NKorea officials claim discovery of 'unicorn lair'

NKorea officials claim discovery of 'unicorn lair'


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PYONGYANG, North Korea — North Korean archaeologists claim they have "reconfirmed" the lair of a "unicorn" once ridden by King Tongmyong.

The Korean Central News Agency, the official state media organization of the country, broke the news last week of the discovery, which is located about 200 meters from the Yongmyong Temple in Pyongyang, the capital and largest city in the country.

A rectangular rock that stands in front of the lair has the words "Unicorn Lair" carved into it as is believed to date to the time of the Koryo Kingdom, from the 10th to 14th centuries A.D.

"The discovery of the unicorn lair, associated with legend about King Tongmyong, proves that Pyongyang was a capital city of Ancient Korea as well as Koguryo Kingdom," Jo Hui Sung, director of the history Institute of the DPRK Academy of Social Sciences, told the news agency.

King Tongmyong was the founder of the Koguryo Kingdom. The "unicorn" referred to by the agency is likely a qilin, a mythical creature known throughout East Asian cultures. Often depicted covered in what looks like fire, it is sometimes called the Chinese unicorn.

As far as the story itself goes, the North Korean state news agency does not have a reputation for factual accuracy, as Time points out. Before former dictator Kim Jong Il died, he was said to have invented the hamburger, written 1,500 books over the course of three years while in college and shot 11 holes-in-one his first time golfing. The reports are often used as a way to lend legitimacy to the dictatorial regime.

Other reports on the unicorn discovery speculated whether the news report was planted in response to an embarrassing occurrence last week in which Chinese and Korean media took an Onion spoof article to be real.

The article named North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un the sexiest man alive and was promptly picked up by state-run media, who put together glowing articles and even slideshows on the subject.

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Stephanie Grimes

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