The Mausoleum of King Tongmyong was completed on May 14 1993.

The mausoleum located in the picturesque Ryongsan area in Ryokpho District, Pyongyang, is the tomb of King Tongmyong who founded Koguryo (277 BC-AD 668).

The mausoleum of the founder king of Koguryo which had long suffered eclipse was rebuilt on May 14 28 years ago under the meticulous guidance of President Kim Il Sung and Chairman Kim Jong Il.

In front of the tomb gate, there stands the Monument to the Reconstructed Mausoleum of King Tongmyong catching the gaze of visitors.

The monument is 4.5 metres high and over 20 tons in weight and letters “Monument to the Reconstructed Mausoleum of King Tongmyong”, which the President wrote in old characters, are inscribed on the front of the monument decorated with relief carvings of magnolia flower, the national flower of the DPRK.

Inscribed on its back is an ode to the immortal exploits of the President and the Chairman who ensured the mausoleum was reconstructed splendidly.

The mausoleum covers an area of over 220 hectares.

In the royal tomb section centring around the mausoleum there are over 30 pieces of stone sculptures, 15 tombs from the Koguryo period, the tomb gate and memorial service hall.

Two pillars are set up each on both sides of the gate and sculptural ornaments put up on the roof ridge in Korea’s traditional architectural style to preserve the beauty of Koguryo architecture.

And tanchong, or the nation’s characteristic colourful painting, was also done in a Koguryo style based on the data on tomb murals from the ancient state.

Inside the gate there are the monuments to Koguryo’s founder king and his achievements which convey the history of King Tongmyong and the course of establishment of the kingdom.

In front of the mausoleum there are such stone objects as altar, lantern and a pair of posts and stone sculptures of tigers, military officers, civil servants and horses.

The stone tigers stand on both sides of the mausoleum. The stone figures standing in front of the tomb depict loyal military officers and civil servants who made a contribution to founding the country with King Tongmyong or devoted themselves for the country, and the horses beside them represent those ridden by the officials. In those days the Koguryo people liked horse riding from childhood and handled them skilfully.

The mausoleum which is 11.5 metres high is in the shape of a quadrangle pyramid built on a square plane.

There is a story that not an ant could be found around the tomb as the people of Koguryo built it with utmost sincerity as they steamed the earth for the mound and that in the environs.

There are lots of Koguryo tumuli around the mausoleum, and the royal tomb section is covered with a pine forest.

A little away from the mausoleum there is the Jongrung Temple where the Koguryo people prayed for the soul of King Tongmyong.

At the temple there are three main shrines to the east, west and north centring around an octagonal seven-storey pagoda, and such a temple is called the one-pagoda-and-three-main-shrine temple. This shows the unique temple-building form peculiar to Koguryo.

The Mausoleum of King Tongmyong and Koguryo tombs were inscribed on the list of world cultural heritage.