TheRamblingWombat Pyongyang

Street Advertising and Murals

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Coming from outside North Korea (as all* of my readers will be) I am very aware of the impact of mass advertising on our lives and in particular advertising outside our homes which we cannot “turn off” or choose not to look at or hear, though of course few choose to do this and are bombarded with advertising, even within their homes.

The intrusiveness of all this advertising was very quickly brought home to me in North Korea because there is no, with one exception, commercial advertising in North Korea. Continue reading “Street Advertising and Murals” →

TheRamblingWombat Pyongyang

The Mangyongdae Children’s Palace

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Mangyongdae Children’s Palace

The thing that first struck me about the Children’s Palace was the sheer size of the place. It is massive and given that up to 10,000 children pass through here each day it would have to be. The purpose of the Palace, and others though smaller around the country, is to provide extracurricular activities for children so that their mothers can engage in “work, political and cultural activities”. While all children are apparently eligible to attend classes and other activities this Palace is very clearly a place for the most gifted and/or the privileged elite. Continue reading “The Mangyongdae Children’s Palace” →

TheRamblingWombat Pyongyang

Mangyongdae – Birthplace of Kim Il-sung

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Mangyongdae – Kim Il-sung’s Birthplace

Our guide assured us that Kim Il-sung was born here, into a patriotic and revolutionary family of several generations standing, on 15 April 1912 and that it was from here, at the tender age of 13, that he set out on the road of revolutionary struggle for Korea’s liberation from Japan. Once he left Mangyongdae in 1925 he didn’t return to Pyongyang until “he” had liberated Korea in Oct 1945. Continue reading “Mangyongdae – Birthplace of Kim Il-sung” →

TheRamblingWombat Pyongyang

Kumsusan Palace of the Sun – Meet the Leaders

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Kumsusan Palace of the Sun

Where does one begin?

Today was the day when shirts and ties were required for men with appropriately modest attire required for the ladies. We were headed for the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, final resting place for both Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il. Both leaders have been embalmed and lie in state for loyal subjects and tourists to visit. Clearly this is a site of very great importance to the North Korean people and one, quite reasonably, requiring a level of reverence and discretion from all those who visit. Continue reading “Kumsusan Palace of the Sun – Meet the Leaders” →

TheRamblingWombat Pyongyang

Tower of Immortality

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Tower of Immortality

Kim Il-sung died in 1994 but the North Korean Constitution states that he is and will remain forever the president of the DPRK. My review – Eternal Life for the Eternal President – covers Yeong Saeng ( Eternal Life) monuments throughout North Korea. These monuments, all similar, imbue the citizens of North Korea to remember that Kim Il-sung will be with them for ever.

This, the Tower of Immortality built at the entrance of Kumsong Street in 1997, does pretty much the same thing and bears a legend reassuring the people that The Great Leader Comrade Kim Il-sung and the Dear Leader Comrade Kim Jong-il (subsequently added of course) will always be with them. Continue reading “Tower of Immortality” →

TheRamblingWombat Pyongyang

Kim Il-Sung’s 102nd Birthday Fireworks

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Kim Il-sung’s Birthday Firworks

On the early evening of the Greater Leader’s 102nd birthday our group was in the Pyongyang Gold Lane Bowling alley. While most of the group were enjoying a game of bowls, some were having a drink and I was engaged in a deep and meaningful political discussion with our main guide. After bowls our (ok, not ours but rather the guides’) plan was to return to the hotel for dinner – it had been a long day. Continue reading “Kim Il-Sung’s 102nd Birthday Fireworks” →