Jo Apr 9, 2025
Kwimyon Rock is beside the Samson Rock in the Manmulsang District of Outer Kumgang of Mt. Kumgang.
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Kwimyon Rock is one of the rocks of fantastic shape standing together with Samson Rock and Tokson Rock. The curious stone on the top of the rock pillar looks like it is on the verge of falling down, which is so eye-catching.
The plants with their roots fastened deep into the cracks in the rock flower in spring and are tinged with red in autumn, which adds beauty to this area.
Kwimyon Rock is a natural monument of great academic significance, which enhances the beauty of the surrounding scenery.
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Jo Apr 5, 2025
Maktae Rock is about 700 meters away in the direction of Pangung-ri from the seat of Namap-ri, Yomju County, North Phyongan Province.
There is a low hill in the east and a vast paddy field in the west of the rock, and several kilometers away from the field is the West Sea of Korea.
It is a mysterious standing rock whose covering layer was washed and cut by rain and wind during the long geological period to expose the red felsic dyke in its interior by abrasion and weathering.
The rock is ten meters tall and sixteen meters round at the bottom.
Although it looks as if it was going to fall down, it is well balanced. This old rock has many cracks.
It is well known from long ago as it is seen even several kilometers away.
It is a natural monument of great significance in studying the weathering of red felsite, and abrasion and coastal sedimentation constantly happening at the boundary between the sea and the land.
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Jo Apr 1, 2025
From olden times, the Korean ancestors have created and carried forward several customs suited to the warm seasonal features of April.
The seasonal divisions of April include chongmyong and kogu.
Chongmyong literally means the beginning of clear bright spring weather.
When chongmyong was approaching, our people cleared out all the traces of winter, and sowed various kinds of flower seeds in the garden and planted fruit trees around the house. In the countryside, they soaked rice seeds in water to sow them in the seedbed before chongmyong. They usually started spring sowing that day.
On the occasion of chongmyong, our people visited or moved the tombs of their ancestors.
Typical dishes for the day are steamed wheat flour cake, shredded green gram paste and seasoned edible herbs such as bracken, fern, aralia shoots and anise.
Chongmyong usually falls between April 4 and 6.
Kogu means the time when the rain useful for the growth of crops falls.
Our people were busy with farming at this time since it was an important period governing the successful farming of the year. On the day of kogu they sowed seeds of rice, foxtail millet, sweet potato, sesame, etc.
In the period around chongmyong and kogu, our people played several folk games and did fishing in rivers and seas.
Kogu falls around April 20 according to the solar calendar.
As mentioned above, the Korean people have created and carried forward several customs suited to the seasonal features of April from long ago.
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Jo Mar 8, 2025
There are two small pools called Ryonju Pools in Okryu Valley in the section of Kuryong Pool of Outer Kumgang of Mt. Kumgang, a noted mountain of the DPRK. There is a high cliff in the north of the pools and 400 meters away to the southwest of them is Kuryong Pool.
Ryonju Pools are two ponds formed by the abrasion of glacier and water flowing down the valley for a long period of time.
The upper pond is small and the lower one is big.
The upper one is ten meters long, five to six meters wide and six meters deep while the lower one is twenty meters long, eight to nine meters wide and nine meters deep.
The waterfall between the two ponds is three to four meters high.
Ryonju Pools make Okryu Valley particularly attractive.
The pools have the name Ryonju as they are adjacent to each other like two threaded blue beads.
Ryonju Pools blend perfectly with the geographical features of the surrounding mountains, adding beauty to the mountainscape.
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Jo Mar 5, 2025
There are many precious and beautiful living monuments in the DPRK. Phojung Pine Tree is one of them.
It is in Phoha-ri, Myongchon County of North Hamgyong Province.
It is believed to have been planted around 1630.
People in this area also call it “umbrella pine” as it resembles an umbrella and looks so beautiful and exquisite from everywhere.
It is 12 meters tall, with the root collar of 3.2 meters round, the chest-height of 2.8 meters round and the canopy of 15 meters from east to west and 18 meters from north to south.
It is growing straight up to the height of five meters where the branches spread far and wide to bend downwards near the ground, forming a great canopy resembling an umbrella.
What is special about this kind of tree is its small pinecones with no seeds.
This old tree of unique shape and attractive appearance is a precious living monument of scenic and academic significance.
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Jo Mar 1, 2025
In our country, March is the time when spring sets in.
Seasonal divisions in March are kyongchip and chunbun.
Kyongchip, which literally means the time when hibernating worms start to wriggle, awakened by the melting ice and the rain with thunder, falls around March 5 by the solar calendar.
Chunbun, which means the period in the middle of spring, falls around March 21 by the solar calendar. In this period, there is almost no difference in the length of the day and the night, and although it often blows hard, the weather gets mild and the ground thaws out.
Around kyongchip and chunbun, the Korean people used to mend the fences and spring-clean houses and surroundings to clear away the traces of winter before starting farming. In addition, they liked making delicious food with edible herbs coming out green and fresh in the fields to enjoy the flavor of spring.
The typical herbs are shepherd’s purse and wild garlic.
They also used to pick various kinds of medicinal herbs for storage and do peasants’ dancing and singing to add a zest to farming, hoping for a good harvest.
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