Pangapsumnida! — Inside the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea
BY BEN HABIB.
This photo gallery documents my trip to the Democratic People’s Republic of North Korea in July 2012.
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My deepest thanks go to our tour guides from KITC, local guides at each of the landmarks we visited and everyone else involved in making this a memorable trip.
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Pyongyang’s Arch of Triumph
Pyongyang Railway Station, one of the few examples of Russian architecture in city
Looking north along the Taedong River toward the Juche Tower, Pyongyang
Monuments to Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il at Mansudae
Revolutionary monument at Mansudae
The Chollima statue in Pyongyang. This mythical winged horse gave its name to the Chollima speed battles of the 1950s, an ideological mobilisation campaign that is regarded as North Korea’s “golden age”
The 170 metre-high Juche Tower in Pyongyang
Monument to the Workers’ Party of Korea in Pyongyang
Monument to the Workers’ Party of Korea in Pyongyang
Taedongmun (Taedong Gate), originally built in the sixth century during the Koguryo Period and constructed in its present form after the Imjin Wars of the sixteenth century
Fine detail within the Ryongwang Pavilion, near Taedongmun. The pavilion dates from the Koguryo period and although damaged during the Korean War, remains an important cultural landmark
Marble statue of Kim Il Sung at the Grand People’s Study House
Foyer of the Grand People’s Study House
Images of the Great Leader Kim Il Sung and Dear Leader Kim Jong Il overlooking a lecture hall in Pyongyang’s Grand People’s Study House
Overlooking Kim Il Sung Square and the Taedong River in Pyongyang
“New Street” appartment buildings adjacent to Mansudae, in Pyongyang
Two of Pyongyang’s famous traffic light ladies
The USS Pueblo, the American reconnaisance ship captured by North Korea in 1968. It now sits anchored on the Taedong River in Pyongyang
Construction workers toiling on a job site
Pyongyang subway
The famous Ryugyong Hotel, towering above the Pyongyang skyline. Construction on the hotel began in 1992 but was halted for over a decade due to North Korea’s economic problems. It is now nearing completion
Looking south across the line of control at Panmunjom in the DMZ
North Korean border guards on the line of control at Panmunjom in the DMZ
A tasty Korean spread, what a wonderful way to eat
Beautiful architecture at the Koryo Museum in Kaesong, built within the grounds of a Confucian academy
Sonjuk bridge in Kaesong, where Koryo dynasty poet and court official Jong Mong Ju was famously murdered on this bridge for refusing to recognise the new regime of Yi Song Gye
Kim Il Sung monument in Kaesong
Monument to the Three Charters for National Reunification, south of Pyongyang
Water fun park next to the Taedong River in Pyongyang
Murals of the Great and Dear Leaders
Kim Il Sung statue in Hamhung
Downtown Hamhung. The city of Hamhung was rebuilt as an industrial hub with East German assistance in the late-1950s
A building at the former residence of Choson dynasty founder, Lee Song Gye. Lee famously launched a coup to depose the last ruler of the Koryo dynasty. Rather than follow an order from the king to attack an invading Chinese army, Lee joined forces with the Chinese army to depose the king and establish himself on the throne
Beachfront at Wonsan, on North Korea’s east coast
Fishermen casting a line off the sea barrage at Wonsan
Wonsan harbour
Chonsam Collective Farm
Rice cultivation
Gardening when it counts: a private household garden plot at the Chonsam Collective Farm
Statue of a young Kim Il Sung in Wonsan. Kim returned to Korea via Wonsan from Russia at the conclusion of the Japanese occupation in 1945
Beautiful mountain landscape in North Korea’s mountainous centre
Koryo Hotel, Pyongyang
Kaeson Fun Fair in Pyongyang
Three Revolution Exhibition Centre in Pyongyang
The Air Koryo Soviet-era Tupolev 154 aircraft that bore us from Pyongyang to Beijing
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Dr. Benjamin Habib is a Lecturer in Politics and International Relations at La Trobe University, Albury-Wodonga. Ben is an internationally published researcher with interests including North Korea’s motivations for nuclear proliferation, East Asian security, international politics of climate change, and undergraduate teaching pedagogy. He also teaches in Australian politics and the international relations of the Middle East. Ben undertook his PhD candidature at Flinders University in Adelaide, Australia, and has worked previously for the Department of Immigration and Citizenship. He has spent time teaching English in Dandong, China, and has also studied at Keimyung University in Daegu, South Korea. Ben is involved with local community groups Wodonga and Albury Toward Climate Health (WATCH) and Transition Albury-Wodonga.
Ben welcomes constructive feedback. Please comment below, or contact Ben at b.habib@latrobe.edu.au.
The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of Our Voice: Politics Albury-Wodonga.
[…] presupposition of the design of these spaces. Indeed the broad boulevards and large monuments of Pyongyang’s urban landscape are an ideological theme park coded with the power and personality of the Kim […]
[…] presupposition of the design of these spaces. Indeed, the broad boulevards and large monuments of Pyongyang’s urban landscape are an ideological theme park coded with the power and personality of the Kim […]
Edge Dwellers Café 
Great photo Ben.
*photos! Looks like a facinating place.
[…] Pangapsumnida! — Inside the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. […]
[…] Ben Habib. ‘Pangapsumnida! Inside the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea‘. […]
[…] presupposition of the design of these spaces. Indeed the broad boulevards and large monuments of Pyongyang’s urban landscape are an ideological theme park coded with the power and personality of the Kim […]
[…] presupposition of the design of these spaces. Indeed, the broad boulevards and large monuments of Pyongyang’s urban landscape are an ideological theme park coded with the power and personality of the Kim […]