The Mangyongdae Funfair( ko, 만경대유희장) is an

amusement park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central ...

located in

Mangyongdae-guyok Man'gyŏngdae-guyŏk or Man'gyŏngdae District () is one of the 18 guyŏk (wards) that constitute P'yŏngyang, North Korea. It began as a village, Man'gyŏngdae-ri, South P'yŏngan Province and became a district of P'yŏngyang in September 19 ...

, 12 kilometres from

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 North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...

. It has an area of 70 hectares including a

funfair A fair (archaic: faire or fayre) is a gathering of people for a variety of entertainment or commercial activities. Fairs are typically temporary with scheduled times lasting from an afternoon to several weeks. Types Variations of fairs incl ...

and

wading pool A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, paddling pool, or simply pool, is a structure designed to hold water to enable swimming or other leisure activities. Pools can be built into the ground (in-ground pools) or built above ground (as ...

. In autumn 2011 the funfair was reported to have little or no Korean patronage. It has been alleged that there is a lack of genuine customers with many visitors being bussed in to the attraction. It had a

roller coaster A roller coaster, or rollercoaster, is a type of amusement ride that employs a form of elevated railroad track designed with tight turns, steep slopes, and sometimes inversions. Passengers ride along the track in open cars, and the rides are o ...

, which, while operational, was in poor repair. There is a

merry-go-round A carousel or carrousel (mainly North American English), merry-go-round (List of sovereign states, international), roundabout (British English), or hurdy-gurdy (an old term in Australian English, in South Australia, SA) is a type of amusement ...

and a

ridable miniature railway A ridable miniature railway (US: riding railroad or grand scale railroad) is a large scale, usually ground-level railway that hauls passengers using locomotives that are often models of full-sized railway locomotives (powered by diesel or petrol ...

. The dismal atmosphere and run-down condition of the funfair were severely criticized by

Kim Jong-un Kim Jong-un (; , ; born 8 January 1982) is a North Korean politician who has been Supreme Leader of North Korea since 2011 and the leader of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) since 2012. He is a son of Kim Jong-il, who was North Korea's sec ...

, during an inspection in May 2012. Kim Jong-un ordered

Choe Ryong-hae Choe Ryong-hae (born 15 January 1950) is a North Korean politician and military officer who currently serves as Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly and First Vice President of the State Affairs Commission, holding ...

, Director of the

General Political Bureau The General Political Bureau (GPB) is the internal politburo of the Korean People's Army (KPA), used by the leadership of the North Korean government to exert political control over the military. The GPB is subordinate to the Ministry of Defence ...

of the Korean People's Army, and others, to spruce up the funfair and bring it into compliance with the requirements of the Sŏn'gun era. Kim Jong-un used the occasion to emphasize the requirement that officials have the spirit of serving the people and must abandon outdated ideological points of view and outmoded work-styles.

Other parks

The

Kaeson Youth Park The Kaeson Youth Park ( ko, 개선청년공원) is an amusement park located in Pyongyang, North Korea. The park, located near the Kim Il Sung Stadium and in the west foot of Moran Hill was opened in 1984, the park was opened as part of the Tri ...

is another amusement park in Pyongyang which also underwent innovation. The Taesongsan Fun Fair, opened in 1977, at the foot of

Mount Taesong Taesŏngsan is a mountain in Taesong-guyok, Pyongyang, North Korea. It has an elevation of . One popular visitor attraction on Taesŏngsan is the outdoor ice rink. Others include the Revolutionary Martyrs' Cemetery and the Korea Central Zoo. In ...

is another. The Pyongyang Folklore Park with an historical theme, also at Mount Taesong in Pyongyang, has been under constructionNorth Korea builds Theme Park about Korean History 마감단계에 이른 평양민속공원건설"
/ref> since December, 2008. There are also folk parks in

Sukchon Sukch'ŏn County is a ''kun'' (county) in South P'yŏngan province, North Korea. Administrative divisions Sukch'ŏn county is divided into 1 '' ŭp'' (town), 1 '' rodongjagu'' (workers' districts) and 20 '' ri'' (villages): Transportation Suk ...

South Pyongan Province South Pyongan Province (Phyŏngannamdo; ) is a province of North Korea. The province was formed in 1896 from the southern half of the former Pyongan Province, remained a province of Korea until 1945, then became a province of North Korea. Its ca ...

and

Sariwon Sariwŏn () is the capital of North Hwanghae Province, North Korea. Population The city's population as of 2008 is 307,764. Administrative divisions Sariwŏn is divided into 31 ''tong'' (neighbourhoods) and 9 '' ri'' (villages): Healthcare ...

North Hwanghae Province North Hwanghae Province (Hwanghaebuk-to; , lit. "north Yellow Sea province") is a province of North Korea. The province was formed in 1954 when the former Hwanghae Province was split into North and South Hwanghae. The provincial capital is Sari ...

. South Korean folk parks with an historical theme such as

Korean Folk Village Minsok village (Korean Folk Village) is a living museum type of tourist attraction in the city of Yongin, a satellite city in the Seoul Metropolitan Area in the province of Gyeonggi in South Korea. It was first opened on October 3, 1974 (ground ...

are popular attractions.

Notes

External links

"The Eerie Amusement Parks of North Korea"
by Dahlia Rideout DivineCaroline.Com

at the

Roller Coaster DataBase Roller Coaster DataBase (RCDB) is a roller coaster and amusement park database begun in 1996 by Duane Marden. It has grown to feature statistics and pictures of over 10,000 roller coasters from around the world. Publications that have mentioned ...

{{Amusement parks in North Korea 1982 establishments in North Korea Amusement parks opened in 1982 Amusement parks in Pyongyang

Other parks

See also

Notes

Further reading

External links