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Pyongyang () is the Capital city and largest city of North Korea, where it is sometimes labeled as the "Capital of the Revolution" (). Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. According to the 2008 population census, it has a population of 3,255,288. Pyongyang is a directly administered city () with a status equal to that of the North Korean provinces.
Pyongyang is one of the oldest cities in Korea. It was the capital of two ancient Korean kingdoms, Gojoseon and Goguryeo, and served as the secondary capital of Goryeo. Following the establishment of North Korea in 1948, Pyongyang became its de facto capital. The city was again devastated during the Korean War, but was quickly rebuilt after the war with Soviet Union assistance.
Pyongyang is the political, industrial and transport center of North Korea. It is estimated that 99% of those living in Pyongyang are members, candidate members, or dependents of members of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea (WPK).Robert Collins (2025). 9780985648008, Committee for Human Rights in North Korea. . ISBN 9780985648008 It is home to North Korea's major government institutions, as well as the WPK which has its headquarters in the Government Complex No. 1.
The city's other historic names include Ryugyong, Kisong, Hwangsong, Rakrang, Sŏgyong, Sodo, Hogyong, Changan, and Heijō (during Japanese rule in Korea). There are several variants. During the early 20th century, Pyongyang came to be known among missionaries as being the "Jerusalem of the East", due to its historical status as a stronghold of Christianity, namely Protestantism, especially during the Pyongyang Revival of 1907.
After Kim Il Sung's death in 1994, some members of Kim Jong Il's faction proposed changing the name of Pyongyang to "Kim Il Sung City" (), but others suggested that North Korea should begin calling Seoul "Kim Il Sung City" instead and grant Pyongyang the moniker "Kim Jong Il City". In the end, neither proposal was implemented.
Historians deny this claim because earlier Chinese historiographical works such as the Guanzi, Classic of Mountains and Seas, Records of the Grand Historian, and Records of the Three Kingdoms, mention a much later "Joseon". The connection between the two therefore may have been asserted by North Korea for the use of propaganda. Nevertheless, Pyongyang became a major city in old Joseon.
The area around the city was called Nanglang during the early Three Kingdoms period. As the capital of Nanglang (), Pyongyang remained an important commercial and cultural outpost after the Lelang Commandery was destroyed by an expanding Goguryeo in 313.
Goguryeo moved its capital there in 427. According to Christopher Beckwith, Pyongyang is the Sino-Korean reading of the name they gave it in their language: Piarna, or "level land".
In 668, Pyongyang became the capital of the Protectorate General to Pacify the East established by the Tang dynasty of China. However, by 676, it was taken by Silla, but left on the border between Silla and Balhae. Pyongyang was left abandoned during the Later Silla period, until it was recovered by Wang Geon and decreed as the Western Capital of Goryeo.
During the Imjin War, Pyongyang was captured by the Japanese and held the city wall until they were defeated in the Siege of Pyongyang. Later in the 17th century, it became temporarily occupied during the Qing invasion of Joseon until peace arrangements were made between Korea and Qing China. While the invasions made Koreans suspicious of foreigners, the influence of Christianity began to grow after the country opened itself up to foreigners in the 16th century. Pyongyang became the base of Christian expansion in Korea. By 1880 it had more than 100 churches and more Protestant missionaries than any other Asian city, and was called "the Jerusalem of the East".
In 1890, the city had 40,000 inhabitants. It was the site of the Battle of Pyongyang during the First Sino-Japanese War, which led to the destruction and depopulation of much of the city. It was the provincial capital of South Pyeongan Province beginning in 1896. During the Japanese colonial rule, Japan tried to develop the city as an industrial center, but faced the March First Movement in 1919 and severe anti-Japanese socialist movement in 1920s due to economic exploitation. It was called Heijō (with the same Chinese characters 平壤 but read as へいじょう) in Japanese.
In July 1931, the city experienced anti-Chinese riots as a result of the Wanpaoshan Incident and the sensationalized media reports about it which appeared in Imperial Japanese and Korean newspapers.Memorandum (Institute of Pacific Relations, American Council), Vol. 2, No. 5 (16 Mar 1933), pp. 1–3 By 1938, Pyongyang had a population of 235,000.
Already during the war, plans were made to reconstruct the city. On 27 July 1953 – the day the armistice between North Korea and South Korea was signed – The Pyongyang Review wrote: "While streets were in flames, an exhibition showing the general plan of restoration of Pyongyang was held at the Moranbong Underground Theater", the air raid shelter of the government under Moranbong. "On the way of victory... fireworks which streamed high into the night sky of the capital in a gun salute briefly illuminated the construction plan of the city which would rise soon with a new look". After the war, the city was quickly rebuilt with assistance from the Soviet Union, and many buildings were built in the style of Stalinist architecture. The plans for the modern city of Pyongyang were first displayed for public viewing in a theatre building. Kim Jung-hee, one of the founding members of the Korean Architects Alliance, who had studied architecture in prewar Japan, was appointed by Kim Il Sung to design the city's master plan. Moscow Architectural Institute designed the "Pyongyang City Reconstruction and Construction Comprehensive Plan" in 1951, and it was officially adopted in 1953. The transformation into a modern, propaganda-designed city featuring Stalin-style architecture with a Korean-style arrangement (and other modernist architecture that was said to have been greatly influenced by Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer) began.金聖甫、李信澈「写真と絵で見る北朝鮮現代史」監修: 李泳采、韓興鉄訳、コモンズ、東京・新宿(原著2010年12月1日)..2018年4月30日閲覧. The 1972 Constitution officially declared Pyongyang the capital.
The funeral of Kim Il Sung was held in Pyongyang in 1994. Then on 19 July, it concluded with a cortege procession when his corpse moved through the streets with a hearse as people cried out in hysteria while watching the funeral.
In 2001, North Korean authorities began a long-term modernisation programme. The Ministry of Capital City Construction Development was included in the Cabinet in that year. In 2006, Kim Jong Il's brother-in-law Jang Song-thaek took charge of the ministry.
Throughout the rule of Kim Jong Un a number of residential projects were constructed. In 2012, Changjon Street, a residential project with 2,784 units, was inaugurated in the heart of Pyongyang. 2013 and 2014 residential projects dedicated to scientists were completed in Unha Scientists Street and Wisong Scientists Street with more than 1,000 units each while in 2015 work took place on a residential project in Mirae Scientists Street with 2,584 units. In 2017, in dedication to the 105th birthday of the founder and first leader, Kim Il Sung, 4,804 units were built in the new Ryomyong Street complex. The second decade of the 2000s saw the construction of residential projects in Songhwa Street near the Taedonggang Brewing Company in Sadong District (2022), in Taephyong area in Mangyongdae district, and in the Pothong Riverside Terraced Residential District located at the city center next to the Pothong River on land previously used by the headquarters of the International Taekwon-Do Federation. Kim Jong Un ordered that the residential district be renamed "Kyongru-dong" meaning "beautiful bead terrace". From the 50s to the 70s the area was the location of the residence of Kim Il Sung and was known as "Mansion No. 5". Other recent public building projects include the Mansudae People's Theatre opened in 2012, the Munsu Water Park opened in 2013, and the renovated and expanded Sunan International Airport and Pyongyang Sci-Tech Complex, both completed in 2015, the Samjiyon Orchestra Theater, which was fitted out of the domed Korean People's Army Circus built in 1964, and the Pyongyang General Hospital, of which construction started in 2020. Additional re-development projects occurred in the area around the Arch of Triumph where the Pyongyang People's Hospital no. 1 was demolished. Apartment blocks in the area of Inhŭng-dong, in Moranbong-guyok district and in the area of Sinwon-dong in Potonggang-guyok were demolished in 2018–2019 for the construction of new apartment buildings. Also in 2018 the Youth Park Open-Air Theatre in Sungri Street, used to host political rallies, was rebuilt. In 2021–2022 a major housing project was executed along Songhwa Street in southeast part of the city Hwasong Street in Hwasong-guyok in northern Pyongyang with high-rises. In 2023 phase two of construction of housing in Hwasong-guyok was launched, on the former territory of the Pyongyang Vegetable Science Institute. In addition, a complex of greenhouse farm and housing was initiated on the former territory of Kangdong Airport which was demolished in 2019.
In April 2024 the second stage of construction in the Hwasong area was completed in Rimhung Street with 10,000 apartments was marked with an extravagant ceremony.
In 2025 a new residential district at Taesŏng-dong, Taesong-guyok, next to Korea Central Zoo came under construction. Also in 2025 the last phase in the construction of the southern end of the Hwasong District occurred.
Pyongyang, alongside Seoul, launched a bid to host the 2032 Summer Olympics, but failed to make the joint city candidate list.
The transition from the cold, dry winter to the warm, wet summer occurs rather quickly between April and early May, and there is a similarly abrupt return to winter conditions in late October and November. Summers are generally hot and humid, with the East Asian monsoon taking place from June until September; these are also the hottest months, with average temperatures of , and daytime highs often above . Although largely transitional seasons, spring and autumn experience more pleasant weather, with average high temperatures ranging from in May and in September, coupled with relatively clear, sunny skies.
Pyongyang is also the seat of all major North Korean security institutions. The largest of them, the Ministry of Social Security, has 130,000 employees working in 12 bureaus. These oversee activities including: police services, security of party officials, classified documents, census, civil registrations, large-scale public construction, traffic control, fire safety, civil defence, public health and customs. Another significant structure based in the city is the Ministry of State Security, whose 30,000 personnel manage intelligence, political prison systems, military industrial security and entry and exit management.
The politics and management of the city is dominated by the Workers' Party of Korea, as they are in the national level. The city is managed by the Pyongyang Party Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea and its chairman is the de facto mayor. The supreme standing state organ is the Pyongyang People's Committee, responsible for everyday events in support of the city. This includes following local Party guidance as channeled through the Pyongyang Party Committee, the distribution of resources prioritised to Pyongyang, and providing support to KWP and internal security agency personnel and families.
Foreign media reports in 2010 stated that Kangnam-gun, Chunghwa-gun, Sangwŏn-gun, and Sŭngho-guyŏk had been transferred to the administration of neighboring North Hwanghae Province. However, Kangnam-gun was returned to Pyongyang in 2011.
Panghyŏn-dong, a missile base, was administrated by Kusong, North Pyongan Province. It had been transferred to the administration of P'yŏngyang on February 10, 2018.
Since the end of the Korean War the city was planned strictly according to Socialism principles. According to the 1953 masterplan designed Kim Jung-hee the city was planned to reach one-million residents stretching from the Taedong River to the Pothong River. The city center was planned as the main administrative district with main landscape structures constructed in between districts and are used as buffer zones so that they cannot expand freely. The city center was planned with wide avenues and streets and monumental structures and forms the central administrative district where many government and public buildings are located including the Government Complex No 1, which houses the headquarters of the ruling party. Together with various monuments and memorials, it forms an important axis of symbolic places which promotes the Ideology of the Workers' Party of Korea and North Korean cult of personality around Kim family with the epicentre and Kilometre zero of the central district located at Kim Il Sung Square.
The 1953 masterplan set the basic layout from which the city's development was derived in the next decades with a unit district system which mixes residential and industrial zoning. Those districts are spread around the central administrative district and together with it they form the key axis of directionality for the city expansion. While in the 50s the major emphasis was placed on the reconstruction of Pyongyang from its ruins as carefully a socialist city in strict line with the masterplan, the 60s and 70s saw new wave of development which included expansion of the central boulevards, construction of high-density apartment buildings along the central boulevards, grandiose civic and cultural buildings and monumental statues and squares. This tendency included also the inclusion of traditional Korean architecture for some buildings. While the development generally followed the 1953 master plan, it diverted from it in some aspects, such as the construction of high-rises along the central avenues, a step conflicted with the 1953 plan which called for more even distribution of the residential construction throughout the city in several multi-cores. The 90s saw a relative slowdown in the development of the urban structure due to the deep economic crisis and famine which swept through North Korea and led to the Songun. The 2010s and 2020s saw renewed efforts in urbanization and increasing density with the reconstruction of streets and avenues located further from the center and transformation of former rural parts of the city into high density residential districts.
The streets are laid out in a north–south, east–west grid, giving the city an orderly appearance. North Korean designers applied the Swedish experience of self-sufficient urban neighbourhoods throughout the entire country, and Pyongyang is no exception. Its inhabitants are mostly divided into administrative units of 5,000 to 6,000 people ( dong). These units all have similar sets of amenities including a food store, a barber shop, a tailor, a public bathhouse, a post office, a clinic, a library and others. Many residents occupy high-rise apartment buildings. One of Kim Il Sung's priorities while designing Pyongyang was to limit the population. Authorities maintain a restrictive regime of movement into the city, making it atypical of East Asia as it is silent, uncrowded and spacious.
Structures in Pyongyang are divided into three major architectural categories: monuments, buildings with traditional Korean motifs and high-rises. Some of North Korea's most recognisable landmarks are monuments, like the Juche Tower, the Arch of Triumph and the Mansu Hill Grand Monument. The first of them is a granite spire symbolizing the Juche ideology. It was completed in 1982 and contains 25,550 granite blocks, one for each day of Kim Il Sung's life up to that point. The most prominent building on Pyongyang's skyline is Ryugyong Hotel, the seventh highest building in the world terms of floor count, the tallest unoccupied building in the world, and one of the tallest hotels in the world. It has yet to open.
Pyongyang has a rapidly evolving skyline, dominated by high-rise apartment buildings. A construction boom began with the Changjon Street Apartment Complex, which was completed in 2012. Construction of the complex began after late leader Kim Jong Il described Changjon Street as "pitiful". Other housing complexes are being upgraded as well, but most are still poorly insulated, and lacking elevators and central heating. An urban renewal program continued under Kim Jong Un's leadership, with the old apartments of the 1970s and '80s replaced by taller high rise buildings and leisure parks like the Kaesong Youth Park, as well as renovations of older buildings. In 2018, the city was described as unrecognizable compared to five years before.
Pyongyang TV Tower is a minor landmark. Other visitor attractions include the Korea Central Zoo. The Reunification Highway stretches from Pyongyang to the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ).
Pyongyang raengmyŏn was originally eaten in homes built with ondol (traditional underfloor heating) during the cold winter, so it is also called "Pyongyang deoldeori" (shivering in Pyongyang). Pyongyang locals sometimes enjoyed it as a haejangguk, which is any type of food eaten as a hangover cure, usually a warm soup.
Another representative Pyongyang dish, Taedonggang sungeoguk, translates as "flathead grey mullet soup from the Taedong River". The soup features flathead grey mullet (abundant in the Taedong River) along with black peppercorns and salt. Traditionally, it has been served to guests visiting Pyongyang. Therefore, there is a common saying, "How good was the trout soup?", which is used to greet people returning from Pyongyang. Another local specialty, Pyongyang onban (literally "warm rice of Pyongyang") comprises freshly cooked rice topped with sliced mushrooms, chicken, and a couple of bindaetteok (pancakes made from ground mung beans and vegetables).
The city has water parks, amusement parks, skating rinks, health clubs, a shooting range, and a dolphinarium.
Until the late 2010s Pyongyang still experienced frequent shortages of electricity. To solve this problem, two power stations – Huichon Power Stations 1 and 2 – were built in Chagang Province and supply the city through direct transmission lines. A second phase of the power expansion project was launched in January 2013, consisting of a series of small dams along the Chongchon River. The first two power stations have a maximum generating capacity of 300 megawatts (MW), while the 10 dams to be built under second phase are expected to generate about 120 MW. In addition, the city has several existing or planned thermal power stations. These include Pyongyang TPS with a capacity of 500 MW, East Pyongyang TPS with a capacity of 50 MW, and Kangdong TPS which is under construction.
The city also has Hwanggumbol Shop, a chain of state-owned convenience stores supplying goods at prices cheaper than those in the jangmadang markets. Hwanggumbol Shops are specifically designed to control North Korea's expanding markets by attracting consumers and guaranteeing the circulation of money in government-operated stores.
A rail journey to Beijing takes about 25 hours and 25 minutes (K27 from Beijing/K28 from Pyongyang, on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays); a journey to Dandong takes about 6 hours (daily); a journey to Moscow takes six days. The city also connects to the Eurasian Land Bridge via the Trans-Siberian Railway. A high-speed rail link to Wonsan is planned.
The Pyongyang Metro, tram and trolleybus systems are used mainly by commuters as a primary means of urban transportation. Cycle lanes were introduced on main thoroughfares in July 2015. There are relatively few in the city. Cars are a symbol of status in the country due to their scarcity as a result of restrictions on import because of international sanctions and domestic regulations. Some roads are also reported to be in poor condition. However, by 2018, Pyongyang had begun to experience traffic jams.
State-owned Air Koryo has scheduled international flights from Pyongyang Sunan International Airport to Beijing (PEK), Shenyang (SHE) and Vladivostok (VVO). The only domestic destinations are Hamhung,Wonsan, Chongjin, Hyesan and Samjiyon. Since July 27, 2025 ,Nordwind Airlines serves direct flights between Moscow-Sheremetyevo and Pyongyang once a month.
Sosong-guyok hosts a 20 MeV cyclotron called MGC-20. The initial project was approved by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in 1983 and funded by the IAEA, the United States and the North Korean government. The cyclotron was ordered from the Soviet Union in 1985 and constructed between 1987 and 1990. It is used for student training, production of medical isotopes for nuclear medicine as well as studies in biology, chemistry and physics.
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