"I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to move." RLS
During our time in Pyongyang we were to visit or pass by the Kim Il-sung Stadium on a number of occasions, related, in particular, to the fact that it was the start and finish point for the Pyongyang Marathon which we attended, but more about that in another entry. Continue reading “Kim Il-sung Stadium”
This monument, close the Kim Il-sung Stadium and the Pyongyang Television Tower serves two purposes.
Firstly it is a memorial, dedicated to Chinese martyrs of the Korean War Continue reading “Sino-Korean Friendship Tower”
The Pyongyang Television Tower is a 150 metre high tower, restaurant and observation deck in the central part of the city, just north of Kim Il-sung Stadium and the Arch of Triumph. Reports suggest that the restaurant is one of the better restaurants in Pyongyang. Continue reading “Pyongyang Television Tower”
On 14 October 1945 over 100,000 people gathered here, beside the present day Kim Il-Sung Stadium and the Arch of Triumph, to celebrate the liberation of Korea, by the Russian army, from the evil clutches of Japan which had occupied the country for 35 years.
Having emerged from the depths of the Pyongyang Metro we were met with the spectacular sight of the Arch of Triumph.
Those familiar with the Arc de Triomphe in Paris will see where the inspiration for North Korea’s Arch of Triumph came from, though the latter incorporates both Western and Korean features. Continue reading “The Arch of Triumph”
Anyone who has visited the Moscow Metro will understand where the inspiration for the Pyongyang Metro artwork/decoration came from. Indeed, the whole Metro is modeled on the Moscow one. What I saw in the Pyongyang Metro was socialist realist art at its best – in the form of mosaic murals, metallic reliefs and statues. Continue reading “Pyongyang Metro – The Artwork”
The Pyongyang Metro was built between 1969 and 1973 (though most stations opened somewhat later) and officially consists of two lines set at a depth of over 100 metres below street level making it the deepest metro system in the world. Only St Petersburg challenges this assertion. Continue reading “Pyongyang Metro – The Metro”
The are only a small number of hotels in Pyongyang at which tourists are permitted to stay. One of those, and the one at which the vast majority of tourists stay, is the Yanggakdo International Hotel situated on an island in the Teodong River. Our group stayed here while in Pyongyang. Continue reading “Pyongyang’s Alcatraz”
Why, dear reader, have I included a picture of a taxi, and a Beijing one at that, and asked your to admire it (as something to do) in Pyongyang? Continue reading “Admire the taxis in Pyongyang!”
In my Chollima Statue review I explained how Kim Il-sung was keen that the redevelopment of North Korea, after the devastating impact of the Korean War, occur as quickly as possible and in 1956 he first urged his people to “rush at the speed of Chollima.”
The Rambling Wombat 