Mount Hyohyang - Pyongyang
Blijf op de hoogte en volg Aina
11 September 2014 | Noord-Korea, Pyongyang
1) The International Friendship Exhibition is a large museum complex located just west of Pyongyang in North Korea. It was previously located at Myohyangsan, North Pyongan province. It is a collection of halls that house gifts presented to former leaders Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il from various foreign dignitaries. The protocol of gift-giving is well established in Korean culture. Built in a traditional style, the halls opened on 26 August 1978 and consist of over 150 rooms covering a total area of between 28,000 and 70,000 square metres. The building offers the impression that it has windows, though it has none. According to one legend, Kim Jong-il built the International Friendship Exhibition in three days; however, actual construction took a year. Currently, estimates of how many gifts the exhibition holds vary between 60,000 and 220,000 gifts. On entering the exhibition, shoes must be discarded and visitors are asked to bow before portraits of Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il. The setting of the museum in the Myohyang-san mountains, near the Pohyon temple, was the subject of a poem by Kim Il-sung, which he later chanted from the balcony of the International Friendship Exhibition on October 15, 1979: "On the balcony I see the most glorious scene in the world... The Exhibition stands here, its green eaves upturned, to exalt. The dignity of the nation, and Piro Peak looks higher still." The museum is said to act as propaganda, giving the impression of worldwide support for the North Korean government. Visitors to the museum are informed that the number of gifts constitute "proof of the endless love and respect toward the Great Leader [Kim Il-sung]". However, North Korean visitors to the site are unaware of the ceremonial exchange of gifts in diplomatic protocol, and are described by Helen-Louise Hunter to be "impressed by the self-serving explanations offered to them". Another author, Byoung-lo Philo Kim, states that the entire exhibition is "aimed at convincing [North] Korean visitors that their leaders are universally admired".
2) Pohyon-sa is a Korean Buddhist temple located in Hyangsan county in North Pyong'an Province, North Korea. It is located within the Myohyang Mountains. Founded under the Koryo dynasty at the start of the 11th century, the temple flourished as one of the greatest centers of Buddhism in the north of Korea, and became a renowned place of pilgrimage. Like most other temples in North Korea, the complex suffered extensive damage from US bombing during the Korean War. The temple is designated as National Treasure #40 in North Korea, with many of its component buildings and structures further declared as individual national treasures. Pohyon Temple was founded under the Koryo dynasty in 1024 and named for the Buddhist deity Samantabhadra (known as Pohyon Posal in Korean). During the Imjin Wars, when Japanese warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi ordered several attempted invasions of Korea, the temple became a stronghold for bands of warrior monks led by the great saint Sosan. At age 73, he led bands against the Japanese armies, even assisting recapture Pyongyang from the Japanese. He died at the temple in 1604. During the war, the temple was charged with protection the Chonju copy of the four Annals of the Yi Dynasty, which was secured in the nearby Puryong Hermitage. This copy was the only one to survive the war. In 1951, at the start of the Korean War, the complex was bombed by US forces, who destroyed over half of its 24 pre-war buildings, including the main prayer hall. Several have since been reconstructed.
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Je kunt nu ook Smileys gebruiken. Via de toolbar, toetsenbord of door eerst : te typen en dan een woord bijvoorbeeld :smiley