Day 6 - c) Kim Il Sung Square, river cruise

Thursday September 9, 2010

From the Foreign Languages Bookshop it was a short walk to Kim Il Sung Square. This is an area in the heart of Pyongyang often shown in the western media as the scene of enormous military parades.

The square can accommodate rallies of up to 100000 people, and is overlooked by enormous portraits of Kim Il Sung, Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin. Important government buildings (e.g. Foreign Ministry) surround the square, with the Grand People's Study House acting as the imposing feature structure on the western side. The eastern side is the Taedong River, with a clear view of the Tower Of Juche Idea on the opposite side.

The walk around this area was refreshing as it was the central part of Pyongyang with many locals going about their business. The expansive square itself was even more impressive on the ground than the numerous times we saw it passing through on the bus.

Mr Lee, me, Miss Jong in her traditional dress, and Tim on the river side of Kim Il Sung Square.

Lunch was served on a restaurant boat on the Taedong River. It cruised for a short circuit around the central Pyongyang area. Many local folks were enjoying their public holiday on small rowboats:

Pyongyangers having a leisurely paddle on the Taedong River.

Unfortunately rain started falling during the cruise, and this had me worried for our next destination: Moranbong Park. I dearly hoped that the rain would stop soon so that not too many of the local people would leave their picnics.