Taedongmun

Taedongmun
Chosŏn'gŭl	대동문
Hancha	大同門
Revised Romanization	Daedongmun
McCune–Reischauer	Taedongmun

Not to be confused with Dongdaemun, the old east gate of Seoul

Taedong Gate is the eastern gate of the inner castle of the walled city of Pyongyang (Pyongyang Castle), and one of the National Treasures of North Korea. Located on the banks of the Taedong River, from which it gets its name, the gate was originally built in the sixth century as an official Koguryo construction, and, along with the Ryongwang Pavilion and Pyongyang Bell, served as the center of the inner castle's eastern defenses.The present construction dates from 1635, however, as the original was burnt to the ground during the Imjin wars of the late 16th century.

The current gate features a granite base topped by a two-story pavilion, called the Euphoru Pavilion (읍호루, 挹灝樓), because of its grand views of the Taedong River. This pavilion houses two hanging name plaques, one, on the first storey, reading "Taedong Gate" and calligraphed Yang Sa-on, and the other, reading "Upho Pavilion", on the second storey and written by Pak Wi (박위, 朴葳, ?∼1398).

It is National Treasure #4 in North Korea.

Taedongmun on the Taedong River Pyongyang taken by Ray Cunningham

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