STATUE OF CHOLLIMA

The statue of Chollima is a monument which is located a few meters from the Grand Monument Mansudae. It symbolises the speed of movement by a winged horse, being according to legend capable of travelling 1 000 Leagues (400 km) per day.

The monument measures 46 m high, including plinth. The sculpture itself is 14 m tall and 16 m long. The two characters on the back of the winged horse, a worker and a peasant, measure respectively 7 and 6.5 m high. The worker waved a document of the Central Committee of the Korean Worker Party which symbolises the importance of the national doctrine and the peasant holds rice sheaves which represent prosperity.

The monument was conceived as a gift to Kim Il-Sung by the Society of production of sculptures of merit which is located in the Mansudae Workshops, following a speech of the latter called "Let us develop the folk art" and given in front of groups of rural amateurs artists on 7 March 1961. The statue was unveiled only one month later, on April 15, 1961. The statue of Chollima received the "People's Prize" saluting its aesthetics and the message that it delivers. This is regularly used in the representations of the country abroad like on the logo of the North Korean Pavilion of the universal exposition of Mila in 2015, or on ancient Soviet stamps.