Today's News

The Korean people created and have developed excellent culture since the dawn of the development of human history.

It is evidenced by the Taedonggang culture, one of the world’s five cultures.

The Taedonggang culture is a time-honoured culture created in the Taedong River basin, centring on Pyongyang. The river basin became one of the cradles of mankind and human culture as it consists of vast fertile plains with clear river courses, is rich in local products and has a warm climate.

Scholars confirmed it through scientific research data and the discovery of historical relics and remains.

In Hugu-ri of Sangwon County located in the basin of the Taedong River there was unearthed the Komunmoru Site where pithecanthropus had lived more than a million years ago. And the fossils of paleolithic man called Ryokpho man and Tokchon man, and neolithic man called Sungnisan man and Mandal man, were discovered in the basin. Thus it was confirmed that the basin was the base of the Korean ancestors where they had lived through the successive stage of human evolution including pithecanthrope, paleolithic man and neolithic man since ancient times and one of the cradles of early human culture.

And it was scientifically confirmed that the Taedong River basin was the native place of ancient Koreans and the cradle and hub of primitive culture where neolithic culture centring on farming and the culture of the Bronze Age which created a high level of metal culture originated and developed at a quite early time.

On the basis of it, the history society of the DPRK named in the 1990s the ancient culture in the area centring on Pyongyang the Taedonggang culture.

The scale and content of the Taedonggang culture became very large and rich as King Tangun (founding father of the Korean nation), who had been regarded only as a mythical being, was proved to be an actual historical figure and the study of Tangun and Ancient Joson was intensified.

An important criterion of ancient civilization is the founding of a state.

Tangun founded Ancient Joson with Pyongyang as its capital 5 000 years ago and created and developed civilization in the Taedong River basin.

The remains of castles and walls, including the earthen walls of Chongam-dong in Taesong District, Pyongyang, and the Hwangdae fort of Kangdong County of the city, which testify to the features of the ancient state, show that a well-knit satellite defence system was set up in the ancient state, centring on Pyongyang.

Ancient town relics are also one of the important criteria of a state.

Many sites of large villages resembling towns were unearthed in the Taedong River basin. They can be seen only in the hub of ancient civilization.

The town relics from the period of Ancient Joson discovered in the basin include the Phyodae site in Honam-ri of Samsok District and the Kumthan-ri site of Sadong District in Pyongyang, which comprised of the sites of hundreds of dwelling houses.

The fact that the Taedong River basin was the centre of ancient culture can be proved by the fact that the greatest number of dolmens and stone coffin graves are distributed in the river basin.

According to the surveys conducted until the mid-1990s, as many as 14 000-odd dolmens which show the institutional character of the state are distributed in the river basin.

The dolmens whose covers are inscribed with constellations number several hundreds. Therefore, the river basin draws attention as one of the cradles of ancient astronomy.

A bronze ornament depicting two-person acrobatics and bronze bells from the graves in the river basin show that music, dance and acrobatics developed on a high level in the region and the fact that ancient Sinji characters were used by ancient Koreans manifests the extent to which the ancient culture of Korea developed.

As the river basin has many valuable historical remains and relics, it draws the attention of scholars engaged in the study of the history of development of human culture.

The unearthing and study of remains and relics related to the Taedonggang culture go on and the long history and culture of the Korean nation further shine along with the prestige of the ever prosperous DPRK.