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Pyongyang, March 14 (KCNA) -- The first exhibition of historical paintings is now open in the DPRK. Put on display at the Korean Central History Museum are more than 280 Korean paintings which show the long history and culture of the Korean nation ranging from the primitive age to the Ri dynasty. In the part of the primitive age, paintings "ancient banks of the River Taedong", "making stone implements", "earthenware making" and "rice farming in the area of Pyongyang" vividly show that human beings originated in the area of Pyongyang and primitive history and culture were developed by them.
In the part of ancient Korea, "picture of Tangun, ancestral father of nation, "proclamation of foundation of ancient Korea", "scenic spots with the legend of Tangun", "building a dolmen tomb" and "making a Pipha-shaped dagger" show the history and culture of Pyongyang. The mightiness, bravery and superiority of the Korean nation can be seen by "how about your going back for your great feats" and "Hapsu Battle" in the part of the Koguryo dynasty and by "Matan Nattle" and "making the first metallic type in the world" in the part of the Koryo dynasty.
In the part of the Ri dynasty "killing of queen min" and "wail of history" show the grief of the nation deprived of the country. Also put on show are "the most beautiful place in the world", an old calligraphic work at the Ryongwang pavilion in Pyongyang and other works of distinguished calligraphers. The attention of visitors is focused on pictures of Tangun, Tongmyong, Wanggon and other founder kings, over 50 famous patriotic generals and men of great reputation, landscape paintings, paintings of flowers and birds and pictures of still life.
Pyongyang, January 28, 2002 (KCNA) -- The Samsong temple on Mt. Kuwol is one of Korea's ancient cultural relics. From ancient Korea it was called Tangun Temple because a memorial service was made there for Tangun and renamed Samsong temple from the end of the Koryo dynasty as memorial services were held for three sages--grandfather of Tangun, father of Tangun and Tangun. The temple is associated with the patriotic spirit of the founder of Taejonggyo Ra Chol who committed suicide at the temple while waging an anti-Japanese struggle after coming there in protest against the Japanese imperialists' occupation of Korea and their policy of vandalism against Tangun. It was burnt by the Japanese imperialist aggressors but restored to its former glory in the days when Mt. Kuwol was rebuilt into a world-famous beauty spot. The temple has the Samsong Shrine with a crane-shaped roof which looks golden, red and blue at each corner, the Yanghyon hall for training sages, the Yongbin hall to accommodate guests, Jonsa room which keeps sachet and various dishes and utensils for rituals, a lodging house for keepers and a gate that looks like a kind of an open building with a roof which lacks eaves and rounded side boarding at either end.
Pyongyang, December 14, 2001 (KCNA) -- The spokesman for the council for reunification of Tangun nation today released a statement bitterly denouncing pro-American anti-communist Christian organizations in South Korea for the destruction of statues of Tangun as despicable immoral vandalism of insulting the ancestral father of the nation and an anti-national, anti-reunification crime designed to wreck national reconciliation and unity and escalate confrontation and tensions. Pro-U.S. anti-communist Christian organizations such as "the Federation of Christians," "the Council of Evangelism," "the Forum of Churchmen" and "the Council of Christian Leaders" destroyed statues of Tangun and are now busy conducting a smear campaign against the north over the issue of Tangun.
The statement said: Thanks to the correct policy of the government of the DPRK it was scientifically ascertained that Tangun, who had been known as a mythical being, actually existed and the reconstruction of King Tangun's mausoleum on an expansion basis on the highest level is the pride of the nation. Any Korean should make every effort to protect and glorify the excellent traditions of the Tangun nation with such national pride. The afore-said Christian organizations in South Korea, however, heaped intolerable abuses on the DPRK that found out the ancestral father of the nation and built his mausoleum and "the Alliance for the Movement of Hongik Culture" keeps destroying statues of Tangun in different parts of South Korea. If those organizations continue destroying statues of Tangun and inciting confrontation, ignoring the repeated warnings of the fellow countrymen, they will meet a stern judgment by history and the nation.
Pyongyang, November 29 (KCNA) -- The Korean publications import and export company has recently published "Korean history seen through pictures", a 100-volumes cycle of picture books which has already seen 20 volumes off the press. The homogeneous Korean nation boasts fine cultural traditions spanning its 5,000 years of history, but for ages the flunkeyist historians distorted or emasculated national history and foreign invaders destroyed or plundered a large stock of historical materials and relics. After Korea's liberation from Japanese colonial rule, under the wise guidance of the Workers' Party of Korea, Korean history was smoothed out into a proper system and a multitude of distortions or omissions were straightened out.
The pictorial cycle shows the course of history from the reign of Tangun (founder king of Korea's first state in the early 30th century B.C.) to the early 20th century, through superbly illustrated accounts of state-founding myths, great events, historical figures, the rise and fall of successive dynasties and episodes. Its vocabulary and plots are so legible and instructive as to give an insight of 5,000-year-long Korean history. It was compiled by Choe Hong Sik, a writer well versed in history, after years of information gathering and research, and illustrated by such famous merited artists as Cha Hyong Sam and Kim Yong Gwang. The printing of the pictorial will be completed by April Juche 91 (2002).
Pyongyang, October 3 (KCNA) -- A ceremony was held at King Tan'gun's mausoleum in Kangdong county, Pyongyang, today on the foundation day of Korea. Tan'gun is the ancestral father of the Korean nation. He was the founder of the first state of ancient Korea. The history of the Tangun nation's state foundation had been considered to be a myth. But it was President Kim Il Sung who, possessed of a noble patriotic will, instructed that King Tan'gun's mausoleum was unearthed and Tan'gun's remains and the year he died were scientifically ascertained. The discovery proved in 1993 that he was born 5011 years ago and actually existed and a state of ancient Korea was set up in the area of Pyongyang 5,000 years ago.
Present at the ceremony were Kim Yong Dae, chairman of the central committee of the Korean Social Democratic Party and president of the national reconciliation council, Ryu Mi Yong, chairperson of the central committee of the Korean Chondoist Chongu Party who is president of the consultative council for the reunification of the Tangun nation, officials of political parties, power organs, social organizations and religious organizations in the DPRK and overseas compatriots. The participants paid homage to King Tan'gun at a memorial service for him. Ryu Mi Yong said in her address that the commemoration of the foundation day of Korea by the Korean people, who are descendants of Tan'gun, is of great significance in accelerating the cause of independent reunification of the country by the concerted efforts of the Korean people bolstering up the pride and self-respect of being the homogeneous nation who has lived for 5,000 years since Korea was founded by him. She was followed by other speakers. A folk art performance was given by artistes in Pyongyang at the ceremony.
Pyongyang, August 19, 2001 (KCNA) -- Delegates of orders of the South Korean national religions council visited the mausoleum of King Tangun, ancestral father of the Korean nation, at the foot of Mt. Taebak in Kangdong county, Pyongyang, today to pray for him. At the praying ceremony, a ritual prayer was read out. The prayer hoped that Tangun would open wide the door of reunification, the cherished desire of the nation, and bring eternal prosperity to it. The visitors looked round the monument to the reconstructed mausoleum of King Tangun, stone sculptures, the chamber of the mausoleum, etc.
Pyongyang, May 11, 2001 (KCNA) -- Many calabash-shaped pots have been unearthed at the sites of dwellings, dolmens and stone coffin tombs which are believed to be in the period of Tangun's Korea (early 30th century bc-14th century BC) in and around Pyongyang, Phyodae in Samsok district included. Calabash-shaped pot, typical earthenware of this period, is literally shaped like a calabash without calyx. It resembles calabash not only in appearance but also in size. It is generally gray or dark gray. as its shape is unique and the surface is smooth, it gives a feeling of softness. Among this kind of pots, there are those whose bottoms are round, flat and pointed and those whose upper body is embossed with a belt pattern consisting of lines. There are two or four holds of various shapes as additional patterns, such as knob-shape, ring-shape, lip-shape and half-moon-shape.
This gives an admirable symmetrical effect. Calabash-shaped pot has been called Misongri-type pot, whose name was derived from Misong-ri, Uiju county, North Phyongan Province, where it was unearthed at a cave there for the first time. In and around Pyongyang, artifacts of three forms of calabash-shaped pot have been found and the small pot with a long neck, which is believed to be the origin of the pot, has been discovered only in the Pyongyang area. This is another evidence that Pyongyang is a time-honoured city which has existed since the period of Tangun's Korea.
Noting that Kim Jong Il was born, endowed with the spirit of Mt. Paektu, the holy mountain of Tangun nation, O Ik Je wrote this was not only a great fortune for the sun's nation but a happy and auspicious event for humankind in which they greeted the rise of a brilliant sun over the horizon of their new history. He praised Kim Jong Il as a mythical hero who, representing the resourcefulness of our nation whose history spanning 5,000 years, firmly guarantees its existence and prosperity, guided by Juche, to give continuity to its development. He continued:
A strong independent state has been built as a result of the realization of the long-cherished desire of the nation, on the basis of the bitter lesson drawn from the centuries of national sufferings, and our republic is demonstrating the justice of our cause to the whole world, courageously standing in confrontation with big powers, with the might of the single-hearted unity. All this would have been unthinkable without your idea and leadership. Today your idea and leadership are visualizing a bright future of the 21st century to come as they proved to be excellent in the world.
Noting that thanks to Kim Jong Il there is always spring for the nation and humankind, O Ik Je wholeheartedly wished him a long life in good health.
South and North Korean scholars will hold an academic seminar on "Tangun," the legendary founding father of the nation, in Pyongyang next year, a Seoul university president said.
"During my recent visit to Pyongyang, I met with ranking figures of the North's Academy of Social Sciences, where we agreed to hold the inter-Korean academic event on Oct. 3 next year, on the occasion of National Foundation Day," Kim Jung-bae, president of Korea University, said in a news conference Friday.
Kim said he made an eight-day trip to North Korea that began Nov. 9 at the invitation of the North Korean Academy of Social Sciences.Kim, who also serves as chairman of the Tangun Academy, said that the two academies agreed to continue discussing details for a successful seminar, the first ever inter-Korean academic event in Pyongyang.
The Tangun Academy was set up in December 1997 to shed new light on the founding father. Some scholars maintain that Tangun is a historic figure who actually ruled a prehistoric kingdom. In 1993, a tomb claimed to be Tangun's was found in North Korea.While in Pyongyang, Kim said that he met with the president of Kim Il-sung University, Park Kwan-o, to discuss joint non-political academic studies by the two schools.
"We have agreed to establish joint academic studies centered around natural science fields, starting next year," Kim said. He became the first South Korean university president to meet with the president of Kim Il-sung University. "We shared the view that such joint academic studies would contribute to the reunification of the divided Korean Peninsula," Kim said.
Korea Herald 11/22/1999 by Kang Seok-jae Staff reporterTangun was ancestral father of the Korean nation who founded Kojoson, the first ancient state on the Korean peninsula more than 5,000 years ago and paved the way for the formation and development of the Korean nation. Tangun established the state rule over vast areas including the northwestern part of the Korean peninsula and developed economy and culture, laying a firm foundation of the powerful ancient Korean state.
Kojoson existed for about 3,000 years and developed as one of the strong states in Asia. Korean archaeologists excavated the tomb of Tangun and unearthed remains of Tangun and his wife in Juche 82 (1993). Latest survey means helped scientifically verify that the remains are 5,011 years old. Tangun's remains were unearthed in his tomb to prove that he actually existed over 5,000 years back. This was a great event of weighty historical significance in testifying that the Korean nation is a homogeneous nation with an ancient history and confirming its origin.
Various kinds of historical relics were unearthed in many places of the north centering around Pyongyang and of South Korea to verify that Tangun is the real ancestral father of the nation. It is vandalism which can be committed only by the traitors to damage or destroy Tangun's statues or demand their removal. Hence, organizations and public figures of different circles in the DPRK are vehemently denouncing the commotion of negating Tangun in South Korea.
A spokesman for the history institute of the Academy of Social Sciences of the DPRK in its statement issued on Oct. 30 condemned this row as a treachery of denying the homogeneity of our nation and demanded the South Korean authorities stop at once dishonest elements' vandalism intended to bar national reconciliation and unity. Tangun is the ancestral father of the Korean nation and the Korean nation is a homogeneous one.
Some dishonest elements in South Korea are negating the existence of Tangun. This is an unpardonable treachery of negating national history, tradition and homogeneity vital to great national unity and, in essence, little different from the past anti-Tangun obliteration moves of the Japanese aggressors.
In South Korea some dishonest Christians are these days zealously opposing the building of Tangun's statues, saying that the existence of Tangun has not yet been identified. This is connived at and backed by the authorities. This is a revival of the policy of obliterating Tangun once pursued by the Japanese.
Insulting Tangun is precisely a treacherous act of serving the purpose of the aggressive policy of the U.S. and the Japanese reactionaries keen on obliterating the history, tradition and spirit of the Korean nation and, at the same time, an act of joining the imperialists in their moves to perpetuate the national division and thus exterminate the Korean nation.
Pyongyang, November 7 (KCNA) -- Rodong Sinmun today carries an article "Negation of nation's ancestral father is unpardonable criminal deed," contributed by Prof. and Dr. Son Yong Jong of the history institute of the Academy of Social Sciences of the DPRK. The article says:
In South Korea some dishonest Christians are these days destroying statues of Tangun, the ancestral father of the Korean nation, or coming out against the building of his statues. However, the rulers of the self-proclaimed "people's government" are conniving at and encouraging such anti-national vandalism.
From olden times the Korean nation has worshipped Tangun as the ancestral father of Korea, the author of the article notes, and says:
As widely known, the remains discovered at king Tangun's tomb were verified scores of times by the latest technical means and have proven to be over 5,000 years old. Besides, there are a large number of historical relics and remains and records, which prove that a state was founded and existed in Korea over 5,000 years ago. Studies of documents and relics of Tangun temples prove that Tangun is not a mythical person but has been the object of national and social memorial services ever since ancient Korea. "Susanjip," "Ijaejonso" and other documents say Tangun established the state five thousand years ago, not 4,300 years ago as written in "Samgukyusa" and "Jewangungi," and so on. Scientific facts make it obvious that Tangun really existed in history and is the ancestral father of the nation. Damage to Tangun's statues and call for their pull-down can be done only by traitors who are indifferent to the nation and the ancestors.
Connivance at the destruction of Tangun's statues and the move for their pull-down is also a criminal act that encourages those practices and a product of the criminal effort of the imperialists and their stooges to deepen discord within the nation. The South Korean authorities who live on the nation's split are driving a wedge between religious circles, fanning antagonism and confrontation among religionists and encouraging discord and split within the nation, in a bid to put down the people's spirit of national independence and check the growth of the pro-reunification patriotic forces. It is a pity that some dishonest religionists in South Korea, ignorant of the essence of this anti-national policy of the domestic and foreign reactionaries, are playing into the hands of the imperialists and authorities.
We must clearly know the essence of the anti-Tangun moves of the imperialists and their stooges, frustrate their crafty intrigues, have correct understanding of the nation's history and contribute to the development of the nation.
Pyongyang, November 1 (KCNA) -- A spokesman of the Council for the Reunification of the
Tangun Nation in the DPRK issued a statement on Sunday condemning some dishonest
elements in South Korea for negating Tangun, the ancestral father of the Korean
nation, and doing serious damage to his statues although he actually existed.
The statement said: The South Korean authorities connive at and shield the criminal acts of
destroying Tangun's statues, clamouring about "fear of involvement in
religious dispute." This is nothing but a treachery of debasing the 5,000
year long history of the Korean nation founded by Tangun and challenging the
movement for the unity and reunification of the nation.
The act of destroying Tangun's statues committed by some anti-communist elements under the
patronage of the South Korean authorities is intended to dampen the South Korean
people's wish to accomplish the cause of reunification of the Tangun nation,
upholding the sun of the nation.
The statement dismissed the South Korean authorities' negation of Tangun's history and
destruction of his statues as a dastardly treacherous act of shielding the past
crime of the Japanese who described him as a fabulous person.
Noting that the council for the reunification of the Tangun nation will make all efforts to
adhere to the Juche and national characters in the management and preservation
of Tangun's relics and in academic researches into Tangun and achieve the unity
and reunification of the nation, the statement expressed the hope that the
Tangun religious associations and civic organizations in South Korea would
actively join its struggle.
Such criminal acts as insulting Tangun, the ancestral father of the Korean nation, and besmirching his fame are being perpetrated in South Korea. Rodong Sinmun today in a signed commentary dismisses these acts as a negation of the nation and its history and moves to shield the past crimes of the Japanese in distorting them.
The commentary says: The excavation of the Tangun tomb irrefutably proved that he actually existed and a Japanese document testifying to the fact was also uncovered. Such assertions as denying his existence in
spite of all facts can be made only by pro-Japanese elements and traitors to the nation like "five
traitors of 1905."
The South Korean rulers are conniving at and encouraging the campaign launched by some
dishonest religious organizations against the erection of Tangun's statue. It is clear that the South Korean authorities are conspiring with such criminals. It is the worst crime to deny the history of the nation. The South Korean rulers are the group of worst traitors, ignorant of the nation, ethics and morality. The Koreans in the north, south and overseas will surely make them pay for their treacheries generation after generation.
Pyongyang, October 24 (KCNA)
An academic seminar on Tangun and ancient Korea was held
in Pyongyang on Monday on the occasion of the foundation day of Korea (October 3).
As discovered, king Tangun, a real person, was the ancestral father of the nation, who founded
ancient Korea, the first ancient slave state in Korea centering on Pyongyang in the early 30th
century B.C., and the most distinguished person who exalted the Korean nation by developing
ancient Korea into a civilized society for the first time in the East. For his feats, our ancestors unanimously put forward and worshipped him as the ancestral father of the nation. And it has been cemented as traditional sentiments of the Korean nation. In Korea the ancient Korean culture, which originated and developed in Pyongyang, was recently named "Taedonggang culture", which is one of the five major civilizations of the world.
It was stressed at the seminar that the President Kim Il Sung and Marshal Kim Jong Il found out
king Tangun, the ancestral father of the nation who was fabled as a legend for a long time, had
the mausoleum of king Tangun unearthed, and indicated the clear orientation and way of
systematizing the 5,000-year-long history of the nation. Speakers said that Tangun founded ancient Korea, an ancient state, to form a nation, and since then, the fundamental characteristics of the Korean nation based on one race were formed and consolidated. Tangun had been an ancestral father and an object of national worship for thousands of years, they said, adding:
"The myths and legends describing Tangun as a sage were created in his lifetime, diversified and
enriched with lapse of time and widely spread across the country and handed down through
generations."
In particular, they exposed the sophism of the Japanese imperialist venal historians denying the
real existence of Tangun, and declared with concrete historic facts and relics that their sophism is a
groundless fabrication and a deliberate distortion of history to stamp out the superiority of the
Korean nation and the time-honored Korean history. Though the Korean nation have suffered all sorts of pains for over half a century owing to the territorial bisection and the division of the nation forced by the U.S. Imperialists, any separatists could not destroy the stable oneness of the Korean nation, they noted.
In the seminar participated chairman of the central committee of the Korean Social
Democratic Party, Kim Yong Dae, who is also the chairman of the Council for National Reconciliation,
the chairwoman of the central committee of the Chondoist Chongu Party, Ryu Mi Yong, who is
also the chairwoman of the Council for the Reunification of the Tangun Nation, other officials concerned,
officials of scientific and educational institutions, pressmen, and overseas Koreans staying in the
socialist homeland.
Pyongyang, October 6 (KCNA)
October 3 - the birthday of Tangun, the ancestral father of the Korean
nation. A ceremony for commemorating the foundation day of Korea
for independence and great unity of the nation was sponsored Sunday by
the council for reunification of the Tangun nation at the mausoleum of king
Tangun in Kangdong county, Pyongyang.
The ceremony was attended by the chairman of the central committee of
the Korean Social Democratic Party, Kim Yong Dae, who is also chairman of the
Council for National Reconciliation; chairperson of the c.c., the
Chondoist Chongu Party, Ryu Mi Yong, who is chairwoman of the Council for
Reunification of the Tangun Nation; officials of various parties, public and
religious organizations in North Korea, people from all walks of
life, youth and students, delegations of Koreans from Japan, China,
Europe, Russia and other regions.
An opening ceremony was followed by a memorial service. All the
attendants paid a silent tribute to the memory of king Tangun.
Vice-chairman Kang Chol Won of the c.c., the Chondoist Chongu Party
made a speech at the ceremony on behalf of the North Korean side. He said:
"To mark the foundation day of Korea for the independence and great
unity of the nation at the mausoleum of Tangun, a holy place of the nation,
is of weighty significance for the Koreans, the descendants of Tangun, who
have lived as one and the same nation for 5,000 years, in powerfully
displaying at home and abroad the time-honored history, the homogeneity
and the superiority of the nation and in bringing earlier national reunification.
As Tangun, who had been considered to be a symbol of the soul of
nation, was proved to be a real person, the honor and pride of the Korean
nation have increased higher.
It is a great disgrace and tragedy of the Tangun nation that the Korean
nation with stronger consciousness of independence and might of unity than
others should live divided into the North and the South by the outside forces.
All Koreans in the North, South, and overseas should re-join the severed blood
vessel of the nation through the independence and great unity of the
nation and open the door of reunification at an earlier date."
Paek Jong Ho, vice-chairman of the Association of Koreans in Japan
for Peaceful Reunification, spoke on behalf of the overseas side. He
extended fervent greetings in reverence to the President Kim Il Sung and
Marshal Kim Jong Il, who retook and exalted the true history of the Korean nation.
The ceremony witnessed a joint resolution of the north, south and
overseas Koreans. The joint resolution said they would wage a struggle
to build a reunified confederal state without fail in the near future
through the great unity of the nation under the banner of the three
principles of national reunification, which were agreed upon by the north
and the south, oppose the war and confrontation moves of the outside
forces and anti-reunification treacherous forces and get the U.S.
forces withdrawn from South Korea.
The joint resolution called for intensifying the three-way solidarity
of the North, South, and overseas Koreans, making tangible contributions
to the cause of reunification and prosperity of the nation and waging
a vigorous struggle for complete repeal of all sorts of legal and
institutional mechanism in South Korea, including the "National Security
Law" and for release of all the South side's delegates who attended the
August 15 Pro-Reunification Festival. Trees were planted to mark the
foundation day of Korea. An art performance was given to mark the day
in front of the monument to the reconstruction of mausoleum of Tangun.
Pyongyang, KCNA (5 October 1999)