Goguryeo, however, extends over a wild region of northwestern Korea and eastern Manchuria subjected to extremes of temperature and structured by towering mountain ranges, broad plains, and life-giving rivers.

The highest peak, known as Paektu-san (Mount Paektu, or White Head Mountain), is situated on the contemporary North Korea-China border and has a beautiful, crystal-pure lake at its summit.

Kim II Sung and his guerrilla band will utilize associations with this mountain as part of the founding myth of North Korea, just as Kim Jong II will be said to have been born on the slopes of the mountain in 1942.

Unsurprisingly, North Korea will claim the Goguryeo legacy as the mainstream of Korean history.