7072928-snow_falls_and_the_grand_peoples_study_house_pyongyang
Snow Falls and the Grand People’s Study House

The first day of many multi-day tours amount to someone picking you up from the airport and taking you to your hotel where you “have the remainder of the day at leisure.”

Not so in Pyongyang.

As soon as we arrived at the airport and had passed through immigration and customs (a relatively simple and painless exercise) we were segregated into our tour groups and met our local guides who would accompany us everywhere (except to bed and the toilet were where we were permitted to go unaccompanied!) for the next ten days. We had one young female guide and a young male one. Our bus driver also stayed with us for the full duration. All three were lovely people.

Within half an hour we were on the bus and headed into Pyongyang to begin our sightseeing – checking into our hotel would wait until lunch time after which sightseeing would resume again.

En route to our first stop and the subject of this review, the Mansudae Fountain Park, our main guide more formally introduced herself and the others but very quickly got into telling us about Korea and what was in store for us. While we had a detailed itinerary this could be discarded as it soon became clear we would visit sights and indeed cities at completely different times and on different days than those scheduled. We missed nothing however and indeed saw and experienced much more than was on the itinerary.

Interwoven with the fairly standard introduction we expected was “guidance” on photography and where we could and couldn’t go. Most importantly we were introduced to ‘the Leaders’ and appraised of their role and status within North Korea – though North Korea is a term the guides never used. They only refer to Korea or the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) if they want to specifically refer to the northern part of the peninsula or, as they say, the northern part of their soon to be reunited country.

The Mansudae Fountain Park is a large paved park of fountains and water features right in the centre of Pyongyang and while beautiful and certainly worth a visit in its own right I get the feeling that this stop was more designed for us to get used to being in North Korea and to let the guides and assorted others size us up. Perhaps I was suffering a bit of early paranoia, on this our first stop outside the airport in North Korea, but I was sure that various people were watching us here and certainly there were people here with larger video cameras than the average person carries to film fountains, albeit it large fountains.

7072930-snow_falls_fountain_pyongyang
‘Snow Falls’ Fountain

Anyway, as I am prone to do, I digress – back to the park. It which opened in 1976 and comprises a series of fountains – the largest of which shoots jets of water 80 metres high. Especially beautiful are the white marble statues of women dancing among the fountains. The main sculpture of 28 dancers is called “Snow Falls.”

7072932-snow_falls_fountain_pyongyang
‘Snow Falls’ Fountain

Also in the park there are a number of nice rock fountains.

7072935-rock_fountain_in_mansudae_fountain_park_pyongyang

Like a lot of monuments and civic areas, the Mansudae Fountain Park is a popular spot for wedding photos and there were a few couples of newly weds here when we visited. Prior to coming here, or immediately afterwards, they would, without doubt, have paid their respects at the nearby statues (Mansudae Grand Monument) of Kim Il-sung (the Eternal President) and his son and successor, Kim Jong-il. It was also in this park that we saw our first group of school children in what we soon learned was a standard common blue uniform with red neck decoration. Do note the flower in the young girls hand in this picture – this will have been later laid at the feet of the Leader’s statues referred to above, and our next stop.

7072934-children_in_mansudae_fountain_park_pyongyang
Children in Mansudae Fountain Park

In addition to the Mansudae Grand Monument many of Pyongyang’s most important buildings and monuments, including the Grand People’s Study House (behind the fountain in my first picture), the Korean Revolution Museum, the Chollima Statue, the Mansudae Assembly Hall, and the Mansudae Art Theatre are located close to the Mansudae Fountain Park. More about most of these in separate entries.

This blog entry is one of a group (loop) of entries on The Rambling Wombat’s trip to Pyongyang, North Korea which I recommend you read in a particular order.  I suggest you continue with my next entry – Supreme People’s Assembly.     If necessary, go to my Pyongyang introduction entry – Pyongyang – A Capital City Unlike any Other – to start this loop at the beginning.

20 thoughts on “Mansudae Fountain Park”

  1. Sarah has perfectly summed up why this happens. I would just add that the flight across from Beijing to Pyongyang is just a couple of hours so the need to freshen etc is not as it would be if you flew in from London when jeg lag could also be something you need to contend it. Most people would have at least a couple of days in Beijing before travelling on to NK.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  2. Interesting that they took you sightseeing before the hotel, I always like a bit of a wash and brush up after a flight but when in Rome (or Pyongyang)……………

    I suspect you are not paranoid but correct about the guys with the video cameras, getting some footage of you should you “go rogue”.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    1. When we flew to Pyongyang we arrived late afternoon and were supposed to go to check in before dinner, but instead we were taken straight into the centre to have a walk through part of the city (on one of the approved routes for tourists, naturally), a beer in a weird bar and then dinner, before checking in after that. They can’t resist any opportunity to fill your day with activity – partly because they want to impress you (and it was an attractive part of the city and gave us good first impressions), partly because they know you can’t do anything on your own so they feel obligated to entertain you as much as possible, and partly (I suspect) because the less time you are on your own, the less likely it is that you’ll do anything they would rather you didn’t!

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

      1. Between you and Albert I have become fascinated with DPRK. If circumstances ever allow with my health and international travel restrictions I would like to go there.
        It might actually work well. I am not as robust as I once was and the idea of being ferried about everywhere without having to wrestle with public transport or vast amounts of walking appeals.

        I would certainly like a whizz on that Underground, it looks amazing and Albert mentioned that there is now a tour that visits every station. You know what I am like with trains of all types.

        Liked by 2 people

        Reply

        1. You would find it fascinating I am sure, although it’s hard to avoid the walking that IS included in the tours (maximum a couple of kilometres at a time maybe) as you all have to stick together. Having said that, for our longest city walk we were offered to alternative of staying in the bus with the driver – which no one took!

          Liked by 2 people

          Reply

          1. No point in sitting on an empty bus after going all that way. I will need to get my fitness up before I do any travelling. I think it is merely that I literally have not walked more than a few hundred yards at any one time since February with being in hospital, recuperating here, house arrest etc. I really should get it done.

            Liked by 2 people

          2. Yes you have had a rough run but you need to get that behind you and get out and about .. to the degree you can. I am no expert in these things but imagine you need to take it easy and work it up in terms of walking hiking etc.

            Liked by 2 people

          3. I would think that would be the way to go about it but, of course, what was a decent autumn (I was wearing shorts and flip flops into October) has now turned wet and cold, we even had a snow warning last week although it did not materialise. Ho hum.

            Liked by 1 person

        2. Again Sarah had summed up well .. based on your liking for walking and assuming you are able to return to that as your health improves you would have no problems. Depending on what tour you choose there could be a few bush/hill walks but these can be missed. Sarah, wisely, skipped one to some waterfalls which would have played havoc with her knees.

          Yes that is correct … all stations (or should I say – all stations they own up to exisiting?) on the Underground can be visited. General tours tend not to do this as there are so many other things they want you to see. Days are long and some can be tiring in NK – essentially no ‘time at leisure’ that you see in other tours, elsewhere.

          Liked by 2 people

          Reply

          1. Looks like I’ll have to start working on my fitness although who knows when we will be able to travel internationally again. Looks like London is heading for Tier 3, whatever that is. It sounds pretty draconian.

            Liked by 1 person

          2. Australia has just extended its international travel ban (with a few exceptions) on citizens until 31 March unless specific countries are identified for a travel bubble. The UK is not even being considered for a bubble….. Currently, in fact as of today, all internal borders are open for unrestricted travel within Australia – we have had zero community transmitted cases ( so only incoming residents and diplomats who are isolated on arrival) for some time now … Canberra many months. International travel-wise NZ citizens can come to Aus (most of it) but have to quarantine for 14 days on returning home at their own expense so the only ones coming are relatives of people here who stay quite a while… probably until NZ drops isolation rules. NZ still won’t accept Aussies. I will keep to myself how I feel the UK has handled things , to date!

            Liked by 1 person

          3. Sure, keep it to yourself but I think I know how you feel and I agree totally. I do not even know what restrictions we are under now as I just gave up even checking, they change every bloody week.

            I do not need to self-isolate as I have had the damned thing but I do. Since late February, the only times I have left the house is to food shop and go to the hospital, the Doctor’s and food shop, none of which takes me more than about 800 yards from my front door.

            I know London is in Tier 2, whatever that is, because they keep spamming me with ads on Spotify but I honestly do not know what that involves.

            Liked by 1 person

          1. Interestingly I am now trying to sign up to WP as that’s the platform hosting the new VT forum and I’ve waited two days in vain for the confirmation email – but hopefully once I have that I should find interacting here a bit less cumbersome. Forgive me meanwhile if I don’t comment on all your entries – I AM reading, but …

            Like

          2. Yes it will be easier… while I can link to you from here TP (understandably) has restricted members’ access to direct linking with other blogs.. stops a member diverting trafic away from TP to content elsewhere.
            When you say sign up for xxx do you mean G’s forum or WP itself…. others have had problems with former…

            Like

          3. I mean WP. I had some problems with the forum but Tilman helped me sort that. But to get a profile photo there you have to also sign up to Gravatar which is a WP thing. Haven’t done it yet but I’m gong to as I hate the image that’s been assigned to me there – looks like a really angry face!!

            Like

Leave a comment