Showing 1-23 of 23 results
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Chollima Statue
An interesting example of how the Kim regime has sought to incorporate traditional Korean myths into its socialist cult, is the bronze statue of the Korean Pegasus, the steed Chollima. According to legend, Chollima could cover hundreds of kilometres a day and was untameable (see North Korea Speak, ).
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Historic Pyongyang
To see something of Pyongyang's prewar history is a challenge. The Taedong Gate was the eastern gate to the original walled city of Pyongyang, and was built in the 6th century. The current gate was rebuilt in 1635, but is one of the oldest remaining structures in the city - a reminder that Pyongyang was once a traditional Asian city rather than the post-Soviet monolith it is today.
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Kim Il Sung Square
This vast plaza would be the packed hub of any other world capital, but Pyongyang's central square and marching ground is strange in its emptiness, the open spaces seemingly cowed by the massive buildings surrounding it. Most impressive of these is the Grand People's Study House, the country's largest library and national centre of Juche studies. This is one of Pyongyang's most striking buildings, a socialist realist structure melded with traditional Korean architecture.
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Kim Il Sung's Birthplace
Kim Il Sung's Birthplace is a collection of traditional huts: a typical Korean peasant house with a thatched roof and a block of living rooms, as well as a small barn, most of which looks like it's been built in the past few decades. The emphasis is very much on the president's humble origins, and indeed, it's an open question as to whether Kim Il Sung was really born here at all.
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Korean Central History Museum
Korean Central History Museum is all rather tedious and predictable - a large number of exhibits about the North's struggle against imperialism and oppression.
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Korean Revolution Museum
Pyongyang's museums unsurprisingly offer the regime's version of history. While one or two can be very interesting for a totally new perspective on events, the novelty can soon wear thin. A visit to the Korean Revolution Museum is likely to be included on your itinerary. This shows the anti-Japanese struggle, including numerous action exhibits depicting the fiercest of the battles.
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Kumsusan Memorial Palace
Kim Il Sung's residence during his lifetime, Kumsusan remains so in death. The palace is eerie, with bricked in windows and a vast square cleared before it. The embalmed corpse of the Great Leader lies in state here on the top floor for the truly privileged to witness. Unlike Mao's and Lenin's mausoleums, access is not for the proles, but by invite only. Though tour groups are often able to go, it's always best to request this a long time before you travel.
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Mangyongdae
The closest North Korea has to a Kim Il Sung Disney World is the suburb of Mangyongdae, one of the many cottage industries created by and simultaneously bolstering the ever-growing personality cult of Great Leaders one and two. Just 12km from the centre of Pyongyang, Mangyongdae has long been a destination for day-trippers from the capital, due to its idyllic setting amid the gentle hills where the Sunhwa River flows into the Taedong.
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Mangyongdae Children's Palace
This centre for extra-curricular activity - from martial arts to the playing of traditional instruments - makes for a great visit. Note the model of a 'North Korean' space shuttle at the entrance, a replica of the Soviet Buran . The palace visit will include displays of incredibly talented martial artists, gymnasts and musicians, all beaming at you as they perform. The tour usually culminates in the huge main auditorium with a stellar display of fantastically regimented youth.
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Mangyongdae Funfair
To relax after the relentless propaganda, the Mangyongdae Funfair is a pleasant oasis built around the base of Song Hill, where you can relax with some day-trippers from the capital. You can throw a ball at American Imperialists at the coconut shy and take a ride on a North Korean rollercoaster.
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Mangyongdae Revolutionary Museum
The Mangyongdae Revolutionary Museum, located near Kim Il Sung's Birthplace, continues the theme of the Great Leader's childhood and makes the point that all his family members were Korean patriot revolutionaries of the humblest possible order.
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Mangyongdae Revolutionary School
You may be lucky enough to visit the Mangyongdae Revolutionary School, where Pyongyang's elite sons are trained for the next generation of leadership. This can be a fun tour through the various classrooms and gymnasiums, where children look at you wide-eyed with wonder.
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Mansudae Grand Monument
The first stop on every visitor's trip will be to this larger-than-life bronze statue of the Great Leader. You can't help but blanch at Kim Il Sung's shamelessness - this is no memorial, but rather was unveiled in 1972 to celebrate Kim's 60th birthday. It was originally covered in gold leaf, but apparently at the objection of the Chinese, who were effectively funding the North Korean economy, this was later removed in favour of the scrubbed bronze on display today.
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Monument to the Victorious Fatherland Liberation War 1950-1953
Opposite the little Potong tributary of the Taedong, there is the impressive Monument to the Victorious Fatherland Liberation War 1950-1953, which was unveiled in 1993 to mark the 40th anniversary of the war's end. The sculptures reflect the different battles of the war; the Victory Sculpture is the centrepiece.
Read more about Monument to the Victorious Fatherland Liberation War 1950-1953
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Moran Hill
This is Pyongyang's top recreation ground for the masses. Couples wander, families picnic and there are people who even play musical instruments in an incongruously relaxed area of the capital. It's particularly busy on a Sunday and a lovely place to stroll and absorb something of daily life. Even the guides seem to relax more here and will often allow you more freedom to wander than elsewhere.
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Party Founding Museum
The Party Founding Museum is located on the southern slope of Haebang Hill and is one of the least interesting museums. It originally housed the Central Committee of the Korean Workers' Party, as well as Kim Il Sung's office from where he 'led the building of a new democratic Korea'. Next door is the Great Leader's conspicuously modest residence, used after coming to power and presumably before the masses demanded he build himself numerous palaces.
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Pyongyang Film Studios
Some 20 films a year are still churned out by the county's main film studios located in the suburbs of Pyongyang. Kim Il Sung visited the complex around 20 times during his lifetime to provide invaluable on-the-spot guidance, while Kim Jr has been more than 600 times, such is his passionate interest in films. Like all things North Korean, the two main focuses are the anti-Japanese struggle and the anti-American war.
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Pyongyang Zoo
Rarely offered on standard tours, Pyongyang Zoo is worth a visit. It has a good aquarium and reptile house and a large array of animals, most of whom look pretty forlorn. Worst off are the big cats, nearly all gifts of long-dead communist big wigs around the world - the wonderful lions, tigers and leopards are kept in woefully inadequate compounds, and many have lost the plot as a result. The zoo's two elephants and its hippo all look exceptionally lacklustre as well.
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Three Revolutions Exhibition
A rarely visited museum is the Three Revolutions Exhibition, North Korea's answer to the America's Epcot Centre. The sprawling complex details the 'three revolutions' Kim Il Sung brought about in post-war Korea: ideological, technical and cultural. The six halls detail advances across the board in electronics, heavy industry, agriculture and technology (advances appear to be fairly slim, all the technical exhibits look more like a display of antiques).
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Tomb of Tan'gun
History continues to evolve in North Korea, with new 'revolutionary discoveries' being made every year. While the government announced in 1993 that its archaeologists had discovered the tomb of Tan'gun, the founder of the first Korean kingdom, it wasn't until recently that North Korean historians made the incredible discovery that Tan'gun was in fact a member of the Kim clan.
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Tower of the Juche Idea
On the other side of the Taedong River from Kim Il Sung Sq, this honours Kim Il Sung's philosophy Juche, and was unveiled to mark the president's 70th birthday in 1982. Indeed, the tower is made up of 25,550 granite blocks - one for every day of Kim's life until his 70th birthday. The tower stands at 170m and a trip to the top by lift is well worth it, providing a great view over the capital on a clear day.
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Triumphal Arch
Your guides will tell you with barely concealed glee that the Triumphal Arch is 3m higher than its cousin in Paris, making it the largest in the world.
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Victorious Fatherland Liberation War Museum
The Victorious Fatherland Liberation War Museum is a fascinating place. The key battles of the Korean War are depicted vividly in dioramas, and there's some fascinating military hardware from war-damaged tanks and aircraft to torpedo boats used by both sides. These were all placed in the basement and the museum was then built around them.
Showing 1-23 of 23 results
