Pyongyang: Kim Il Sung Square, Tower of the Juche Idea, and BBQ Duck.
Day 10 Pt 2. – Pyongyang: Kim Il Sung Square, Tower of the Juche Idea, and BBQ Duck.
Continuing on from day 10, we next made our way to Kim Il Sung Square, an impressive square that only days before held the military parade. Sadly foreigners are not allowed to attend that parade (and never have been from memory) but we did manage to see it on TV. Things always look a little bit bigger on TV. I have to add as well that while we were there it happened to fall on the 60th Anniversary of the Workers Party, so the Monday (Day 4 from memory) was a public holiday and thus lots of celebrations were happening around the city. There was also, and I was told this later on, additional acts in the Arirang Games (we noticed a few parts missing on the second performance I was there after the anniversary).
Oh yeah, Kim Jong Il attended the Arirang Games a day after we did. Of course no foreigners are allowed to be there when Dear Leader is present.
Follow the link for the rest of day 10 actions and photos.
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Kim Il Sung Square.
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The Square, enlarged to be bigger then Red Square in Moscow, was surprisingly quiet.
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The Workers Party symbol, hammer, sickle, and paint brush.
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The Tower of the Juche Idea. Now a crash course on Juche. LP reads;
Pronounced ‘joo-chay’, this is the cornerstone of North Korean philosophy, as witnessed by the Tower of the Juche Idea, the vast Pyongyang phallus designed by the Dear Leader himself. Juche encompasses many things- none of which are in any way related to DPRK’s grim reality. Juche essentially stresses self-reliance and the individual’s role in forging his/her own destiny, although no doubt it gets a cool reception at the concentration camps. Likewise, your guide will be delighted at your ideological progress if you say Igosun Juchejog-imnada (’It is Juche oriented’).
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On the Tower of the Juche Idea itself, LP reads:
On the other side of the Taedong River from Kim Il Sung Square, this honours Kim Il Sung’s philosophy Juche, which expounds the theory of economic self-reliance as vital in national sovereignty. 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. The pavilions surrounding the tower feature a trio of workers holding aloft the emblem of the DPRK and in the river immediately in front are two water jets that reach 150m on the rare occasion when they are working.
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Juche.
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Juche and I.
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A lone truck drives past Kim Il Square.
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A civilian taking precious gas home.
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Juche, close and personal.
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There were many plaques in the base of the Juche Tower from different countries around the world. Here’s Australia’s contribution.
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‘Go North, life is peaceful there, Go North, and breath in some Pyongyang smog air, Go North, where the sky’s are grey, Go North, concentration camps!’
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Nice picture of Juche.
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Some sky shots of Pyonyang at sunset.
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Sky shot of Pyonyang at sunset. You can see one of the hotels I stayed at on the island behind the bridge.
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Pyongyang skyline.
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The river was surprisingly clean.
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More Pyongyang.
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Apparently 3 million people live in Pyongyang, although I find it hard to believe. If I had to make a guess I’d say half that number lived here.
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Pyongyang buildings.
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PY skyline.
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The flame of Juche.
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Looking down.
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Ahhh… the American’s dropped a nuclear bomb! No, its just the sun setting.
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Kevin ‘the dancing dentist’ and Canadian John looking at us in the elevator.
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L to R; John, Mark (UK), Oli (UK), Bobby (France, UK, America, etc…) and out trainee North Korean guide, Mr Lee. Who doesn’t have a camera?
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Our last night in Pyongyang and we were treated to a small banquet (at least by North Korean standards) or barbequed duck. Never actually having bbq’ed duck in the South I was quite looking forward to the meal. Stuart (California, but UK citizen) looking happy about his duck meal.
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The meal is eaten similar to BBQ in South Korea, but I still had to explain to the other 3 on my table how to eat it correctly. It was amusing watching people at the other tables eating away in, well, very unorthodox and un-Korean ways. Of course at the end of the day it doesn’t matter how you eat it, as long as you enjoy it, and I think most, if not everyone, did.
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Later that night we retied to the Hotel bar for a few Dutch beers.
Next post: The train ride from Pyongyang to Beijing. Poker, beer, and no sleep.
North Korean Photos and Info. | David | 
3/11/2005 - Thursday 9:44 am
5 Comments
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By Tania, 3/11/2005 - Thursday @ 12:36 pm
Again the photos are fantastic and the details of your trip has been fascinating David.
I am amazed at the sunset picture!!
By Hammy, 3/11/2005 - Thursday @ 1:51 pm
Pyongyang looks a bit like Manhattan, though not as high.
By Max Watson, 10/2/2006 - Friday @ 3:55 pm
Foreigners were, suprisingly, allowed to attend the games the day that Kim Jong-Il was present. I read this on another blog a month ago. However, metal detectors were in full-effect at the entrances and all cameras were forbidden.
By David, 11/2/2006 - Saturday @ 1:01 am
I’d like to see where that was ridden because I was in Pyongyang when he attended and it was closed off to everyone expect party members and a select few.