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{{Short description|Architectural structure in Pyongyang, North Korea}}
{{Infobox monument
| name          = Juche Tower
| native_name   = 
| image         = Tower of Juche Idea, Pyongyang, North Korea (2909246855).jpg
| caption       = The Juche Tower at night
| location      = [[Pyongyang]], North Korea
| designer      = [[Kim Jong Il]]
| type          = 
| material      = Granite and white stone
| length        = 
| width         = 
| height        = {{convert|170|m|ft}}
| begin         = 
| complete      = {{Start date|1982}}
| open          = 
| dedicated_to  = ''[[Juche]]''
| relief        = 
| coordinates   = {{coord|39.0176|125.7637|format=dms|type:landmark_region:KP|display=inline,title}}
| extra         = 
|module={{Infobox Korean name/auto
|hangul=^주체_사상탑
|hanja=主體思想塔
|child = yes
}}
}}
The '''Juche Tower''' (more formally, the '''Tower of the Juche Idea'''; {{Korean|hangul=주체사상탑}}), completed in 1982, is a {{convert|170|m|ft|adj=on}} monument in [[Pyongyang]], the capital of [[North Korea]], and the tallest structure in the city. The monument is named after the ideology of ''[[Juche]]'' introduced by the country's first [[Leader of North Korea|leader]], [[Kim Il Sung]]. 

The Juche Tower is situated on the east bank of the [[Taedong River|River Taedong]], directly opposite [[Kim Il Sung Square]] on the west bank. It was built to commemorate [[Kim Il Sung]]'s 70th [[Day of the Sun|birthday]].

The {{convert|170|m|ft|adj=on}} structure is composed of a four-sided tapering {{convert|150|m|ft|adj=on}} spire{{spaced ndash}}the tallest [[granite]] structure in the world {{spaced ndash}}containing 25,550 blocks (one for each day of Kim Il Sung's life),<ref>{{Cite web |title=Must see attractions in Pyongyang, North Korea |url=http://www.lonelyplanet.com/north-korea/pyongyang/sights/landmarks-monuments/tower-juche-idea}}</ref> dressed in white stone with seventy dividers and capped with a {{convert|20|m|ft|adj=on}}-high 45-ton permanently illuminated metal torch.

== Background ==
The Juche Tower is situated on the east bank of the [[Taedong River|River Taedong]], directly opposite [[Kim Il Sung Square]] on the west bank. It was built to commemorate [[Kim Il Sung]]'s 70th [[Day of the Sun|birthday]]. Although his son and successor [[Kim Jong Il]] is officially credited as its designer,<ref>{{cite news |last=Coonan |first=Clifford |title=Kim Jong Il, the tyrant with a passion for wine, women and the bomb |work=[[The Independent]] |date=21 October 2006 |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/kim-jong-il-the-tyrant-with-a-passion-for-wine-women-and-the-bomb-421016.html |access-date=11 October 2008}}</ref> interviews with North Korean former officials contradict this assertion.<ref>{{cite book |last=Martin |first=Bradly K. |title=Under The Loving Care of The Fatherly Leader |publisher=Macmillan |date=2004 |pages=626 |isbn=0-312-32221-6}}</ref>

The architectural style of the Tower is inspired by stone [[pagodas]] of premodern Korea.<ref name="Harris2012">{{cite book|last=Harris|first=Mark Edward|title=Inside North Korea|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iQogBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA24|year=2012|publisher=Chronicle Books|isbn=978-1-4521-1363-0|page=24}}</ref> The {{convert|170|m|ft|adj=on}} structure is a four-sided tapering {{convert|150|m|ft|adj=on}} spire{{spaced ndash}}the tallest in [[granite]]{{spaced ndash}}containing 25,550 blocks (365&nbsp;×&nbsp;70: one for each day of Kim Il Sung's life, excluding supplementary days for leap years),<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.lonelyplanet.com/north-korea/pyongyang/sights/landmarks-monuments/tower-juche-idea|title=Must see attractions in Pyongyang, North Korea}}</ref> dressed in white stone with seventy dividers and capped with a {{convert|20|m|ft|adj=on}}-high 45-ton illuminated metal torch.

The torch on top of the tower is always lit.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Toimela|first1=Markku|last2=Aalto|first2=Kaj|title= Salakahvilla Pohjois-Koreassa : Markku Toimelan jännittävä tie Pohjois-Korean luottomieheksi|year=2017|publisher=Docendo|location=Jyväskylä|language=fi|isbn=978-952-291-369-2|page=194}}</ref> It is possible to ascend the tower by elevator and there are wide views over Pyongyang from the viewing platform just below the torch.

At its base, there are reception rooms where videos explaining the tower's ideological importance are sometimes shown. The Juche Tower is the second-tallest monumental column in the world after the [[San Jacinto Monument]] in Texas, United States, which is {{convert|2.9|m|ft}} taller.

Associated with the tower is a {{convert|30|m|ft|adj=mid|-high}} statue consisting of three idealised figures each holding a tool{{spaced ndash}}a hammer (the worker); a [[sickle]] (the peasant); and a [[Ink brush|writing brush]] (the "working [[intellectual]]"){{spaced ndash}}in a classic [[Stalinist architecture|Stalinist-style]] reminiscent of the Soviet statue ''[[Worker and Kolkhoz Woman]]''. The three tools form the emblem of the ruling [[Workers' Party of Korea]]. There are also six smaller groups of figures, each {{convert|10|m|ft}} high, that symbolize other aspects of ''[[Juche]]'' ideology.

A wall carrying 82 friendship [[Commemorative plaque|plaque]]s from foreign supporters and Juche study groups forms part of the Tower.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.visitthedprk.org/juche-tower/|title=Juche Tower|publisher=Visit North Korea|access-date=24 April 2019|archive-date=27 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200927204307/https://www.visitthedprk.org/juche-tower/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Gallery==
{{Gallery
| File:Juche-Tower-2014.jpg | Up-close view of the ''Juche'' Tower and the accompanying monument to the Workers' Party of Korea
| File:Juche Tower torch.jpg | Torch symbolizing ''Juche'' at the top of the ''Juche'' Tower
| File:Juche Tower tribute plaques.png | Tribute plaques to ''Juche'' from foreign delegates, contained in the interior entrance of the tower
| File:Korean reading at Juche Tower 02.JPG | A man reading the text at the base of the ''Juche'' Tower
| File:Juche-Tower-From-GPS.jpg | View of the ''Juche'' Tower from the roof of the [[Grand People's Study House]]
| File:Juche Tower & fountains.jpg | The ''Juche'' Tower during evening celebrations of [[International Workers' Day]] (May Day) in 2010
| File:Pyongyang-May-2005.JPG | View of [[Kim Il-sung Square]] from the top of the ''Juche'' Tower
| File:Pyongyang - Juche Tower from Yanggakdo Hotel (L9992027).jpg | View of Pyongyang with the ''Juche'' Tower in the background
}}

== See also ==
* [[National Monument (Indonesia)|Monas]], a similarly designed monument-tower in [[Jakarta]], [[Indonesia]], topped with flame statue and elevator ride to the top observation deck
* [[Washington Monument]] in Washington, D.C., United States, an obelisk erected to commemorate George Washington
* [[San Jacinto Monument]] near La Porte, Texas, United States, the world's tallest masonry column to commemorate the Battle of San Jacinto
* [[Monument to Party Founding]]
* [[Arch of Triumph (Pyongyang)]]
* [[Arch of Reunification]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Commons}}
* [http://www.orientalarchitecture.com/koreanorth/pyongyang/jucheidea.php Asian Historical Architecture: Juche Tower]
* [https://dprk360.com/inside-north-korea/juche-tower/1047/ Virtual tour of Juche Tower]

{{Pyongyang}}
{{National symbols of North Korea}}

[[Category:1982 establishments in North Korea]]
[[Category:Towers completed in 1982]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Pyongyang]]
[[Category:Monuments and memorials in North Korea]]
[[Category:National symbols of North Korea]]
[[Category:Towers in North Korea]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Pyongyang]]
[[Category:Monumental columns in North Korea]]
[[Category:Articles containing video clips]]
[[Category:20th-century architecture in North Korea]]