Arch of Triumph (Pyongyang)


The Arch of Triumph is a triumphal arch in Pyongyang, North Korea. It was built to commemorate the Korean resistance to Japan from 1925 to 1945. It is the second tallest triumphal arch in the world, after Monumento a la Revolución in Mexico, standing high and wide.
Built in 1982 on the Triumph Return Square at the foot of Moran Hill in the North Korean capital city of Pyongyang, the monument was built to honour and glorify President Kim Il-sung's role in the military resistance for Korean independence. Inaugurated on the occasion of his 70th birthday, each of its 25,500 blocks of finely-dressed white granite represents a day of his life up to that point.

Design

The structure is modeled after the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, but is taller. The arch has dozens of rooms, balustrades, observation platforms and elevators. It also has four vaulted gateways, each high, decorated with azalea carved in their girth. Inscribed in the arch is the revolutionary hymn "Song of General Kim Il-sung", and the year 1925, when North Korean history states that Kim set out on the journey for national liberation of the country from Japanese rule. Also depicted on the arch is the year 1945, when Korea was liberated.
The arch is illuminated at night and has its own single cylinder diesel generator in case of main power failure.