also reported that during the construction period, maintenance was also performed on a hydraulic elevator system in a tunnel under the statues.

Description

Behind the central statues is a wall of the Korean Revolution Museum building, displaying a mosaic mural showing a scene from Mount Paektu, considered to be the sacred mountain of revolution. On either side of the statues, leading away from the building, are two monuments consisting of statues of different soldiers, workers, and farmers in their anti-Japanese revolutionary struggle and socialist revolution. The long line of human figures depicted on them are on average tall. An official North Korean website describes it thus: All visitors to the site, both locals and foreigners, are expected to bow to show respect. Locals are required to leave flowers in order to show respect and foreigners are also given the option. Photos of the statues are permitted, but the photos must capture the statues in their entirety. Close-up photos of any part of the leader's statues are strictly forbidden.

References

External links

* {{Tourist attractions in Pyongyang Monuments and memorials in North Korea Buildings and structures in Pyongyang Tourist attractions in Pyongyang Statues of heads of government Outdoor sculptures in North Korea Statues of presidents Statues in North Korea 1972 establishments in North Korea 1972 sculptures Colossal statues 20th-century architecture in North Korea