| Tower
of the Juche Idea (1982) other
sites in Pyongyang |
Pyongyang, North Korea |
The tower of the Juche idea was unveiled on April 15, 1982, on the occasion of the 70th birthday of the North Korean leader Kim Il-sung. The 150-meter tall tower is tipped with a torch made of "rare materials". The body of the tower is faced with 70 granite slabs, one for each year of Kim Il-sung's life up to that time. The tower represents the idea of Juche (roughly, "self reliance") in that its architectural form is derived from obelisk-type stone pagodas built in premodern Korea.
The sculpture group in front of the tower is a trio of figures, with a worker, peasant, and intellectual holding a hammer, sickle, and writing brush. This is in character with the nature of the Party's class structure.
The tower sits at the edge of the Taedong river running through downtown Pyongyang.
Bibliography:
All images copyright 2002 Charles K. Armstrong, professor at Columbia University.
Pyongyang
Review (no authors listed)
Foreign
Language Publishing House. Pyongyang. 1988