October 3 is the birthday of Tangun, the ancestral father of the Korean nation.
Korean ancestors declared his birthday as the National Foundation Day and commemorated it from olden times.
Researcher Kim Sol Gyong at the History Institute under the Academy of Social Sciences says:
"The original meaning of the Korean word 'Kaechon' literally means the opening of the sky.
Tangun built the first ancient state and named it Joson.
The name of the ancient state is called Ancient Joson in order to distinguish it from Korea built afterwards."
The Ancient Joson was built in the early 30th century B.C. and it existed for nearly 3,000 years.
Since then, the Korean nation with Tangun as the ancestral father has lived on the same territory with the same blood and language.
So the Korean ancestors, worshipping Tangun as the father of the nation, have prided themselves as his descendants through generations and held memorial services for him for thousands of years.
The memorial service for Tangun is held at the Mausoleum of King Tangun on the occasion of the National Foundation Day every year.
It serves as a significant occasion of giving a greater national pride to the Korean people.
The memorial service for Tangun was registered as an intangible cultural heritage of the state in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
Foreign personages visit DPRK missions
Foreign personages of broad stripes paid a congratulatory visit to the missions of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in
April 18, 2024
Foreign personages of broad stripes paid a congratulatory visit to the missions of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in
