The Taedong Gate standing on the banks of the Taedong River in Pyongyang is a historical relic from the period of Koguryo (277 BC-AD 668).

It was originally built as the eastern gate of the keep of the Walled City of Pyongyang, the capital of Koguryo, in the mid-6th century, and was rebuilt in 947 and 1392, the initial periods of Koryo and the feudal Joson dynasty.

The present structure was built in 1635.

It had been severely damaged by US bombing during the Fatherland Liberation War in the early 1950s, but was restored to its original state in the postwar period.

The gate is the epitome of the Korean-style gate construction.

It consists of an embankment elaborately built with finely trimmed granite blocks and a magnificent gatehouse on it.

It was the most important and biggest one among the six gates of Pyongyang.

It has a height of 19 metres. The embankment is 26.3 metres long, 14.25 metres wide and 6.5 metres high.

In the middle of the embankment is an arch-shaped gateway whose four corners gradually widen outwards on the plane surface so that it can bear the weight of the structure.

The two-storey gatehouse on the embankment is a gabled building with the façade being 15.91m long and the side 10.34m. The imposing structure is well suited to the size of the embankment.

The gatehouse is supported by tapering pillars.

The corner pillars are thicker and taller than the middle ones and tilted slightly inwards to ensure the balance of the building.

It has three-gun-way headspace above the pillars.

The gabled roof of the Taedong Gate is very beautiful as the ridges and roof surface form soft and graceful curves in all directions.

The curved lines of the upper roof are sharper than those of the lower roof, and the eaves are unusually deeper on the second floor than on the first floor, which adds airiness to the roof’s appearance.

The pillars are painted red, and the headspace, beams, cornices, flat room and rafters are painted in soft blue and red combining various patterns and other colours.

The Taedong Gate is considered as a typical example of the gate construction of the feudal Joson dynasty embodying magnificence, beauty and airiness, as it has the architectural style and structural features of the early period of the feudal Joson dynasty, which inherited and developed the architectural art of Koryo.

Hanging on the gatehouse are calligraphic boards saying “Upho Pavilion” written by Pak Wi and “Taedong Gate” written by Yang Sa On.

“Upho” means you can hold out your hand from the gatehouse to draw clear water from the Taedong River. It reflects the beautiful natural scenery around the gate.

Today, the Taedong Gate serves as a recreational facility for the working people and schoolchildren as it goes well with the park facilities along the promenade of the Taedong River, including the Pyongyang Bell House and Ryongwang Pavilion.