Liberation Monument
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Liberation Monument is a monument in Pyongyang, North Korea. It was built in 1947 to honour Red Army soldiers who took part in capturing Korea from Imperial Japan during the final stage of the Second World War. Soviet paratroopers took control of Pyongyang on August 24, 1945. The monument is composed of a stele surmounted by a five-pointed red star, with the entire structure attaining a height of 30 meters. The square base of the monument bears an inscription on each of its sides. The text, in Russian and Korean, describes the purpose of the monument. The monument is often visited by official delegations as well as by tourists and city residents. It has become traditional for newlywed couples to visit the monument as well.
The monument was built in 1947. The original monument featured the Taegukgi, including a Korean woman waving the flag over the Heavenly Lake at the Paektu mountain. It survived the Korean War, and was not demolished when United Nations Forces controlled Pyongyang. The monument was redesigned in 1959 before an anticipated visit by Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev, which was ultimately canceled. The redesigns included the removal of the image of Joseph Stalin and the removal of the Taegukgi. When informed of the redesign, Soviet ambassador Alexander Puzanov expressed his reservations, writing in his journal that "For my part, I expressed doubts about the expediency of replacing some of the inscriptions, although it really should be done on the eve of the arrival of our delegation".[1]
