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Information about Pyongyang

“Heijo” redirects here. For the ancient capital of Japan, see Heijō-kyō.
For the graphic novel by Guy Delisle, see .
Not to be confused with Pyeongchang County in South Korea.
P'yŏngyang Directly Governed City
Enlarge picture
Panorama of P'yŏngyang.

Panorama of P'yŏngyang.
Korean name
Chosŏn'gŭl평양 직할?
Hancha平壤直轄?
McCune-ReischauerP'yŏngyang Chikhalsi
Revised RomanizationPyeongyang Jikhalsi
Short name
Statistics
Area km ( sq mi)
Elevation m ( ft)
Population (1993)2,741,260
Population density/km (/sq mi)
GovernmentDirectly Governed City
Administrative divisions19 wards (kuyŏk), 4 counties (kun)
RegionKwansŏ
Location map
Enlarge picture
Map of North Korea highlighting the city.

Map of North Korea highlighting the city.
Notes
Founded in 2333 BC as Wanggŏmsŏng.
Pyongyang is the capital city of North Korea, located on the Taedong River, at (39.0333, 125.75). The official population of the city is not disclosed; given as 2,741,260 in 1993, it was reported as 2.5 and 3.8 million in 2002 and 2003 by Chongryon, a pro-North Korean Japanese organization.

The city was split from the South P'yŏngan province in 1946. It is administered as a Directly Governed City (Chikhalsi), on the same level as provincial governments, not a Special City (Teukbyeolsi) as Seoul is in South Korea. Some sources, mostly older and South Korean, refer to P'yŏngyang as a Special City, but it has been reported that even the South Korean government adopted the Directly Governed City terminology in 1994.

History

Enlarge picture
Satellite view of the Willow City.
According to legend, the city was founded in 2333 BC as Wanggŏmsŏng (왕검성; 王儉城). It became a major city under Gojoseon.

In 108 BC Han Dynasty China conquered Gojoseon and the capital of the Lelang Commandery was put near Pyongyang. Lelang remained an important commercial and cultural outpost until it was destroyed by the expanding Goguryeo in 313.

Goguryeo moved its capital here in 427. Tang Dynasty China and Silla allied and defeated Goguryeo in 668. In 676, it was taken by Silla but left in the border between Silla and Balhae until the Goryeo dynasty, when the city was revived as Sŏgyŏng (서경; 西京; "Western Capital") although never actually a capital of Goryeo. It was the provincial capital of the P'yŏngan Province during the Joseon dynasty, becoming provincial capital of South P'yŏngan Province from 1896 and through the period of Japanese rule.

In 1945, Japanese rule ended and it was occupied by Soviet forces, and became the temporary capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea at its establishment in 1948 while it aimed to recapture its official capital at that time of Seoul. It was severely damaged in the Korean War, during which it was briefly occupied by South Korean forces. After the war, the city was quickly rebuilt with Soviet help, with many buildings built in Stalinist architecture.

Historic names

One of its many historic names is Ryugyŏng (류경; 柳京), or "capital of willows", as willow trees have always been numerous throughout the city's history, and many poems written about these willows. Even today, Pyongyang has numerous willow trees planted everywhere, and many buildings and places have "Ryugyŏng" in their names, the most notable of all being its uncompleted Ryugyŏng Hotel. Its other historic names include Kisŏng, Hwangsŏng, Rangrang, Sŏgyŏng, Sŏdo, Hogyŏng, Changan, etc. During the Japanese occupation, and in the Japanese language, it is also known as Heijō, which is simply the Japanese reading of the Chinese characters 平壌 the name Pyongyang consists of.

Administrative divisions

P'yŏngyang is divided into 19 wards (kuyŏk or guyŏk) and 4 counties (kun or gun). [1]
  • Chung-guyŏk (중구역; 中區域)
  • P'yŏngch'ŏn-guyŏk (평천구역; 平川區域)
  • Pot'onggang-guyŏk (보통강구역; 普通江區域)
  • Moranbong-guyŏk (모란봉구역; 牡丹峰區域)
  • Sŏsŏng-guyŏk (서성구역; 西城區域)
  • Sŏn'gyo-guyŏk (선교구역; 船橋區域)
  • Tongdaewŏn-guyŏk (동대원구역; 東大院區域)
  • Taedonggang-guyŏk (대동강구역; 大同江區域)
  • Sadong-guyŏk (사동구역; 寺洞區域)
  • Taesŏng-guyŏk (대성구역; 大城區域)
  • Man'gyŏngdae-guyŏk (만경대구역; 萬景台區域)
  • Hyŏngjesan-guyŏk (형제산구역; 兄弟山區域)
  • Ryongsŏng-guyŏk (룡성구역; 龍城區域)
  • Samsŏk-guyŏk (삼석구역; 三石區域)
  • Sŭngho-guyŏk (승호구역; 勝湖區域)
  • Ryŏkp'o-guyŏk (력포구역; 力浦區域)
  • Rakrang-guyŏk (락랑구역; 樂浪區域)
  • Sunan-guyŏk (순안구역; 順安區域)
  • Ŭnjŏng-guyŏk (은정구역; 恩情區域)
  • Kangnam-gun (강남군; 江南郡)
  • Chunghwa-gun (중화군; 中和郡)
  • Sangwŏn-gun (상원군; 祥原郡)
  • Kangdong-gun (강동군; 江東郡)

Landmarks

The capital has been completely rebuilt since the Korean War (1950–1953). It is designed with wide avenues, imposing monuments, and monolithic buildings. The tallest structure in the city is the uncompleted 1,082 foot (330 m) Ryugyŏng Hotel. This hotel has 105 floors, encloses 3.9 million square feet (360,000 m²) of floor space, and was planned to be topped by seven revolving restaurants. However, construction has been stalled since the early 1990s and the building stands as an empty shell.

Some notable landmarks in the city include the Kumsusan Memorial Palace, the Arch of Triumph (heavily inspired by Paris's Arc de Triomphe but of a larger size), the reputed birthplace of Kim Il-sung at Mangyongdae Hill, Juche Tower, and two of the world's largest stadiums (Kim Il Sung Stadium and Rungnado May Day Stadium). Pyongyang TV Tower is a minor landmark. Other visitor attractions include the Korea Central Zoo and the large golden statues of North Korea's two leaders.


Juche Tower, a reminder to the North Korean people of Kim Il-sung's philosophy of Juche (self-reliance).

The Ryugyong Hotel.

View of the P'yŏngyang Ice Rink in 1989, Ryugyong Hotel in background.

Rungrado May Day Stadium, the largest football stadium in the world, capable of seating over 150,000.

Pyongyang's Arch of Triumph is the largest in the world.

Kumsusan Memorial Palace, the opulent mausoleum to Kim Il Sung.

A typical street in Pyongyang.


Transportation

Enlarge picture
Pyongyang metro system.
Enlarge picture
Pyongyang Tram car - Tatra T6B5.
Pyŏngyang has a two-line underground metro system which has a length of  km ( mi). The Hyoksin line serves Kwangbok, Konguk, Hwanggumbol, Konsol, Hyoksin, Jonu, Jonsung, Samhung and Rakwon station. The Chollima line serves Puhung, Yonggwang, Ponghwa, Sungni, Tongil, Kaeson, Jonu and Pulgunbyol station. There is also a  km ( mi) long tram and  km ( mi) trolleybus service, but tourists have heard that few locals use them due to the high and frequent hazard of electrocution . There are not as many private automobiles as in Western cities, although the state government operates a sizable fleet of Mercedes-Benz limousines for Party bureaucrats. Many residents walk, cycle, or use the subway.

State-owned Air Koryo has scheduled flights from Sunan Capital International Airport to Beijing (PEK), Shenyang (SHE) and Vladivostok (VVO). There are occasional chartered flights to Macau (MFM), Incheon (ICN), Yangyang County (YNY) and several Japanese cities. Air Koryo also claims scheduled service on a few domestic routes, although the accuracy of this is not known. Intermittent service to Pyongyang is also provided by a few foreign carriers, most notably Chinese.

The city also has regular international train services to Beijing and Moscow. A journey to Beijing takes about 25 hours and 25 minutes (K27 from Beijing / K28 from Pyŏngyang, on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays); a journey to Moscow takes 6 days.

Climate

Climate diagram of Pyŏngyang.

Climate diagram of Pyŏngyang

Weather averages for Pyongyang, North Korea
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high F (C)
Average low F (C)
Precipitation inch (cm)
Source: Weatherbase[2] Feb 2007

Sister cities

People from Pyongyang

Notes

1. ^ 행정구역현황 (Haengjeong Guyeok Hyeonhwang). NK Chosun. Retrieved on 2006-01-10. Also Administrative divisions of North Korea (used as reference for Hanja)
2. ^ Weatherbase: Historical Weather for Pyongyang, North Korea (English). Weatherbase (2007). Retrieved on 2007-02-04.
3. ^ International relations. Kathmandu City website. Retrieved on 2006-01-10.

See also

External links

Further reading

  • Chris Springer, Pyongyang: The Hidden History of the North Korean Capital. Saranda Books, 2003. ISBN 963-00-8104-0.
  • Robert Willoughby, North Korea: The Bradt Travel Guide. Globe Pequot, 2003. ISBN 1-84162-074-2.

Pictorials

  • Christian Kracht, Eva Munz, Lukas Nikol, "The Ministry Of Truth. Kim Jong Ils North Korea", Feral House, Oct 2007, 132 pages, 88 color photographs, ISBN 978-932595-27-7
 •  • [ e]
Regions and administrative divisions of North Korea
 •  • [ e]
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Pyeongchang County (Pyeongchang-gun) is a county in Gangwon province, South Korea and the third largest county in the country. It is located in the Taebaek Mountains region, and is home to a number of Buddhist temples, including Woljeongsa.
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Hangul (한글) or Chosŏn'gŭl (조선글) [2]

ISO 15924 Hang

Note
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Origins
Traditional Chinese
Variant characters
Simplified Chinese
Simplified Chinese (2nd-round)
Traditional/Simplified (debate)
Kanji
- Man'yōgana
Hanja
- Idu
Han Tu
- Chữ Nm

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McCune-Reischauer romanization is one of the two most widely used Korean language romanization systems, along with the Revised Romanization of Korean, which replaced (a modified) McCune-Reischauer as the official romanization system in South Korea in 2000.
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The Revised Romanization of Korean is the official Korean language romanization system in South Korea. It is the official South Korean replacement for the 1984 McCune-Reischauer–based romanization system.
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Area is a physical quantity expressing the size of a part of a surface. The term Surface area is the summation of the areas of the exposed sides of an object.

Units

Units for measuring surface area include:
square metre = SI derived unit

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elevation of a geographic location is its height above a fixed reference point, often the mean sea level. Elevation, or geometric height, is mainly used when referring to points on the Earth's surface, while altitude or geopotential height
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population is the collection of people or organisms of a particular species living in a given geographic area or mortality, and migration, though the field encompasses many dimensions of population change including the family (marriage and divorce), public health, work and the
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Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, humans in particular.

Biological population densities


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government is a body that has the power to make and the authority to enforce rules and laws within a civil, corporate, religious, academic, or other organization or group.[1]
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administrative divisions of North Korea are organized into three hierarchical levels. Many of the units have equivalents in the system of South Korea. At the highest level are nine provinces, two directly-governed cities, and three special administrative divisions.
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Korea has traditionally been divided into a number of unofficial regions that reflect historical, geographical, and dialect boundaries within the peninsula. Many of the names in the list below overlap or are obsolete today, with Honam, Yeongdong, Yeongnam, and the modern term
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P'yŏngan (P'yŏngan-do) was one of the Eight Provinces of Korea during the Joseon Dynasty. P'yŏngan was located in the northwest of Korea. The provincial capital was P'yŏngyang.

History

P'yŏngan Province was formed in 1413.
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Anno Domini (Latin: (In)The year of (Our) Lord[1]), abbreviated as AD or A.D., defines an epoch based on the traditionally reckoned year of the conception or birth of Jesus of Nazareth.
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capital (also called capital city or political capital — although the latter phrase has a second meaning based on an alternative sense of "capital") is the center of government.
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city is an urban settlement with a particularly important status which differentiates it from a town.

City is primarily used to designate an urban settlement with a large population. However, city may also indicate a special administrative, legal, or historical status.
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Anthem
Aegukka


Capital Pyongyang

Largest city Pyongyang
Official languages Korean
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Taedong River is a large river in North Korea. It rises in the Rangrim Mountains of the country's north. It then flows southwest into Korea Bay at Nampo. In between, it runs through the capital of North Korea, P'yongyang.
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population is the collection of people or organisms of a particular species living in a given geographic area or mortality, and migration, though the field encompasses many dimensions of population change including the family (marriage and divorce), public health, work and the
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The General Association of Korean Residents in Japan (Chae Ilbon Chosŏnin Ch'ongryŏnhaphoe in Korean or Zai-Nihon Chōsenjin Sōrengōkai in Japanese), abbreviated to Chongryon (Korean: 총련, Hanja: 總聯) or
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South P'yŏngan (P'yŏngan-namdo) is a province of North Korea. The province was formed in 1896 from the southern half of the former P'yŏngan Province, remained a province of Korea until 1945, then became a province of North Korea.
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In North and South Korea, Special cities, Metropolitan Cities, and Directly Governed Cities are cities that have a status equivalent to that of Provinces (Do). Hence, like the provinces, such cities are under the direct administration of the central government.
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Seoul (서울) listen   (help info ) [sʌ.
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Motto
홍익인간(弘益人間) 널리 인간을 이롭게 하?
Anthem
Aegukga (애국가; 愛國歌)
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legend (Latin, legenda, "things to be read") is a narrative of human actions that are perceived both by teller and listeners to take place within human history and to possess certain qualities that give the tale verisimilitude.
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Gojoseon is an ancient Korean kingdom. It is called the first kingdom in Korea. Modern historians generally believe it developed into a powerful federation or kingdom between 7th and 4th centuries BCE, in the basins of the Liao and Taedong Rivers, ruling over northern Korean
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Han Dynasty (Traditional Chinese: 漢朝; Simplified Chinese: 汉朝
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China (Traditional Chinese:
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Lelang was one of the Chinese commanderies which was kept in the Korean Peninsula over 400 years until Goguryeo conquered it in 313 A.D.

History

In 108 B.C. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty conquered the area under Ugeo (右渠), a grandson of Wiman.
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Goguryeo or Koguryo was an ancient kingdom located in southern Manchuria, southern Russian Maritime province, and the northern and central parts of the Korean peninsula.

Along with Baekje and Silla, Goguryeo was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea.
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