A Yonbok Temple's bell that has been recaptured to the Namdae Gate

The respected Comrade Kim Jong Un said:

"We should properly preserve and maintain historical sites and relics in their original state.

A valuable legacy created by our ancestors through their struggle and creative activities, historical sites and relics are an asset of the nation that should be handed down from one generation to the next."

President Kim Il Sung was a peerless patriot and father of the nation who valued the excellent historical sites and relics created by the ancestors as the precious national heritage to be handed down to posterity in the whole period of his revolutionary leadership and worked heart and soul to preserve them well and add brilliance to them.

Among the precious cultural heritages of the Korean nation which were restored to their original state under the wise guidance and meticulous care of the President Kim Il Sung are Kaesong Namdae Gate and Yonbok Temple's bell.

The Namdae Gate in Kaesong, which was built in 1391-1393 in the south of the inner wall of Kaesong, is a monumental structure in the period of Koryo with a well-trimmed stone, with a roof of a pavilion on a dammed gateway and a magnificent colour painting, showing the outstanding architectural skills and creative talents of our ancestors. It is one of the national treasures of the DPRK associated with the creative efforts of our ancestors who bravely fought against foreign aggressors.

The Namdae Gate was lined with a Yonbok Temple's bell, one of the three famous bells showing the advanced casting technique of our ancestors.

The Yonbok Temple's bell, which was made in 1346 and hung on it, was transferred to the Namdae Gate after the Yonbok Temple was burned in 1563.

The barbarous bombing of the U.S. imperialists in December 1950 severely destroyed Namdae Gate and the Yangbok Temple's bell was laid on the axis of the destroyed sites.

On August 2nd, Juche42 (1953), when the gunfire of the war was not stopped, President Kim Il Sung received a report from the members of the Cabinet survey that the Kaesong Namdae Gate, Manwoltae and other historical relics were destroyed by enemy bombing. He earnestly said that they should be restored to their original state even though they are still difficult to live.

On December 11th, Juche 43(1954), President Kim Il Sung organized and mobilized the whole party, the whole country and all the people for postwar reconstruction and looked round the historical relics in Kaesong City one after another.

That day, President Kim Il Sung convened a consultative meeting of officials of the party and government bodies, economic and educational institutions in Kaesong City. He said that it is of great significance in educating the younger generation in the spirit of patriotism to actively locate and preserve the historical relics and cultural heritages left by our ancestors and educate them well through them.

President Kim Il Sung stressed the need not to spare money for rehabilitating the historical relics in their original state and took detailed measures for the restoration of historical relics.

All these measures were aimed at restoring the precious historical sites in Kaesong to their original state. In the postwar period, when everything was destroyed and reduced to ashes, there were many projects to be rebuilt by tightening their belts and taking good care of every penny. But it was not a mere practical work to reconstruct historical sites, but an important step to be taken only by the leader to glorify them as precious cultural heritage to be handed down to posterity as the treasure of the nation.

Under the meticulous guidance of President Kim Il Sung, a cabinet decision was adopted to preserve and manage historical relics well, a special repair shop was set up at the Kaesong City Construction Company and precious materials were fully provided, he said and went on.

True to the noble intention of President Kim Il Sung, the working people in Kaesong City turned out in the reconstruction of the Namdae Gate and successfully restored it in less than a year.

Picture1. Kaesong Namdae Gate

Picture2. Yonbok Temple's bell

As a result Yonbok Temple's bell, rolling over on the embankment by the enemy's barbarous bombing hung again on the Namdae gate.

On the day of the inauguration of the Namdae Gate, all the citizens of Kaesong turned out to shout "Long live President Kim Il Sung!" and the old people went up to the gates and patting the pillars of the gates, they said that Kim Il Sung had built the gates burned by the Yankees again, and nobody could obstruct the spirit of Korea.

Today, the Namdae Gate and Yonbok Temple's bell are preserved as historical witnesses to the undying feats of President Kim Il Sung who devoted all his painstaking efforts to posterity, regarding the historical relics created by his ancestors as treasures of the country and nation.