Pyongyang
This tower honours the North Korean philosophy of Juche and was unveiled to mark President Kim Il-sung's 70th birthday in 1982. Indeed, the tower is made…
Must-see attractions in North Korea
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International Friendship Exhibition
North Korea
This exhibition hosts a massive display of gifts given to Kim Il-sung, Kim Jong-il and Kim Jong-un. Housed in a mountainside vault that is vaguely…
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North Korea
The 31st Koryo king, Kongmin reigned between 1352 and 1374 and his tomb is the best preserved and most elaborate in the country. It is richly decorated…
Monument to the Foundation of the Workers' Party
Pyongyang
This startlingly bombastic monument has starred on the cover of more books about North Korea than almost any other. The three hands portrayed represent…
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Pyongyang
Every itinerary includes an homage to these vast bronze statues of the smiling Great Leader and Dear Leader, the latter in his trademark parka. The first…
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Pyongyang
Pyongyang’s central square is where North Korea’s massive military parades normally take place. The plaza is ringed by austere-looking buildings: most…
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Pyongyang
Visiting the impressive Pyongyang metro is definitely a highlight of the capital. The network, which is made up of two lines, has a simultaneous function…
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Victorious Fatherland Liberation War Museum
Pyongyang
Perhaps the most interesting museum in Pyongyang, this mouthful of an institution opened its current home in 2013 to mark the 60th anniversary of the end…
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Pyongyang
Your guides will tell you proudly that the Triumphal Arch is 6m higher than its cousin in Paris, making it the largest of its kind in the world. The arch…
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North Korea
Tours here usually take in this fascinating, modern market, the only one in the country tourists are allowed to visit and shop at. Sadly, however,…
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Pyongyang
This impressive statue portrays Chollima, the Korean Pegasus. It’s an interesting example of how the North Korean state has incorporated traditional…
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Pyongyang
The USS Pueblo is a US surveillance vessel that was seized by the North Koreans off the east coast of Korea in January 1968, during a heightening of…
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Monument to the Victorious Fatherland Liberation War 1950–53
Pyongyang
This impressive monument, which was unveiled in 1993 to mark the 40th anniversary of the end of the Korean War, now forms part of the display of the…
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Pyongyang
This massive mural depicts the hypothetical scene of the joyful masses celebrating Kim Il-sung's arrival in Pyongyang, even though the event wasn't quite…
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Pyongyang
The writing on this tower, through the base of which traffic drives, pledges that the 'Great Leader Kim Il-sung and the Dear Leader Kim Jong-il will…
North Korea
The sad sight of a divided nation remains one of the most poignant aspects of any trip to North Korea. Even if you're just in North Korea for a couple of…
North Korea
Paekdu, one of the most stunning sights on the Korean peninsula, straddles the Chinese–Korean border in the very far northeastern tip of DPRK. Apart from…
Pyongyang
This is Pyongyang’s top recreation ground: couples wander, families picnic and there are people playing guitars and sometimes even dancing in an…
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Pyongyang
History continues to evolve in North Korea, with new revolutionary discoveries being made every year. While the government announced in 1993 that its…
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Kumsusan Memorial Palace of the Sun
Pyongyang
Kim Il-sung’s residence during his lifetime, the Kumsusan Palace remained so after his death. North Koreans come here en masse to pay their respects to…
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Pyongyang
Several films a year are churned out by the country’s main film studios in the suburbs of Pyongyang. The two main focuses are predictably the anti…
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Museum of American War Atrocities
North Korea
This museum, built next door to its predecessor, details the atrocities allegedly carried out by US forces against civilians during the Korean War. Since…
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Pyongyang
A surreal, enormous exhibition complex, North Korea’s answer to Florida’s Epcot theme park details the ‘three revolutions’ Kim Il-sung brought about in…
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North Korea
The reason tourists come here (usually on an overnight stop en route to Kaesong) is to see this barrage, built across an 8km estuary of the Taedong River,…
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Songgyungwan Neo-Confucian College
North Korea
This well-preserved college, originally built in AD 992 and rebuilt after being destroyed in the 1592 Japanese invasion, today hosts the Koryo Museum,…
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North Korea
Set in a huge clearing in the woods with views to Paekdusan and overlooking a large lake, this must be North Korea's most impressive paean to the…
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North Korea
The most historically important Buddhist temple in western North Korea, the Pyohon Temple complex dates back to 1044, with numerous renovations over the…
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Pyongyang
This impressive building on Kim Il-sung Sq is the country’s largest library and centre of Juche studies, where any North Korean over 17 can come for free…
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Pyongyang
Three decades after construction began on this extraordinary hotel in 1987, it still has not been completed. Planned as a prestige project but abandoned…
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Pyongyang
Despite the museum’s rather misleading name, its main function is to document the death of Kim Il-sung (including a film of the extraordinary public…
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Pyongyang
The suburb of Mangyongdae houses the place of Kim Il-sung’s birth, a typical Korean peasant house with a thatched roof and a block of living rooms, as…
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Pyongyang
Located on the southern slope of Haebang Hill is this museum that originally housed the Central Committee of the Korean Workers’ Party, as well as Kim Il…
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North Korea
The Hungnam Fertiliser Factory can sometimes be visited, where you will be shown how ammonia is made deep inside an enormous industrial complex that hasn…
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Pyongyang
After the relentless propaganda, you can relax with some day trippers from the capital at the Mangyongdae Funfair, a pleasant oasis built around the base…
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North Korea
It's common for tours to visit this 6km-long limestone cave either prior to or after a visit to Myohyangsan. It has some enormous caverns and a large…
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North Korea
This monument honours neo-Confucian hero Chong Mong-ju, who was killed on the Sonjuk Bridge. He is known as a symbol of loyalty in North Korea, and was…
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North Korea
This large seafood processing plant and mushroom wine factory is sometimes visited by groups touring the city. You can purchase some mushroom wine to take…
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North Korea
An impressive complex of historic buildings set in attractive gardens, to which a particularly lewd tale is attached – apparently the pavilion in the…
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Pyongyang
This stone column topped with a red star commemorates the Soviet liberation of Pyongyang from Japanese rule in 1945. Built in 1947, it is thoroughly…
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Pyongyang
The largest stadium in the world, the May Day Stadium seats an incredible 114,000 people. It's most famous as the home of the impressive feat of North…
