The sacred footprints inscribed on the Pobun Hermitage of Mt. Ryongak

The respected Comrade Kim Jong Un said:

"True to the President's intention, General Kim Jong Il correctly evaluated and clarified the key problems in putting to rights the history of our country, adding lustre to the righteous history of the nation and ensuring that the cultural heritage associated with the wisdom and talents of our ancestors shed their brilliance as priceless wealth linking the history and bloodline of the nation down through the generations."

President Kim Il Sung and Chairman Kim Jong Il, possessed of the noblest patriotism and love for the nation, attached importance to the protection of national heritage and directed efforts to it in the whole period of leading the revolution, thus glorifying the time-honored history and brilliant culture of the Korean nation before the whole world.

True to the noble intention of President Kim Il Sung to inherit and develop the national heritage from the Juche-oriented viewpoint, Chairman Kim Jong Il visited many historical relics and scenic spots despite his busy leadership of the revolution and kindly led the work to make the conservation of national heritage a work of instilling national pride and dignity, our nation-first principle into people.

Among the historical relics associated with the sacred traces and leadership exploits of Chairman Kim Jong Il is Pobun Hermitage on Mt. Ryongak.

The Pobun Hermitage is located halfway up the south side of Mt. Ryongak in Ryongbong-ri, Mangyongdae District, Pyongyang. It was first built in the period of Koguryo(277 B.C.-A.D. 668) and rebuilt in the middle years of the Feudal Joson Dynasty(1392-1910).

It consists of main hall, the Chilsong Pavilion, the Sansin Pavilion and the Toksong Pavilion.

The main hall of the Pobun Hermitage is an open-wing official building with a Korean-style floor of 10.27 meters (5 kans) in width by 6.2 meters (3 kans) in length.

What is noteworthy in the structure is that a large number of crossbeams were used to maintain the space between the outer columns of the back and side walls and the high-post so that the structural stability of is ensured.

Another important thing is that not many timber props were used.

The Chilsong Pavilion, located behind the main hall, is a gabled house of 6.4 meters (3 Kans) in width by 3.7 metres (2 kans) in length. The Chilsong Pavilion is the second largest building after the main hall and the Sansin Pavilion and Toksong Pavilion are small.

Although, the Pobun Hermitage was built for the purpose of spreading Buddhism, it reflects the wisdom, creativity and the talent of our ancestors and excellent Korean architecture.

Chairman Kim Jong Il, who always paid deep attention to the protection of the national heritage, visited the Pobun Hermitage again on January 17, Juche 98(2009) despite his busy revolutionary leadership.

Listening to the explanation of the priest, Chairman looked carefully at colorful paintings (Korean-style decorative art) of the Pobun Hermitage and praised it highly.

After Chairman Kim Jong Il gave instructions about the colors of the candles in front of the Buddhist Statue of the Main Hall of the Pobun Hermitage, he came out to the courtyard.

Having looked at the historical relics displayed in the courtyard, Chairman Kim Jong Il learned in detail about Natural Monuments of Mt. Ryongak, including five hundred-year-old zelkova, oak, Sophora Japonica, and gingko tree.

Looking at the Korean tiles on the fence surrounding the Pobun Hermitage, Chairman Kim Jong Il said with great pleasure that the fence, which was built in a classic way, looked good and the Ryongaksan Pleasure Ground was rebuilt so wonderfully that it was completely different from what he had seen before.

Chairman Kim Jong Il praised monk for having a good explanation of the temple, saying that he knew a lot about the origin of Buddhism and temple.

The teachings he gave while looking round the Pobun Hermitage that day serve as important guidelines to be consistently held fast to in valuing and preserving the excellent national cultural heritages left by our ancestors.

Thanks to his noble intention and benevolent care, the Pobun Hermitage was successfully preserved in its original state in good harmony with the picturesque scenery of Mt. Ryongak to convey the long history of the nation, excellent culture and developed architecture to the Korean people.

The Pobun Hermitage of Mt. Ryongak, which shows the outstanding creative wisdom, talents and excellent architecture of our ancestors, is shining as the pride of the Korean nation, conveying forever the immortal leadership exploits of Chairman Kim Jong Il.