Pyongyang Skatepark ( ko, 평양 로라스케트장) is the first

skatepark A skatepark, or skate park, is a purpose-built recreational environment made for skateboarding, BMX, scootering, wheelchairs, and aggressive inline skating. A skatepark may contain half-pipes, handrails, funboxes, vert ramps, stairsets, q ...

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 was opened in November 2012 and is contained within the Ryugyong Health Complex. The skatepark includes

half-pipes A half-pipe is a structure used in gravity extreme sports such as snowboarding, skateboarding, skiing, freestyle BMX, skating, and scooter riding. Overview The structure resembles a cross-section of a swimming pool, essentially two concave ram ...

, ramps, grind rails and a track. In November 2012, the Pyongyang Skatepark was visited 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 secon ...

, the

Chairman of the Workers' Party of Korea The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea where he said: "in order to develop sports, it is necessary to steadily seek means and methods suited to the actual conditions of the country on the basis of thorough preparations and develop sports science and put it on a high level, underscoring the need to take measures for the supply of physical exercise apparatuses"''.'' In 2018, a Damn Am skateboarding competition was announced in the Pyongyang Skatepark (Damn Am North Korea). It remains unclear how strong the skateboarding culture is in North Korea. According to Alejandro Cao de Benós de Les y Pérezis, Special Delegate for the Committee for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries, North Koreans are more into inline skating, a hint on how this skatepark may be used. According to Patrik Wallner of VisualTraveling who travelled twice to North Korea, skateboarding is not "tolerated" in the streets of the country.Yasha Wallin
Shredding the DMZ: North Korea's First Skatepark as Cultural Barometer
''Good.is'', 25 November 2012

References

External links

* Buildings and structures completed in 2012 Sports venues in Pyongyang Parks in Pyongyang Skateparks 2012 establishments in North Korea {{Skateboarding-stub