ARCHITECTURE IN NORTH KOREA

A. GEOGRAPHICAL INFLUENCE

The old name of North Korea is Choson and its capital, Pyongyang (Flat Land). North Korea shares land
borders with China and Russia to the north, and borders South Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone. To its west
are the Yellow Sea and Korea Bay, and to its east lies Japan across the Sea of Japan (East Sea of Korea).

B. GEOGRAPHICAL INFLUENCE

The terrain of the Korean Peninsula is rumpled, covered with low mountains. Most rocks are of Precambrian
origin, although isolated pockets of paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic rock can also be found. North korea’s
identified mineral resources, deposits of coal, iron ore, limestone and magnesite.

Coal Iron Ore Limestone Magnesite

C. CLIMATIC INFLUENCE

North Korea has a continental climate with four distinct seasons. Long winters bring cold and clear weather
interspersed with snow storms as a result of northern and northwestern winds that blow from Siberia. The weather is
likely to be particularly harsh in the northern mountainous regions. Summer tends to be short, hot, humid, and rainy
because of the southern and southeastern monsoon winds that bring most air from the Pacific Ocean.

D. RELIGIOUS INFLUENCE

There are no known official statistics of religions in North Korea. North Korea is an atheist state where
public religion is discouraged. Based on estimates from the late 1990s and the 2000s, North Korea is mostly atheist
 and agnostic, with the religious life dominated by the traditions of Korean shamanism and Chondoism. There are
small communities of Buddhists and Christians.

Religion in North Korea

Non-believers (64.3%)
 Korean shamanism (16%)
Chondoism (13.5%)
Buddhism (4.5%)
 Christianity (1.7%)

E. HISTORICAL, POLITICAL AND SOCIAL INFLUENCE

Government is a single-party state under a united front led by the Korean Workers’ Party (KWP).

Establishment – Independence declared March 1, 1919

Liberation – August 15, 1945

Formal declaration of liberation – September 9, 1948

Kim II-Sung ( 15 April 1912- 8 July 1994) – was the leader of the Democratic
People’s Republic of Korea, commonly referred to as North Korea, from its establishment in
1948 until his death in 1994.

F. ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTERS

“Impressive and Massive”

 Seemingly well-kept residential buildings that conceal primitive, single-storey huts in their back yards.
 Monuments are “illuminated by perfectly designed lighting systems after dark while private dwellings show barely a
light”.
 Public buildings “flaunt lavish facades of quarried stone while the precast concrete of the pavements is riddled with
cracks.
 Use of traditional tiled roof designs.

ARCHITECTURAL EXAMPLES:

Arch of Triumph – It was built in April Juche 71 (1982) at the foot of Moran Hill
to memorize the triumphal return of President Kim Il Sung, modeled after the
Arc de Triomphe in Paris, France. 10,500 blocks of granite were piled up. It is 60
m in height and 52.5 m in width. The four columns were decorated by
embossed images. And the years "1925" and "1945" carved in relief symbolize
the years when the President embarked on revolution and liberated Korea.
Carved in relief are the words of "Song of General Kim Il Sung".
 Juche Tower – The Juche Tower is dedicated to the Juche Idea, the idea that man is free and
independent and master of his own destiny. The tower was completed in 1982 for Kim II-
Sung’s 70th birthday and it is constructed of 25,550 bricks, one for each day in Kim’s life up to
that point.

Monument to the Foundation of the Worker’s Party - The monument is rich in

symbolism: the hammer, sickle and calligraphy brush symbolize the workers, farmers
and intellectuals. The element is 50 meters high to symbolize the 50-year anniversary
of the founding of the Workers' Party of Korea. The inscription on the outer belt reads:
"Long live the Workers' Party of Korea, the organizer and guide of all victories of the
Korean people!" On the inside of the belt are three bronze reliefs with their distinct
meanings: the historical root of the party, the unity of people under the party and the
party's vision for a progressive future. Two red flag-shaped buildings with letters
forming the words "ever-victorious" surround the monument.

Ryugyong Hotel - The Ryugyong Hotel is an unfinished 105-story pyramid-shaped skyscraper in

Pyongyang, North Korea. Its name ("capital of willows") is also one of the historical names for
Pyongyang. The building is also known as the 105 Building, a reference to its number of floors. The
building has been planned as a mixed-use development, which would include a hotel.

Construction began in 1987 but was halted in 1992 as North Korea entered a period of economic
crisis after the fall of the Soviet Union. After 1992 the building stood topped out, but without any
windows or interior fittings. In 2008 construction resumed, and the exterior was completed in
2011. It was planned to open the hotel in 2012, the centenary of Kim Il-sung's birth, but this did
not happen. A partial opening was announced for 2013, but this was also cancelled. As of 2016,
the building remains unopened.

Kumsusan Memorial Palace - Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, formerly the Kumsusan
Memorial Palace, and sometimes referred to as the Kim Il-sung Mausoleum, is a
building near the northeast corner of the city of Pyongyang that serves as the
mausoleum for Kim Il-sung, the founder and eternal president of North Korea, and
for his son Kim Jong-il who succeeded him as the country's ruler.

The palace was built in 1976 as the Kumsusan Assembly Hall and served as Kim Il-
sung's official residence. Following the elder Kim's death in 1994, Kim Jong-il had
the building renovated and transformed into his father's mausoleum. Inside the
palace, Kim Il-sung's embalmed body lies inside a clear glass sarcophagus. His head
rests on a Korean-style pillow and he is covered by the flag of the Workers' Party of
Korea. Kim Jong-il is now on display in a room close to and very similar to his
father's.

Kumsusan is the largest mausoleum dedicated to a Communist leader and the only one to house the remains of multiple
people. It is fronted by a large square, approximately 500 metres (1,600 ft) in length.
 Children’s Palace – or the Mangyongdae Schoolchildren’s Palace was
opened in May 2, 1989 as a “comprehensive extracurricular educational
center for schoolchildren.” It consists of an eight-story central building and
various annex buildings totaling over 103,000 sq. m. The annexes house a
science block, an art block, a gymnasium, an indoor swimming pool and a
2,000 seat theater. There are 690 rooms for various purposes including
music and dance practice rooms, mathematics, chemistry, astronomy,
computer science, automotive, machine tool, sports, etc.

Over 12,000 pupils visit the palace each day, cared for by over 500 teachers and several hundred more lecturers
and assistants. The shape of the building is that of encircling arms, with a statue of a “Flower Carriage of
Happiness” in the center.

Grand People’s Study House (1982) – stands on Namsan Hill at the heart of
Pyongyang. It was opened on April 1st, 1982. It stands opposite the Tower of
the Juche Idea across the Taedong River and is adjacent to Kim II-Sung
square. The total floorspace is 100,000 sq. m. and can hold over 30 million
volumes. It can accommodate over 12,000 visitors a day. The interior is
divided into over 600 rooms for reading, recording, information, and
consulting.

Potong Gate - is the western gate of the inner complex of the walled city of
Pyongyang (Pyongyang Castle). It was originally built in the sixth century as
an official Koguryo construction, and was later rebuilt in 1473. It features a
granite base topped by a two-story pavilion. The gate's pavilion was
destroyed by American bombings during the destruction of Pyongyang in
Korean War, but was later reconstructed in 1955.

Pyongyang Rail Station - The original station was constructed in the 1920s.
During the Korean War, the original structure was destroyed and later on
rebuilt in 1958 in the style of socialist architecture. The station presently has
three floors above ground level as well as a basement. The ground level
houses a ticket desk exclusively for government employees. At the first floor
there is a waiting room, toilets, a ticket desk and access to the trains. At the
second floor there are offices for the staff and at the third the office of the
station master. There are five platforms, with number 1 being the most
spacious. The slogans on the roof read “Long Live the Great Leader Comrade
Kim II-Sung; long live the glorious Workers’ Party of Chosun”.

May Day, or Rungrado Stadium - The pent of the inner roof is 60 metres
long and the outer roof 40m long. The 16-arch roofs link with one another
and resemble flower petals when looked from above.The roofs give an
impression of a large flower floating on the waters of the Taedong, or a parachute which has just landed, thereby
making it a dynamic structure. The stadium has 80 exits and ten lifts.

The stadium has many training halls, recreation rooms, an indoor swimming pool, an ultrasonic bath, a sauna, beds
and many other modern facilities, which help the players in their training needs and make them feel comfortable.
It also has many dining rooms, a broadcasting room and telex booths. The indoor running track runs into hundreds
of metres and is located on the sixth floor. The largest stadium in the world, capable of seating 150,000 spectators.

Taedong Gate - is the eastern gate of the inner castle of the walled city of
Pyongyang (Pyongyang Castle), and one of the National Treasures of North
Korea. Located on the banks of the Taedong River, from which it gets its
name, the gate was originally built in the sixth century as an official Koguryo
construction, and, along with the Ryongwang Pavilion and Pyongyang Bell,
served as the center of the inner castle's eastern defenses.The present
construction dates from 1635, however, as the original was burnt to the
ground during the Imjin wars of the late 16th century.

Kim II-Sung Stadium - is the name of a large multi-purpose stadium located

in Pyongyang, the capital city of the Democratic People's Republic of
Korea.

The Tomb of King Tongmyong - is a

mausoleum located in near Ryongsan-ri, North Korea. One of the tombs is
the royal tomb of Tongmyŏng (58–19 BC), the founder of the ancient
Goguryeo kingdom, northernmost of the Three Kingdoms of Korea. In total,
there are 63 individual tombs of the period. The area around the
Tongmyong contains at least fifteen known tombs believed to belong to
various vassal lords. The tomb has achieved World Heritage status as part
of the Complex of Goguryeo Tombs inscribed by UNESCO in 2004. A unique
feature of this and the other extant tombs in the area are its wall paintings
depicting lotuses blossoming of that period indicative of Buddhism
practiced in Korea (277 BC to 668 AD).

The Yanggakdo International Hotel - is the largest operating hotel and the
second tallest building in North Korea, after the Ryugyong Hotel. The hotel
is located on Yanggak Island in the river Taedong, two kilometres (1.2 mi)
to the south-east of the centre of Pyongyang, the nation's capital. It rises to
an overall height of 170 metres (560 ft) and has a slowly revolving
restaurant on the 47th floor. The hotel is said to contain 1,000 rooms and a
total floor space of 87,870 square metres (945,800 sq ft). The structure was
built between 1986 and 1992 by France's Campenon Bernard Construction
Company and opened in 1995.

The East Pyongyang Grand Theatre - is a 2,500-seat theatre located in the

North Korean capital, Pyongyang. It was the site of the 2008 concert by the
New York Philharmonic, which was the first significant cultural visit to North Korea by the United States since the
Korean War. The hall was built in 1989 and is normally a venue for performances that celebrate North Korea's
dynastic leaders and national achievements, and "revolutionary operas that depict North Korea's struggles in song
and dance."