President
"The spiritual effect of this mountain on Koreans can be illustrated by the inscription, ‘Monument to the Dragon God of Heavenly Lake, Guarding Mt. Paektu', on a rock at the foot of the Janggun Peak, on the shore of Lake Chon."
Saying that Koreans had been praying to the Dragon God of Lake Chon guarding Mt. Paektu for the lasting security of the nation, President
At the beginning of the 20th century when our national rights played into the Japanese imperialists, our people including the religionists connected with Taejong faith and Chonbul faith, nation faith, erected the monument to the Dragon God on the shore of Lake Chon on the top of Mt. Paektu, and revered Mt. Paektu as their spiritual pillar.
At that time, when the national survival was terribly threatened by the Japanese heinous maneuvering, our people erected this monument praying for the security of the destiny of our country and nation on the top of Mt. Paektu which was revered as the cradle land of our nation and the ancestral mountain.
The monument was excavated on a rock hill near the Paektu Hot Spring on the shore of Lake Chon in the small basin of the Janggun Peak in July Juche 70(1981) by the members of the complex expedition of Mt. Paektu and Lake Chon.
The monument erected by the religionists connected with Taejong faith or Chonbul faith is 116 cm high, 44 cm wide at the top part, 58 cm wide in the middle part, 68 cm at the bottom and the thickness is 10~11cm.
This monument which was made from effusive rock had been weathered by exposure on Mt. Paektu for centuries but the characters inscribed on it remained unchanged.
In its front part were inscribed in Chinese characters "大太白 大澤守 龍神碑閣".
It means the monument to the Dragon God of Mt. Paektu.
In details, "大太白"refers to Mt. Paektu, "大澤" refers to the large lake and "守" means "defend".
On the back of the monument "地宮 龍王龍神碑閣 淸晶大太百 大澤水中碑閣 來來無量安定 天和道人" was inscribed.
"地宮" means Lake Chon is the palace of the Dragon God on the land.
The Dragon God, the best among dragons, has been said to live in the deep sea. Our ancestors regarded Lake Chon on the top of Mt. Paektu as the supreme palace for the Dragon God because it was located on the high mountain more than 2 000 metres above the sea level with so wide and deep water.
Below the characters of "地宮", "龍王龍神碑閣 淸晶大太百 大澤水中碑閣 來來無量安定 天和道人" was inscribed.
"龍王龍神碑閣 淸晶大太百 大澤水中碑閣" means that this is the monument to the Dragon God guarding Lake Chon.
"來來無量安定" means ever-lasting security.
"天和道人" means the people who erected it.
On the whole it shows that from the old times our people have regarded the Dragon God of Lake Chon guarding Mt. Paektu as an idol which let them have the eternal security and also they have thought that guarding Mt. Paektu is maintaining the dignity of the nation and their destiny.
This monument was registered as a notional treasure No. 195 and it now stands on the hill between the Janggun Peak and the Hyangdo Peak.
Today it stands imposingly as a national treasure, telling people at home and abroad the long history of Lake Chon on the top of Mt. Paektu.
