Comments on: North Korean oddities: Mangyongdae Fun Fair and other “fun” parks http://dprkforum.com/2007/09/14/north-korean-oddities-mangyongdae-fun-fair-and-other-fun-parks/ The crisis. The Enigma. The Controversy. Fri, 25 Jul 2008 10:41:32 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 By: DPRK Forum » An interview with Jake and his trip to North Korea (Part 1) http://dprkforum.com/2007/09/14/north-korean-oddities-mangyongdae-fun-fair-and-other-fun-parks/#comment-176 DPRK Forum » An interview with Jake and his trip to North Korea (Part 1) Tue, 13 Nov 2007 23:39:23 +0000 http://localhost/2007/09/14/north-korean-oddities-mangyongdae-fun-fair-and-other-fun-parks/#comment-176 [...] our tour bus would have to turn around because the roads were like small lakes. It was very sad. A while ago you posted a picture of an amusement park on your blog. Just imagine that roller coaster drop going straight into water— the floods were very deep [...] [...] our tour bus would have to turn around because the roads were like small lakes. It was very sad. A while ago you posted a picture of an amusement park on your blog. Just imagine that roller coaster drop going straight into water— the floods were very deep [...]

]]> By: Simon http://dprkforum.com/2007/09/14/north-korean-oddities-mangyongdae-fun-fair-and-other-fun-parks/#comment-177 Simon Fri, 02 Nov 2007 21:37:15 +0000 http://localhost/2007/09/14/north-korean-oddities-mangyongdae-fun-fair-and-other-fun-parks/#comment-177 Icecream on street stalls - the 7-11 kind soft vanilla icecream in cones... costs 200 won when I went in May this year. I even spent won to buy the icecream. Got the won from eating at this restaurant on Yanggakdo which accepted RMB and gave us won as change... Icecream on street stalls - the 7-11 kind soft vanilla icecream in cones… costs 200 won when I went in May this year. I even spent won to buy the icecream. Got the won from eating at this restaurant on Yanggakdo which accepted RMB and gave us won as change…

]]> By: Jack http://dprkforum.com/2007/09/14/north-korean-oddities-mangyongdae-fun-fair-and-other-fun-parks/#comment-173 Jack Mon, 17 Sep 2007 00:32:02 +0000 http://localhost/2007/09/14/north-korean-oddities-mangyongdae-fun-fair-and-other-fun-parks/#comment-173 Thanks for the kind words. Man, I had a bad feeling you would say that. I was also wondering why they let people have tours after flooding like that. I guess they need the cash... Thanks for the kind words.

Man, I had a bad feeling you would say that. I was also wondering why they let people have tours after flooding like that. I guess they need the cash…

]]> By: Jake http://dprkforum.com/2007/09/14/north-korean-oddities-mangyongdae-fun-fair-and-other-fun-parks/#comment-174 Jake Sun, 16 Sep 2007 23:02:13 +0000 http://localhost/2007/09/14/north-korean-oddities-mangyongdae-fun-fair-and-other-fun-parks/#comment-174 Hi Jack--- unfortunately we were not permitted to take any pictures of anything like that. I saw a few of the fellow tourists in our group take some, but I didn't want to risk. If you'd like I can ask the others if they have any and send them to you. Great site by the way!! Hi Jack— unfortunately we were not permitted to take any pictures of anything like that. I saw a few of the fellow tourists in our group take some, but I didn’t want to risk. If you’d like I can ask the others if they have any and send them to you. Great site by the way!!

]]> By: Jack http://dprkforum.com/2007/09/14/north-korean-oddities-mangyongdae-fun-fair-and-other-fun-parks/#comment-172 Jack Sat, 15 Sep 2007 23:20:29 +0000 http://localhost/2007/09/14/north-korean-oddities-mangyongdae-fun-fair-and-other-fun-parks/#comment-172 Jake, I was going to ask about the flooding. Just how bad was it? This may sound very morbid, but did you get any pictures of the damage? Jake, I was going to ask about the flooding. Just how bad was it? This may sound very morbid, but did you get any pictures of the damage?

]]> By: Jake http://dprkforum.com/2007/09/14/north-korean-oddities-mangyongdae-fun-fair-and-other-fun-parks/#comment-171 Jake Sat, 15 Sep 2007 19:56:23 +0000 http://localhost/2007/09/14/north-korean-oddities-mangyongdae-fun-fair-and-other-fun-parks/#comment-171 When I went to Pyongyang last month during the heavy flooding, I saw this park but it was closed. From the road, we could get a real sense of how deep the water was as the roller coaster track was half submerged. On August 15, their national holiday, we went to another fun park that was still opened. There were no large rides like roller coasters, but there was still the Wheel of Death, a Ferris Wheel, and a few carnival games like "Throw the Rock at the American Soldier". When I went to Pyongyang last month during the heavy flooding, I saw this park but it was closed. From the road, we could get a real sense of how deep the water was as the roller coaster track was half submerged. On August 15, their national holiday, we went to another fun park that was still opened. There were no large rides like roller coasters, but there was still the Wheel of Death, a Ferris Wheel, and a few carnival games like “Throw the Rock at the American Soldier”.

]]> By: Jack http://dprkforum.com/2007/09/14/north-korean-oddities-mangyongdae-fun-fair-and-other-fun-parks/#comment-170 Jack Sat, 15 Sep 2007 16:55:50 +0000 http://localhost/2007/09/14/north-korean-oddities-mangyongdae-fun-fair-and-other-fun-parks/#comment-170 Thank you so much for the insight. I knew you might have the answer because of the extensive Google Earth resources. I would also like to thank you for that hard work. It has me looking around for hours seeing all the strange stuff that is North Korea. As for the "typical modern home", I had to wonder if it was only for the very elite because even those living in Pyongyang live in much worse conditions than the one in the propaganda video. Two come immediately to mind: "A Day in the Life" where the apartment is pretty small in pretty bad repair. The other is in National Geographic's documentary where a relatively privileged family living in pretty bad conditions as well. Thank you so much for the insight. I knew you might have the answer because of the extensive Google Earth resources. I would also like to thank you for that hard work. It has me looking around for hours seeing all the strange stuff that is North Korea.

As for the “typical modern home”, I had to wonder if it was only for the very elite because even those living in Pyongyang live in much worse conditions than the one in the propaganda video. Two come immediately to mind: “A Day in the Life” where the apartment is pretty small in pretty bad repair. The other is in National Geographic’s documentary where a relatively privileged family living in pretty bad conditions as well.

]]> By: NKeconWatch http://dprkforum.com/2007/09/14/north-korean-oddities-mangyongdae-fun-fair-and-other-fun-parks/#comment-175 NKeconWatch Sat, 15 Sep 2007 16:34:59 +0000 http://localhost/2007/09/14/north-korean-oddities-mangyongdae-fun-fair-and-other-fun-parks/#comment-175 It is true that since the death of Kim il Sung and the Arduous March many facilities have broken down and are not in use anymore. An aquaintance of mine who had visited this park many years ago commented on how sad their state of repair was today. There is also a second amusement park near the Arch of Triumph, and a third in the Munsu District of East Pyongyang across the river from the May Day Stadium. The particular swimming pool and waterslide pictured above are located near the Manyongdae fun fair. It is identified on my North Korea Uncovered project as "Manyongdae Wading Pool" in the "Cultural" folder's "Leisure" sub-folder. The other (Luna Island) pools shown in the video are on the other side of town. They are labeled "Swimming Pools (Abandoned)" in the "Sports-Swimming" folder. This is not a good place to build pools for the obvious reason that this island is vulnerable to flooding by the Taedong River. Also, getting there is a hike for just about everyone. The video from the inside of the "typical, modern home" came from the apartment blocks just north of the Koryo Hotel in the area the Pyongyang expat community calls "the forbidden city." They are located in the same compound as the Workers Party headquarters, and are some of the few homes to have air conditioning! It is true that since the death of Kim il Sung and the Arduous March many facilities have broken down and are not in use anymore. An aquaintance of mine who had visited this park many years ago commented on how sad their state of repair was today. There is also a second amusement park near the Arch of Triumph, and a third in the Munsu District of East Pyongyang across the river from the May Day Stadium.

The particular swimming pool and waterslide pictured above are located near the Manyongdae fun fair. It is identified on my North Korea Uncovered project as “Manyongdae Wading Pool” in the “Cultural” folder’s “Leisure” sub-folder.

The other (Luna Island) pools shown in the video are on the other side of town. They are labeled “Swimming Pools (Abandoned)” in the “Sports-Swimming” folder. This is not a good place to build pools for the obvious reason that this island is vulnerable to flooding by the Taedong River. Also, getting there is a hike for just about everyone.

The video from the inside of the “typical, modern home” came from the apartment blocks just north of the Koryo Hotel in the area the Pyongyang expat community calls “the forbidden city.” They are located in the same compound as the Workers Party headquarters, and are some of the few homes to have air conditioning!

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