Juche

    The Monument to the Great Victory in Pukgwan was erected in order of the great victory our people achieved after defeating the Japanese invaders during the Imjin Patriotic War (1592-1598) in Hamgyong Province.

    When some of the Japanese aggressive army that invaded Korea sneaked into Hamgyong Province in 1592, Jong Mun Mu (1565-1624), one of the military officers in Hamgyong Province, led a volunteer army consisted of about 7 000 patriotic people to victory defeating thousands of enemies in many areas in the province.

    In 1708 about over a hundred years after this victory, people in Hamgyong Province erected this Monument in Rimmyong (today’s Rimmyong-ri, Kim Chaek City).

    In early 20^th century the Japanese imperialists who occupied Korea despicably stole the Monument to the Great Victory in Pukgwan to Japan and later abandoned it in the corner of the Yasukuni Shrine, under the dark purpose of covering their gangster-like act of aggression and the shameful truth of their defeat, and to trample and get rid of our national cultural heritage.

    Then it was discovered and restored to the original place in Rimmyong-ri, Kim Chaek City, North Hamgyong Province thanks to our Party’s strenuous policy of preserving the national cultural heritage and by the united efforts of our nation a hundred years after it was stolen by the Japanese imperialists.

    The height of the monument is 187 cm, the width is 66 cm and the thickness is 13 cm. There are about 1 400 old Korean characters on the monument.

    On the top part of the front, the name “Monument to the Great Victory in Pukgwan” is carved and on the body part the position of the Jong Mun Mu volunteer army’s struggle, the records of the Japanese imperialists’ invasion, the process of forming the Jong Mun Mu volunteer army, the records of the main battles the volunteer army conducted and the procession of erecting the monument are explained.

    Chairman Kim Jong Il requested to preserve the monument as the witness of the history which prosecutes the Japanese imperialists for their criminal acts and as the monument to the victory which shows our people’s anti-Japanese patriotic spirit and indomitable fighting spirit.

    Today our people take national pride in the monument and are cultivating patriotism and Korean-nation-first principle spirit through the monument.