The Martyrs' Mausoleum holds the tombs of several important Myanmar figures, including Queen Suphayalat, writer and nationalist Thakin Kodaw Hmaing, former UN Secretary-General U Thant, and Khin Kyi, the mother of Aung San Suu Kyi.
The site is also remembered for the 1983 bombing by North Korean agents, who were trying to assassinate visiting South Korean president Chun Doo-hwan. He escaped, but 21 people were killed. The mausoleum was rebuilt afterward and is now a quieter, more restrained memorial.