Chairman
"The Taesongsan Fortress is one of the time-honoured relics, which shows the history of Koguryo and the brilliant wisdom of its people."
The Taesongsan Fortress is one of the historical relics which show the history and culture of Koguryo, the strong nation in the East with a thousand years of history.
This fortress was built on Mt. Taesong in the northeast of Pyongyang.
Mt. Taesong was called Mt. Kuryong or Mt. Royang from old times. It was named after a big castle of Koguryo built to repel the invasion of foreign enemies.
This mountain is particularly beautiful and has been reported as one of the Eight Famous Scenes in Pyongyang, but the names of each peak in the castle are not well-known.
These peaks had not even been called properly for a long time and were given names on April 30, 1958.
President
Present there were officials in the field of construction and teachers and students of the University.
He called a historian, saying that he'd like to listen to the history of this mountain so that it could be helpful to sprucing it up to a cultural recreation ground.
The historian narrated in detail the history of Pyongyang and the time when Koguryo people pioneered this area and the then political and economic situations. When he was describing the castle and ponds, the President asked him to tell concretely why the people dug ponds and how many ponds there were.
The scholar said that the people dug ponds instead of wells to solve the water problem in the castle and that 99 ponds were to be found, according to the records, but now only three were left.
Saying that it was very interesting, the President instructed the participants in the meeting that only when they have a good knowledge of the history of the people associated with this mountain and build a pleasure ground, they can add more brilliance to the time-honored history and culture of the nation.
Pointing to the peaks on the map of the mountain, he asked what they had been called until then.
When he was told that the whole mountain was called Mt. Taesong, that some of the peaks are called Kuksa, Jujak and Pukjangdae and that the others had no distinct names, he thought for a moment and said that he would like to name the peaks and ponds of the mountain after the patriotic legends of the famous generals and the people of Koguryo.
He personally pointed to the map and suggested calling the peak in the very middle "Peak Jangsu" in the meaning of telling the great feats of King Jangsu who built a castle on the mountain and moved the capital to Pyonyang, the next one "Peak Ulji" after the name of Ulji Mun Dok and the one next to it "Peak Somun" in commemoration of the exploits of Yongae So Mun.
He also named the lakes and ponds on the mountain "Pond Kuryong", "Pond Carp" and "Pond Deer" after the old legends and named the new lakes "Lake Michon" and "Lake Tongchon" which were to be built on a large-scale where the old ponds were.
Indeed, even the names of peaks and ponds on Mt. Taesong tell us the noble intention of the President to let the history of our nation, which had been proud of as a power for a thousand years, reflect the patriotic soul, thus glorifying it generation after generation.
Thanks to the WPK's policy for protecting national heritage, a number of relics of the mountain have been successfully rehabilitated and preserved and the pleasure ground has been equipped with modern amusement facilities, thus the whole mountain serves as a significant place for education for implanting the Korean-nation-first spirit in the people and as a merry place for relaxation.
