The Grand People's Study House () is the central library located in

Pyongyang Pyongyang () is the Capital city, capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is sometimes labeled as the "Capital of the Revolution" (). Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. Accordi ...

, the capital of

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 borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...

. The library was built in 1982 in honour of the

Supreme Leader A supreme leader or supreme ruler typically refers to powerful figures with an unchallenged authority, such as autocrats, dictators to spiritual and revolutionary leaders. Historic examples are Adolf Hitler () of Nazi Germany, Francisco ...

Kim Il Sung Kim Il Sung (born Kim Song Ju; 15 April 1912 – 8 July 1994) was a North Korean politician and the founder of North Korea, which he led as its first Supreme Leader (North Korean title), supreme leader from North Korea#Founding, its establishm ...

's 70th

birthday A birthday is the anniversary of the birth of a person or figuratively of an institution. Birthdays of people are celebrated in numerous cultures, often with birthday gifts, birthday cards, a birthday party, or a rite of passage. Many religion ...

. It is located in the centre of the capital, situated on Kim Il Sung Square by the banks of the

Taedong River The Taedong River () 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 the Soviet ...

, and it is near the

Juche Tower The Juche Tower (more formally, the Tower of the Juche Idea), completed in 1982, is a monument in Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea, and is named after the ideology of ''Juche'' introduced by the country's first leader, Kim Il Sung. Backgro ...

, further establishing a connection between the

people The term "the people" refers to the public or Common people, common mass of people of a polity. As such it is a concept of human rights law, international law as well as constitutional law, particularly used for claims of popular sovereignty. I ...

and the ''

Juche ''Juche'', officially the ''Juche'' idea, is a component of Ideology of the Workers' Party of Korea#Kimilsungism–Kimjongilism, Kimilsungism–Kimjongilism, the state ideology of North Korea and the official ideology of the Workers' Party o ...

'' ideology. While the library is the centre of ''Juche'' studies, lectures and materials concerning other topics can also be found there. Materials are strictly accessible to librarians and staff, but people can still search the online or print catalogues to find what they would like to borrow. A formal communication from the library is issued to the offender's employer if a borrowed item is not returned on time. Staff members are then required to return the item right away. Likewise, foreign publications are available only with special permission.

History

The National Central Library, recognized as such by the North Korean government in 1946, was renamed the Central Library in 1973 and later became the Grand People's Study House. Construction on the Grand People's Study House began in April 1982, in part to celebrate

's 70th birthday, and spanned 21 months. During construction, the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

provided assistance to North Korea, allowing numerous Eastern European-style buildings to be built in Pyongyang. Believing that the country had become too heavily influenced by other cultures, Kim Il Sung advocated for North Korean-style architecture, which involved reviving elements of traditional Korean architecture, a practise that the North Korean government deemed essential for socialist architecture. In February 2024, the Ministry of Education issued Pyongyang travel passes to professors from universities in other provinces of the country so they could go to the Grand People's Study House to obtain documents and materials required for their research. In July, according to the

Ministry of Unification The Ministry of Unification () is an executive department of the South Korean government aimed at promoting Korean reunification. It was first established in 1969 as the ''National Unification Board'', under the rule of Park Chung Hee. It gaine ...

, students studying abroad were ordered to return to North Korea for the first time in 5 years to resume ideological education. Such education, as reported by South Korean news outlets, included a planned political training session related to

Kim Jong Un Kim Jong Un (born 8 January 1983 or 1984) is a North Korean politician and dictator who has served as supreme leader of North Korea since 2011 and general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) since 2012. He is the third son of Kim ...

at the library, which was scheduled to occur later that month.

Features

The library is located in the Central District of

, at the Kim Il Sung Square, which also houses such buildings as

Supreme People's Assembly The Supreme People's Assembly (SPA; ) is the legislature of North Korea. It is ostensibly the highest organ of state power and the only branch of government in North Korea, with all state organs subservient to it under the principle of unified ...

and Korean Art Gallery. The

is situated on the east bank of the

, directly opposite Kim Il Sung Square on the west bank. Serving as a manifestation of leader Kim Il Sung's "spirit and wisdom", the Study House was one of the few buildings in Pyongyang that was constructed in a neo-traditional Korean style, having been built to resemble a hanok at the insistence of

Kim Jong Il Kim Jong Il (born Yuri Kim; 16 February 1941 or 1942 – 17 December 2011) was a North Korean politician who was the second Supreme Leader (North Korean title), supreme leader of North Korea from Death and state funeral of Kim Il Sung, the de ...

. The library towers 10 storeys tall and has a total floor space of and 600 rooms. Its roof is adorned with traditional, green-colored tiles. In each room and in every atrium, portraits of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il are hung, reminding visitors of the country's strict surveillance. Additionally, some of the common decorations in the library are paintings of Mount Paektu, statues of Kim Il Sung positioned in front of these paintings, and chandeliers.

Collection

A library's size is determined by the number of books it is expected to store; in this case, the Grand People's Study House can house up to 30 million books, of which it contains around 10,800 documents that Kim Il Sung wrote, which includes "

on-the-spot guidance "On-the-spot guidance" (also "guidance tours" or "field guidance") is a term used in the North Korean mass media to describe appearances by the supreme leader, often at sites related to the military or to industry, at which the leader gives direc ...

", but its actual collection size is unknown. The writings of his successor, Kim Jong Il, are also included. Materials are accessible to librarians and staff, and library visitors need to search the online or print catalogues to find what they would like to borrow and place a request. Materials are provided in Korean, English, French, Russian, German, Chinese and Japanese. Foreign publications, such as ''

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn ''Adventures of Huckleberry Finn'' is a picaresque novel by American author Mark Twain that was first published in the United Kingdom in December 1884 and in the United States in February 1885. Commonly named among the Great American Novels, th ...

'' and ''

Gone with the Wind Gone with the Wind most often refers to: * Gone with the Wind (novel), ''Gone with the Wind'' (novel), a 1936 novel by Margaret Mitchell * Gone with the Wind (film), ''Gone with the Wind'' (film), the 1939 adaptation of the novel Gone with the Wind ...

'', are available only with special permission. When the borrowing period expires, the employer is then required to remind their staff member to return the item right away. As reported by

Korean Central Television Korean Central Television (KCTV; ) is a North Korean television service operated by the Korean Central Broadcasting Committee, a state-owned broadcaster in North Korea. It is broadcast terrestrially via the Pyongyang TV Tower in Moranbong-g ...

, Kim Jong Il had been a regular donor of the Study House, sending in around 670 books of 189 types in winter 2007, and around 400 books of 300 titles in spring 2007. The books included the

Guinness Book of World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, listi ...

, a sound effects design guide, architectural environmental acoustics, and around 250 books related to agriculture, including new mushroom cultivation techniques and techniques preventing swine diseases. Alongside books, the chairmen gave the library CDs storing science and technology books separated by sector, geophysical exploration, health and longevity, etc.

Operation

The library is the national centre of ''

'' studies, with one North Korean guide reportedly studying the "Great Leader" Kim Il Sung and "Dear Leader" Kim Jong Il for a total of 90 minutes per day. Lectures on a variety of subjects take place, many of which centre around scientific and technological issues that arise in the country. American evangelist

Billy Graham William Franklin Graham Jr. (; November 7, 1918 – February 21, 2018) was an American Evangelism, evangelist, ordained Southern Baptist minister, and Civil rights movement, civil rights advocate, whose broadcasts and world tours featuring liv ...

gave a talk in the Study House in 1994, when the religious practices were often harshly punished in North Korea. Grand-Peoples-Study-House-Computer-Lab

The institutional organization of North Korea is hierarchical, with the president of the Grand People's Study House at its apex. The president gives orders to the national librarians, assigning each of them specific discipline or subject area, and determining their collections. Each national librarian is responsible for all policies related to their area of expertise. Additionally, each librarian is classified into one of 6 grades based on their performance on a library certification exam. Some librarians are given the titles "meritorious" or "people's", requiring 15 and 20 years of working at the Grand People's Study House, respectively. As of 2019, the library

curator A curator (from , meaning 'to take care') is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the particular ins ...

is Choi Heui-jung. The library has numerous spacious computer rooms equipped with modern computers that provide access to the North Korean intranet. Alongside ''Juche'', computer education is compulsory in North Korea, making them the two most popular subjects studied by military officers and university students. People with computer-related office jobs, such as librarians, are seen in high regard. North Koreans frequently chose to study English language, deemed instrumental in the efforts "to develop the country" or to "do business with other countries", as one tourist working for

Daily NK ''Daily NK'' () is an online newspaper based in Seoul, South Korea, where it reports on various aspects of North Korean society from information obtained from inside and outside of North Korea via a network of informants. North Korea is ranked 17 ...

points out.

Significance and reception

Although not the national library of North Korea, the Grand People's Study House acts as a "quasi-national library" alongside the official National Central Library. The library's popularity further supports this reputation; on 28 January 1989, the Pyongyang Broadcasting Station reported that since the library's inception, over 10 million people have been visiting the Grand People's Study House annually. Moreover, the Study House is featured on the back of the 5- won bill. The Study House was opened as "a sanctuary of learning". In his two-part account of North Korean libraries, information and library scientist Marc Kosciejew uses the conceptual framework of "library-as-place", illuminating its significance in the lives of North Koreans as both a place of

cult of personality A cult of personality, or a cult of the leader,Cas Mudde, Mudde, Cas and Kaltwasser, Cristóbal Rovira (2017) ''Populism: A Very Short Introduction''. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 63. is the result of an effort which is made to create ...

and governmental control, as well as an opportunity for cultural and social gatherings. It is also across from the Juche Tower, the physical manifestation of North Korea's Communist brand, cementing the connection between the people of North Korea and the ''Juche'' ideology. The library further helps reinforce the ''Juche'' mindset by strictly controlling information and events that are available to the public, but the fact that the library makes some information available is notable among the country. The library, as well as its patrons, follow Kim Il Sung's "study-while-working" mindset to help North Koreans advance their socialist and self-reliant education, and strengthen their admiration for the Kim family. For major media coverage, the library is often seen in speeches, military and nuclear parades, and performances celebrating national holidays.

Gallery

File:North_Korea-Pyongyang-Grand_Peoples_Study_House-01.jpg, Grand People's Study House, as seen from across the Taedong River (September 2008) File:Grand People's Study House.jpg, Grand People's Study House Library (August 2011) File:Grand People's Study House, Pyongyang, North Korea.jpg, The building at night (September 2008) File:Grand People's Study House 01.JPG, Entrance area containing Kim Il Sung statue (August 2012) File:Laika ac Grand People's Study House (7968607384).jpg, Entrance hall (August 2012) File:Interior of the Grand People's Study House 2.jpg, Alternative view of the entrance hall (October 2018) File:Grand People's Study House 03.JPG, Visitors searching for books at a computer catalogue at the Grand People's Study House File:Grand People's Study House 06.JPG, Lecture hall (August 2012)

References

Citations

External links

*Interactive 360° Virtual Tour o
lobby and reading room
* {{Authority control Buildings and structures in Pyongyang Library buildings completed in 1982

Culture of North Korea Libraries in North Korea 1982 establishments in North Korea 20th-century architecture in North Korea Libraries established in 1982