Monument to Party Founding

The monument, designed by Mansudae Art Studio,{{Cite web | title = Mansudae Art Studio, North Korea's Colossal Monument Factory | last = Winter | first = Caroline | work = Bloomberg BusinessWeek | date = 6 June 2013 | access-date = 8 December 2015 | url = https://www.bloomberg.com/bw/articles/2013-06-06/mansudae-art-studio-north-koreas-colossal-monument-factory | page = 1 }} was completed on 10 October 1995, on the 50th anniversary of the foundation of the Workers' Party of Korea.{{sfn|Corfield|2013|p=142}} A previous monument dedicated to the foundation had been erected on 10 October 1975 on the grounds of the Party Founding Museum.{{sfn|Corfield|2013|p=160}}

The Monument to Party Founding appeared on postage stamps in 1995 and 2005{{sfn|Corfield|2013|p=143}} and is featured on the 50 won banknote.{{cite book|editor-last=Cuhaj|editor-first=George S.|title=2013 Standard Catalog of World Paper Money – Modern Issues: 1961–Present|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OMxQwXQghgkC&pg=PA748|edition=18|date=17 February 2012|publisher=Krause Publications|location=Iola|isbn=978-1-4402-2956-5|page=748}}{{Dead link|date=February 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

File:Monument fo Workers party, view from Mansudae Grand Monument.JPG

File:Monument to the Founding of the Worker's Party Pyongyang.jpg

The monument is situated on Munsu Street in the Taedonggang District of Pyongyang,{{Cite web | title = Tourist guide for Monument to Party Founding, Pyongyang, North Korea|work = Korea Konsult| access-date = 6 October 2015 | url = http://www.koreakonsult.com/Attraction_Pyongyang_wpk_eng.html}} on the bank of the Taedong River. On the opposite side of the river is the Mansu Hill Grand Monument,{{sfn|Corfield|2013|p=142}} and the Korean Revolutionary Museum, both of which the Monument to Party Founding is symmetrically aligned with.{{sfn|Willoughby|2014|p=132}} This axis across the center of Pyongyang symbolizes the dynasty of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il.{{cite book|last=Howard|first=Keith|chapter=Dancing for the Eternal President|editor-first=Annie J.|editor-last=Randall|title=Music, Power, and Politics|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aLqTAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA117|date=2004|publisher=Routledge|location=New York|isbn=978-1-135-94691-3|page=117}}

The monument site in its entirety spans 25,000 square meters.{{sfn|Korea Pictorial|p=2}} This includes a plaza in front of the monument where dances and festivities are held.{{sfn|Willoughby|2014|p=134}} The lawn of the park surrounding the monument is 15,000 square meters in extent. There are 12 fountain basins. The grounds are spotted with more than 53,000 trees.{{cite book|author1=Choe So-ok|author2=Ri Jung-gil|editor=Han Pŏn-jo|others=Translated by Choe Sang-gwon and Im Hwan|title=Pyongyang: A Park City|date=30 May 2002|publisher=Korea Pictorial|oclc=867776819|page=26}}

There are symmetrical, waving flag-shaped, red residential buildings on either side of the monument.{{Cite web | title = 30 Best Panoramas of Pyongyang | last= Teo |first=Reuben | work = Reuben Teo Photography | date = 26 April 2015 | access-date = 6 October 2015 | url = http://reubenteo.com/2015/04/30-best-panoramas-of-north-korea/}} The letters on top of the buildings read: "ever-victorious".{{sfn|Monument to Party Founding (DVD)|loc=6:15–6:30}}

The monument itself is made of granite and the reliefs are bronze.{{cite book|last1=Hoare|first1=James|last2=Pares|first2=Susan |title=North Korea in the Twenty-first Century|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EL8sAQAAIAAJ|year=2005|publisher=Global Oriental|isbn=978-1-901903-91-1|page=98}}

Three highest element of the monument features three clenched fists holding a hammer, sickle and a calligraphy brush.{{sfn|Corfield|2013|p=142}} The hammer and sickle symbolize workers and farmers and the brush intellectuals.{{sfn|Corfield|2013|pp=142–143}} The triumvirate is based on the emblem of the Workers' Party of Korea.{{Cite web | title = Architecture for Immortality of Leader | work = North Korean Economy Watch | publisher = KCNA | date = 21 May 2007 | access-date = 6 October 2015 | url = http://www.nkeconwatch.com/2007/05/21/architecture-for-immortality-of-leader/}} The monument reaches to a height of 50 meters to signify the 50th anniversary of the party.{{cite book|author-first=James E.|author-last=Hoare|title=Historical Dictionary of Democratic People's Republic of Korea|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rh5h4bZgkhEC&pg=PA289|date=13 July 2012|location=Plymouth|publisher=Scarecrow Press|isbn=978-0-8108-7987-4|pages=289–}}

The architectural style bears resemblance to concrete structures in the city, such as the Pyongyang Ice Rink or the Ryugyong Hotel.{{sfn|Willoughby|2014|p=115}}

The three fists are surrounded by a belt, symbolizing the "single-hearted unity of the leader, Party and people". The inscription on the outer belt reads: "Long live the leader and organizer of the victories of the people of Korea, the Workers' Party of Korea!" ({{Korean|hangul=조선인민의 모든 승리의 조직자이며 향도자인 조선로동당 만세!|mr=Chosŏninminŭi modŭn sŭngniŭi chojikchaimyŏ hyangdojain chosŏllodongdang manse!|context=north}}) The diameter of the belt is 50 meters on the outside and 42 meters on the inside.{{sfn|Korea Pictorial|p=2}} The belt is made of 216 blocks. The 216 blocks and the 42-meter inner diameter symbolize the date 16 February 1942, the purported date of birth of Kim Jong Il.{{sfn|Monument to Party Founding (DVD)|loc=2:40–2:55}} In reality, he was born on 16 February 1941 in the Soviet Union.{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/1907197.stm|title=Profile: Kim Jong-il |work=BBC News|date=16 January 2009|access-date=14 January 2017}}

The circular foundation under the monument is 70 meters in diameter symbolizing the about 70-year history of the party from the days of the Down-With-Imperialism Union. On the inside of the belt are three reliefs covering the history of the party.{{sfn|Korea Pictorial|p=2}}

{{wide image|Monument to the Founding of the Worker's Party Relief 1.jpg|1200px|Depicts "the glorious revolutionary traditions of the Workers' Party of Korea":{{sfn|Korea Pictorial|p=5}} armed anti-Japanese struggle and the foundation of the Society for Rallying Comrades, {{ill|Association for the Restoration of the Fatherland|ko|조국광복회}} and the Down-With-Imperialism Union.{{sfn|Monument to Party Founding (DVD)|loc=3:55–4:50}}

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{{wide image|Monument to the Founding of the Worker's Party Relief 2.jpg|1200px|Depicts "the harmonious whole of the leader, the Party and the masses":{{sfn|Korea Pictorial|p=5}} veteran handing down the torch of Juche to the younger generation,{{Cite AV media| title = Guide Explains Pyongyang Monument to the Korean Workers Party, Part 2 | via = YouTube | publisher = North Korea Vagabond | date = 1 October 2013 | access-date = 6 October 2015 | url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IraXt8EB0h0#t=65 | minutes = 1:05–1:20 }} and a worker, farmer, intellectual, soldier and a student united by the party flag.{{sfn|Monument to Party Founding (DVD)|loc=4:50–5:30}}

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{{wide image|Monument to the Founding of the Worker's Party Relief 3.jpg|1200px|Depicts "the struggle to realize global independence":{{sfn|Korea Pictorial|p=6}} the desire for reunification and the advance of socialist construction under the torch of Juche. The inscription against the world map reads: "Let us defend independence!"{{sfn|Monument to Party Founding (DVD)|loc=5:30–6:00}}

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{{Portal|North Korea|Visual arts}}

• Juche Tower
• Arch of Triumph (Pyongyang)
• Party Foundation Day
• History of the Workers' Party of Korea
• Socialist realism
• Culture of North Korea
• Korean architecture

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{{refbegin|}}

• {{cite book|last=Corfield|first=Justin|title=Historical Dictionary of Pyongyang|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a46gFDWr3aMC&pg=PA142|date=2013|publisher=Anthem Press|location=London|isbn=978-0-85728-234-7}}
• {{Cite web|title=Monument to Party Founding|publisher=Korea Pictorial|location=Pyongyang|date=n.d.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131230233335/http://www.naenara.com.kp/en/book/new_window.php?10+10025+2++English|archive-date=30 December 2013|url-status=dead|access-date=6 October 2015|url=http://www.naenara.com.kp/en/book/new_window.php?10+10025+2++English|ref=CITEREFKorea_Pictorial}}
• {{cite AV media|title=Monument to Party Founding|location=Pyongyang|type=DVD|date=n.d.|ref={{SfnRef|Monument to Party Founding (DVD)}}|id=KPEA 2LC016}} Running time: 7:38.
• {{cite book|last=Willoughby|first=Robert|title=North Korea : The Bradt Travel Guide|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z4XKBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA123|edition=Third|date=2014|publisher=Bradt Travel Guides|location=England|isbn=978-1-84162-476-1}}

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{{Commons category|Monument to the Founding of the Worker's Party}}

• {{Flickr image inline link|zaruka/sets/72157611400240356}}
• [http://www.dprk360.com/360/monument_to_party_founding/ 360-degree panorama]
• {{YouTube|JBFT82siW5Q|Documentary about construction}} {{in lang|ko}}
• {{YouTube|nCe_nhkjjHE|Documentary about the monument and Mansu Hill Grand Monument|link=no}} {{in lang|ko}}

{{Tourist attractions in Pyongyang}}

Category:Monuments and memorials in North Korea

Category:Buildings and structures in Pyongyang

Category:1995 establishments in North Korea

Category:Buildings and structures completed in 1995

Category:History of the Workers' Party of Korea

Category:20th-century architecture in North Korea