Chung-guyŏk (Central Ward) is one of the 18 '' guyok'' which constitute the city of

Pyongyang Pyongyang (, , ) is the capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is known 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 populatio ...

, North Korea. The district is located in the center of the city, between the

Pothonggang Canal The Pothonggang Canal (Pot'onggang Canal, Potonggang Unha) is a river in North Korea. It flows through the capital Pyongyang and is a tributary of the Pothong River. Prior to 1946, Pothonggang Canal was part of Pothong River The Pothong River ...

and

Taedong River The Taedong River (Chosŏn'gŭl: ) is a large river in North Korea. The river rises in the Rangrim Mountains of the country's north where it then flows southwest into Korea Bay at Namp'o.Suh, Dae-Sook (1987) "North Korea in 1986: Strengthening ...

, and is bordered to the north by

Moranbong-guyok Moranbong-guyŏk (), or the Moranbong District, is one of the 18 guyŏk which constitute the capital city of Pyongyang, North Korea. It is located north of Chung-guyok, the city's central district, and is bordered to the north by Sosong and Taeson ...

, to the northwest by

Potonggang-guyok Potonggang-guyok is one of the 18 districts, or guyok, of Pyongyang, North Korea. It is most famous as the location of the Ryugyong Hotel. It is named after the Pothong River (literally "the simple river"), which serves as the district's border on ...

, and to the south by

Pyongchon-guyok P'yŏngch'ŏn-guyŏk (Phyongchon District) is one of the 18 '' guyŏk'' (political districts or wards) of P'yŏngyang, North Korea. It is bordered by the Taedong River in the south and the Pothonggang Canal in the north and Potong River in th ...

Overview

As the centre of Pyongyang, the district holds many of the city's most important buildings. The famous

Kim Il-sung Square __NOTOC__ Kim Il-sung Square is a large city square in the Central District of Pyongyang, North Korea, and is named after the country's founding leader, Kim Il-sung. The square was constructed in 1954 according to a master plan for reconstructing ...

is located along the banks of the Taedong river, together with the

Grand People's Study House The Grand People's Study House is the central library located in the North Korean capital, Pyongyang. The building is situated on Kim Il-sung Square by the banks of the Taedong River. Features The Study House was constructed in a traditiona ...

, which is the

national library A national library is a library established by a government as a country's preeminent repository of information. Unlike public library, public libraries, these rarely allow citizens to borrow books. Often, they include numerous rare, valuable, o ...

of North Korea. Chung-guyok was once the historical centre of Pyongyang, and was almost completely obliterated during the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

by American bombing. Vestiges of the old city can still be seen, and the district is home to several of North Korea's National Treasures, including the rebuilt Potong and Taedong Gates, the

Pyongyang Bell The Pyongyang Bell is one of the National Treasures of North Korea. The current bell was cast between June and September 1726 during the Ri dynasty to replace an earlier one that was destroyed by fire in 1714. The bell was rung to announce invas ...

, the

Ryongwang Pavilion Ryongwang Pavilion is a scenic overlook located in the central district of Pyongyang, North Korea. Located on the bank of the Taedong River, the pavilion was first constructed during the Goguryeo dynasty as "Sansu Pavilion", and was part of the de ...

, and the Sungryong and

Sungin Hall Sungin Hall (Hangul: 숭인전, Hanja: 崇仁殿) built in 1325 is one of the earliest shrines located at Chongno-dong, Chung-guyok, Pyongyang, North Korea. It has been registered as No.4 National Treasure of North Korea. The hall faces Sungnyon ...

s. Other buildings include the

Koryo Hotel The Koryo Hotel is the second largest operating hotel in North Korea, the largest being the Yanggakdo Hotel. The Ryugyong Hotel is larger than both, but is not yet operating. The twin-towered Koryo Hotel building is 143 metres (469 ft) ...

Taedonggang Hotel Taedonggang is a brand of North Korean beer brewed by the state-owned Taedonggang Brewing Company based in Pyongyang. There are four brands of beer marketed as Taedonggang, though the brand known simply as "Taedonggang Beer" is that described b ...

, Pyongyang First Department Store, the

Korea Stamp Museum The Korea Stamp Museum ( ko, 조선우표박물관) is a postal museum in the Central District of Pyongyang, North Korea. History The Korea Stamp Museum opened on April 9, 2012 as part of the centennial celebration of the birth of Kim Il-sung a ...

, the

Pyongyang Central Children's palace Pyongyang (, , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is known 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 2 ...

and

Taedongmoon Cinema Taedongmoon Cinema () is a movie theater located in Sungri Street, Chung-guyok, Pyongyang, North Korea. The cinema is located near the Taedong River. Taedongmoon Cinema was built in 1955. Its architectural style is that of retro; faux ancient G ...

. The

Pyongyang Metro The Pyongyang Metro () is the rapid transit system in the North Korean capital Pyongyang. It consists of two lines: the Chollima Line, which runs north from Puhŭng Station on the banks of the Taedong River to Pulgŭnbyŏl Station, and the Hyŏksi ...

runs through this district, with stops at Yonggwang, Ponghwa and Sungri stations. Pyongyang's central railway station is also located here. Executive offices of the

North Korean government In the North Korean government, the Cabinet is the administrative and executive body. The North Korean government consists of three branches: administrative, legislative, and judicial. However, they are not independent of each other, but all br ...

and its industry are located in the area. The headquarters of the Workers' Party of Korea and the headquarters of the

Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea The Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea ( ko, 조선로동당 중앙위원회) is the highest party body between national meetings of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), the ruling party of North Korea. According to WPK rules, the ...

are located in the area. Many new riverside terraced apartments were built along the

, a project which Kim Jong-un visited multiple times, and the district was renamed by the 690th order of the

Presidium of the SPA The Supreme People's Assembly (SPA; ) is the unicameral legislature of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), commonly known as North Korea. It consists of one deputy from each of the DPRK's 687 constituencies, elected to five-year t ...

Economy

Air Koryo Air Koryo () is the state-owned national airline of North Korea, headquartered in Sunan-guyŏk, Pyongyang. Based at Pyongyang International Airport (IATA: FNJ), it operates international scheduled and charter services to points in Asia. Histo ...

has a booking office in Tongsŏng-dong.

Administrative divisions

Chung-guyok is divided into nineteen administrative districts known as dong.

References

{{Pyongyang Districts of Pyongyang