[1] Built in 1982 on the Triumph Return Square at the foot of Moran Hill (모란봉) in the North Korean capital city of Pyongyang, the monument was built to honour Kim Il Sung's role in the military resistance for Korean independence.

Inaugurated on the occasion of his 70th birthday, each of its 25,500 blocks of finely-dressed white granite represents a day of his life up to that point.

[2] The structure is modeled after the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, but is 10 metres (33 ft) taller.

Inscribed in the arch is the revolutionary hymn "Song of General Kim Il Sung", and the year 1925, when North Korean history states that Kim set out on the journey for national liberation of the country from Japanese rule.

The arch is illuminated at night and has its own single cylinder diesel generator in case of main power failure.