View source for Pyongyang

{{Short description|Capital and largest city of North Korea}}
{{Distinguish|Pyonggang County|Pyeongchang County|Pyongsong}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2019}}
{{Infobox settlement <!-- modelled after [[Seoul]] and [[Daegu]] -->
| name               = Pyongyang
| official_name      = Pyongyang Directly Governed City
| native_name        = {{nobold|평양시}}
| native_name_lang   = ko
| settlement_type    = [[Special cities of North Korea|Directly governed city]]
| translit_lang1     = &nbsp;
| image_skyline      = {{multiple image
| caption_align = center
| border      = infobox
| total_width = 300
| perrow = 1/2/2/2
| color  = yellow
| image1 = Panoramic_view_from_Juche_Tower.jpg
| caption1 = Pyongyang skyline and the [[Taedong River]]
| image2 = Pyongyang_at_night_06.JPG
| caption2 = [[Juche Tower]]
| image3 = Arch-of-Triumph-2014.jpg
| caption3 = [[Arch of Triumph (Pyongyang)|Arch of Triumph]]
| image4 = Mansudae Grand Monument (53893987996).jpg
| caption4 = [[Mansudae Grand Monument]]
| image5 = Prázdné_slnice_a_rozestavěný_hotel_Ryugyong_-_panoramio.jpg
| caption5 = [[Ryugyong Hotel]]
| image6 = King_Tongmyong's_Mausoleum_Gate_01.jpg
| caption6 = [[Tomb of King Tongmyong]]
| image7 = Obrovský_pomník_založení_strany_-_panoramio.jpg
| caption7 = [[Monument to Party Founding]]
}}
| image_seal         = 
| nickname           = <span style="line-height:1.5em;"> (류경/{{lang|ko|柳京}}){{nbsp|2}}<small>([[Korean language|Korean]])<br />"Capital of Willows"</small></span><ref>{{cite book |last=Funabashi |first=Yoichi |title=The Peninsula Question: A Chronicle of the Second Northern Korean Nuclear Crisis |publisher=[[Brookings Institution]] Press |location=Washington, DC |year=2007 |page=50 |isbn=978-0-8157-3010-1}}</ref>{{force singular}}
| anthem             = "My Beloved Capital, Pyongyang" ({{korean|정든 나의 수도 평양|mr=Chŏngdŭn naŭi sudo P'yŏngyang}})<ref>{{cite web |title=North Korean song hypes Pyongyang's skyline even as flood-hit towns remain unrepaired |url=https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/2025-06-08/national/northKorea/North-Korean-song-hypes-Pyongyangs-skyline-even-as-floodhit-towns-remain-unrepaired/2325162 |publisher=Korea JoongAng Daily |access-date=8 June 2025}}</ref>
| image_map          = {{maplink|frame=yes|plain=yes|frame-align=center|frame-width=280|type=shape|stroke-width=2|stroke-color=#000000|zoom=8}}
| map_caption        = ''Location of Pyongyang in North Korea''
| pushpin_relief     = 1
| pushpin_map        = North Korea#Asia
| pushpin_map_caption = 
| coordinates        = {{Coord|39|01|00|N|125|44|51|E|type:city(3,200,000)_region:KP-01|display=inline,title}}
| coor_pinpoint      = 
| subdivision_type   = Country
| subdivision_name   = [[North Korea]]
| subdivision_type1  = 
| subdivision_type2  = 
| subdivision_name1  = 
| subdivision_name2  = 
| parts_type         = [[Administrative divisions of North Korea#Second-level divisions|Districts]]
| parts_style        = <!-- =list (for list), coll (for collapsed list), para (for paragraph format)
                            Default is list if up to 5 items, coll if more than 5-->
| parts              = 19 districts(or wards), 2 counties,1 neighbourhood
| p1                 = [[Chung-guyok]]
| government_footnotes = 
| governing_body     = Pyongyang City People's Assembly
| government_type    = [[Special cities of North Korea|Directly governed city]]
| leader_title1      = Secretary of the City Committee
| leader_name1       = [[Kim Su-gil]]
| leader_title2      = Chairman of the People's Committee
| leader_name2       = [[Choi Hee-tae]]
| unit_pref          = 
| area_footnotes     = <ref>{{cite book |title=The Statesman's Yearbook 2016: The Politics, Cultures and Economies of the World |editor=Nick Heath-Brown |page=720}}</ref>
| area_total_km2     = 829.1
| area_metro_km2     = 3194
| population_total   = 3,157,538
| population_as_of   = 2021
| population_density_km2 = auto
| iso_code           = KP-01
| translit_lang1_type1 = [[Hangul|Chosŏn'gŭl]]
| translit_lang1_info1 = {{lang|ko|평양직할시}}
| translit_lang1_type2 = [[Hanja|Hancha]]
| translit_lang1_info2 = {{lang|ko|平壤直轄市}}
| translit_lang1_type3 = [[McCune–Reischauer]]
| translit_lang1_info3 = {{nowrap|P'yŏngyang Chikhalsi}}
| translit_lang1_type4 = [[Revised Romanization of Korean|Revised Romanization]]
| translit_lang1_info4 = Pyeongyang Jikhalsi
| p2                 = [[Pyongchon-guyok]]
| p3                 = [[Potonggang-guyok]]
| p4                 = [[Moranbong-guyok]]
| p5                 = [[Sosong-guyok]]
| p6                 = [[Songyo-guyok]]
| p7                 = [[Tongdaewon-guyok]]
| p8                 = [[Taedonggang-guyok]]
| p9                 = [[Sadong-guyok]]
| p10                = [[Taesong-guyok]]
| p11                = [[Mangyongdae-guyok]]
| p12                = [[Hyongjesan-guyok]]
| p13                = [[Ryongsong-guyok]]
| p14                = [[Samsok-guyok]]
| p15                = [[Ryokpo-guyok]]
| p16                = [[Rangrang-guyok]]
| p17                = [[Sunan-guyok]]
| p18                = [[Unjong-guyok]]
| p19                = [[Hwasong-guyok]]
| p20                = [[Kangdong County]]
| p21                = [[Kangnam County]]
| p22                = [[Panghyon-dong]]
| timezone           = [[Pyongyang Time|PYT]]
| utc_offset         = +09:00
| population_footnotes = <ref>{{cite web |author=United Nations |url=https://data.un.org/en/iso/kp.html |title=Democratic People's Republic of Korea |publisher=Data.un.org |date= |access-date=2023-07-16 |archive-date=28 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221128065859/https://data.un.org/en/iso/kp.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
| population_demonym = Pyongyangite(s)<ref>{{Cite book |url=http://www.korean-books.com.kp/KBMbooks/en/book/ordinary/20221208150725.pdf |title=Specialties of Korea |publisher=[[Foreign Languages Publishing House (North Korea)|Foreign Languages Publishing House]] |year=2022 |access-date=12 January 2023 |archive-date=12 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230112220942/http://www.korean-books.com.kp/KBMbooks/en/book/ordinary/20221208150725.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>
| image_map1         = Pyeongyang Map 2020.png
| map_caption1       = Pyongyang highlighted in red in North Korea
| elevation_ft       = 6
}}

'''Pyongyang'''{{efn|{{IPAc-en|lang|p|j|ɒ|ŋ|ˈ|j|æ|ŋ|,_|p|j|ʌ|ŋ|-|,_|-|j|ɑː|ŋ|audio=LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-Pyongyang.wav}};<ref>{{cite book |last=Wells |first=John C. |year=2008 |title=Longman Pronunciation Dictionary |edition=3rd |publisher=Longman |isbn= 978-1-40588118-0}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/pyongyang |title=Pyongyang definition and meaning &#124; Collins English Dictionary |access-date=15 May 2023 |archive-date=7 June 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160607214659/http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/pyongyang |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/P%27y%C7%92ngyang |title=Definition of P'YŎNGYANG |website=www.merriam-webster.com |access-date=15 May 2023 |archive-date=12 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230512131740/https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/P%27y%C7%92ngyang |url-status=live }}</ref> {{IPA|ko|pʰjʌŋjaŋ|lang|Ko-평양.oga}}}} ({{Korean|hangul=평양|hanja=平壤|context=north}}) is the [[Capital city|capital]] and largest city of [[North Korea]]. Pyongyang is located on the [[Taedong River]] about {{cvt|109|km}} upstream from its mouth on the [[Yellow Sea]]. According to the 2008 population census, it has a population of 3,255,288.<ref name="Nkorea2008">{{cite book |url=https://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/sources/census/wphc/North_Korea/Final%20national%20census%20report.pdf |title=D P R Korea, 2008 Population Census, National Report |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090325102712/http://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/sources/census/2010_PHC/North_Korea/2008_North_Korea_Census.pdf |archive-date=25 March 2009 |access-date=17 February 2018}}</ref> Pyongyang is a [[Special cities of North Korea|directly administered city]] ({{Korean|hangul=직할시|hanja=直轄市|mr=chikhalsi|labels=no||}}) with a status equal to that of the [[Provinces of North Korea|North Korean provinces]].

Pyongyang is one of the oldest cities in Korea.<ref name="EBPyongyang"/> It was the capital of two ancient Korean kingdoms, [[Old Chosŏn|Gojoseon]] and [[Goguryeo]], and served as the secondary capital of [[Goryeo]]. Following the establishment of North Korea in 1948, Pyongyang became its ''[[de facto]]'' capital. The city was again devastated during the [[Korean War]], but was quickly rebuilt after the war with [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] assistance.

Pyongyang is the political, industrial and transport center of North Korea. It is estimated that 99% of those living in Pyongyang are members, candidate members, or dependents of members of the ruling [[Workers' Party of Korea]] (WPK).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Collins |first=Robert |url=https://www.northkoreanchristians.com/Songbun.pdf |title=Marked for Life: Songbun, North Korea's Social Classification System |publisher=Committee for Human Rights in North Korea |year=2012 |isbn=978-0985648008 |location=United States |pages=69 |language=en |lccn=2012939299}}</ref> It is home to North Korea's major [[Government of North Korea|government institutions]], as well as the WPK which has its headquarters in the [[Government Complex No. 1, Pyongyang|Government Complex No. 1]].

==Names==
The name 'Pyongyang' derives from the [[Sino-Korean vocabulary|Sino-Korean]] words 平 (flat) and 壤 (land). It is the [[McCune–Reischauer]] romanisation of the Korean term '평양', which translates to 'flat land', reflecting the smooth terrain of the city. In native Korean, the city was called "Buruna" ({{Korean|hangul=부루나|labels=no}})<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2023-03-30 |title="'평양(平壤)' 지명은 '부루나'에서 유래" |url=http://www.spnews.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=63534 |access-date= |website=SPN 서울평양뉴스 |language=ko}}</ref> or less commonly "Barana" ({{Korean|hangul=바라나|labels=no}})<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |script-title=ko:평양이라는 이름의 유래 |url=http://www.uriminzokkiri.com/index.php?ptype=csense&mtype=view&no=1140 |access-date= |website=[[Uriminzokkiri]] |archive-date=17 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231117184832/http://www.uriminzokkiri.com/index.php?ptype=csense&mtype=view&no=1140 |url-status=dead }}</ref> which, using the [[Idu script|idu system]], was the pronunciation of the Chinese characters of "Pyongyang".<ref name=":0"/><ref name=":1"/> "Buru" ({{Korean|hangul=부루|labels=no}}) means "field" whereas "na" ({{Korean|hangul=나|labels=no}}) means "land", therefore the meaning of Pyongyang in native Korean would be "Land of the field".<ref name=":0"/>

The city's other historic names include ''Ryugyong'',<ref>{{cite book |last=Funabashi |first=Yōichi |title=The peninsula question : a chronicle of the second Korean nuclear crisis |publisher=Brookings Institution Press |publication-place=Washington, D.C. |date=2007 |isbn=978-0-8157-3011-8 |oclc=290569447}}</ref> ''Kisong'', ''Hwangsong'', ''Rakrang'', ''Sŏgyong'', ''Sodo'', ''Hogyong'', ''Changan'',<ref>{{Cite web |title=Map - Pyongyang - MAP[N]ALL.COM |url=https://www.mapnall.com/en/Map-Pyongyang_1104342.html |access-date=2023-07-12 |website=www.mapnall.com |archive-date=12 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230712090011/https://www.mapnall.com/en/Map-Pyongyang_1104342.html |url-status=live }}</ref> and ''Heijō''<ref>{{cite map |url=http://www.drben.net/publishImages/Koreas_Report~Sources~Korea_Maps~Historic~1945~Map-Japan-Korea-1945-01~~element1972.jpg |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180511180030/http://www.drben.net/publishImages/Koreas_Report~Sources~Korea_Maps~Historic~1945~Map-Japan-Korea-1945-01~~element1972.jpg |url-status=dead |archive-date=11 May 2018 |title=Japan and Korea compiled and drawn in the Cartographic Section of the National Geographic Society for The National Geographic Magazine |location=Washington |publisher=Gilbert Grosvenor |date=1945 |access-date=30 September 2018 |oclc=494696670}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.geographic.org/geographic_names/name.php?uni=-268903&fid=3334&c=north_korea |title=Heijō: North Korea |access-date=26 June 2013 |archive-date=27 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160827193546/http://www.geographic.org/geographic_names/name.php?uni=-268903&fid=3334&c=north_korea |url-status=live }}</ref> (during [[Japanese rule in Korea]]). There are several variants.{{efn|These include: Heijō-fu,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.geographic.org/geographic_names/name.php?uni=-268905&fid=3353&c=north_korea |title=Heijō-fu: North Korea |access-date=26 June 2013 |archive-date=27 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160827070316/http://www.geographic.org/geographic_names/name.php?uni=-268905&fid=3353&c=north_korea |url-status=live }}</ref> Heizyō,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.geographic.org/geographic_names/name.php?uni=-268917&fid=3381&c=north_korea |title=Heizyō: North Korea |access-date=26 June 2013 |archive-date=27 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160827193541/http://www.geographic.org/geographic_names/name.php?uni=-268917&fid=3381&c=north_korea |url-status=live }}</ref> Heizyō Hu,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.geographic.org/geographic_names/name.php?uni=-268918&fid=3325&c=north_korea |title=Heizyō Hu: North Korea |access-date=26 June 2013 |archive-date=27 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160827193537/http://www.geographic.org/geographic_names/name.php?uni=-268918&fid=3325&c=north_korea |url-status=live }}</ref> Hpyeng-yang,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.geographic.org/geographic_names/name.php?uni=-269384&fid=3353&c=north_korea |title=Hpyeng-yang: North Korea |access-date=26 June 2013 |archive-date=27 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160827191838/http://www.geographic.org/geographic_names/name.php?uni=-269384&fid=3353&c=north_korea |url-status=live }}</ref> P-hjöng-jang,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.geographic.org/geographic_names/name.php?uni=-279136&fid=3353&c=north_korea |title=P-hjöng-jang: North Korea |access-date=26 June 2013 |archive-date=27 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160827130757/http://www.geographic.org/geographic_names/name.php?uni=-279136&fid=3353&c=north_korea |url-status=live }}</ref> Phyeng-yang,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.geographic.org/geographic_names/name.php?uni=-279138&fid=3362&c=north_korea |title=Phyeng-yang: North Korea |access-date=26 June 2013 |archive-date=27 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160827191844/http://www.geographic.org/geographic_names/name.php?uni=-279138&fid=3362&c=north_korea |url-status=live }}</ref> Phyong-yang,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.geographic.org/geographic_names/name.php?uni=-279139&fid=3381&c=north_korea |title=Phyong-yang: North Korea |access-date=26 June 2013 |archive-date=27 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160827130809/http://www.geographic.org/geographic_names/name.php?uni=-279139&fid=3381&c=north_korea |url-status=live }}</ref> Pienyang,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.geographic.org/geographic_names/name.php?uni=-279152&fid=3353&c=north_korea |title=Pienyang: North Korea |access-date=26 June 2013 |archive-date=27 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160827132226/http://www.geographic.org/geographic_names/name.php?uni=-279152&fid=3353&c=north_korea |url-status=live }}</ref> P'ing-jang,<ref name="blunden">{{cite book |year=1998 |last=Blunden |first=Caroline |chapter=Gazetteer |title=Cultural Atlas of China |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/culturalatlasofc00blun_0/page/235/ |edition=Revised |publisher=[[Facts on File]] |isbn=0-8160-3814-7 |lccn=98-34322 |oclc=43168341 |pages=232, 235}}: "Names in ''italics'' represent the Wade-Giles equivalent of the preceding Pinyin transcription....Pingrang/''P'ing-jang see'' Pyongyang"</ref><ref name="columbia">{{cite book |year=1975 |chapter=Pyongyang |editor1=William H. Harris |editor2=Judith S. Levey |title=The New Columbia Encyclopedia |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/newcolumbiaencyc00harr/page/2250/ |edition=Fourth |publisher=[[Columbia University Press]] |isbn=0-231-03572-1 |lccn=74-26686 |oclc=1103123 |page=2250}} "Chin. ''P'ing-jang''"</ref> Pingrang,<ref name="blunden"/><ref>{{cite book |year=2012 |last=Wilkinson |first=Endymion |author-link=Endymion Wilkinson |chapter=Introduction |title=Chinese History: A New Manual |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/chinesehistoryne0000wilk/page/14/ |edition=Third, revised |publisher=[[Harvard University Press]] |isbn=978-0-674-06715-8 |lccn=2011285309 |oclc=873859851 |page=14}} "The DPRK (Joseon Minjujui Inmin Konghuaguk {{lang|zh|朝鮮民主主義人民共和國}}) is read in Chinese as Chaoxian minzhu zhuyi renmin gonghe guo, and its capital, Pyeonyang, is pronounced Pingrang {{lang|zh|平壤}}."</ref> Pingyang,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.geographic.org/geographic_names/name.php?uni=-279198&fid=3325&c=north_korea |title=Pingyang: North Korea |access-date=26 June 2013 |archive-date=27 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160827071507/http://www.geographic.org/geographic_names/name.php?uni=-279198&fid=3325&c=north_korea |url-status=live }}</ref> Pyengyang,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.geographic.org/geographic_names/name.php?uni=-280505&fid=3372&c=north_korea |title=Pyengyang: North Korea |access-date=26 June 2013 |archive-date=27 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160827130820/http://www.geographic.org/geographic_names/name.php?uni=-280505&fid=3372&c=north_korea |url-status=live }}</ref> and Pieng-tang.{{sfnp|''EB''|1878|p=390}}}}<ref>{{cite book |year=1988 |author=Hermann Lautensach |title=Korea: A Geography Based on the Author's Travels and Literature |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OrHtCAAAQBAJ&pg=PA9 |page=9 |publisher=Springer |isbn=9783642735783 |access-date=16 June 2023 |archive-date=4 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230604012703/https://books.google.com/books?id=OrHtCAAAQBAJ&pg=PA9 |url-status=live }}</ref> During the early 20th century, Pyongyang came to be known among missionaries as being the "[[Jerusalem]] of the East", due to its historical status as a stronghold of [[Christianity]], namely [[Protestantism]], especially during the [[Pyongyang Revival]] of 1907.<ref name=AsiaTimesNick>{{cite web |url=http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Korea/GC16Dg03.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050318052905/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Korea/GC16Dg03.html |url-status=unfit |archive-date=18 March 2005 |last=Lankov |first=Andrei |title=North Korea's missionary position |work=Asia Times Online |date=16 March 2005 |quote=By the early 1940s Pyongyang was by far the most Protestant of all major cities of Korea, with some 25–30% of its adult population being church-going Christians. In missionary circles this earned the city the nickname "Jerusalem of the East". |access-date=25 January 2013}}</ref><ref name=DailyBeastNick>{{cite web |url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2007/09/15/prayer-in-pyongyang.html |last=Caryl |first=Christian |title=Prayer in Pyongyang |work=The Daily Beast |publisher=The Newsweek/Daily Beast Co |date=15 September 2007 |quote=It's hard to say how many covert Christians the North has; estimates range from the low tens of thousands to 100,000. Christianity came to the peninsula in the late 19th century. Pyongyang, in fact, was once known as the 'Jerusalem of the East.' |access-date=25 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120523004545/http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2007/09/15/prayer-in-pyongyang.html |archive-date=23 May 2012}}</ref>

After [[Death and state funeral of Kim Il Sung|Kim Il Sung's death]] in 1994, some members of [[Kim Jong Il]]'s faction proposed changing the name of Pyongyang to "Kim Il Sung City" ({{korean|hangul=김일성시|hanja=金日成市|links-no}}), but others suggested that North Korea should begin calling [[Seoul]] "Kim Il Sung City" instead and grant Pyongyang the moniker "Kim Jong Il City". In the end, neither proposal was implemented.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk01300&num=58 |title=Pyongyang was to become 'Kim Il Sung City'; The followers of Kim Jong Il suggested the idea |work=[[Daily NK]] |date=21 February 2005 |access-date=5 October 2014 |archive-date=6 October 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006134507/http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk01300&num=58 |url-status=live }}</ref> In North Korea, Pyongyang is sometimes labeled as the "Capital of the Revolution" ({{Korean|hangul=혁명의 수도|labels=no}}).<ref>{{cite web |date=1989-07-03 |title=「혁명의 수도」선포...금속·건재 공업이 주류 |url=https://www.joongang.co.kr/article/2342714 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220811165705/https://www.joongang.co.kr/article/2342714 |archive-date=11 August 2022 |access-date=2022-08-11 |website=[[JoongAng Ilbo]] |language=ko}}</ref>

==History==
===Prehistory===
In 1955, archaeologists excavated evidence of prehistoric dwellings in a large ancient village in the Pyongyang area, called Kŭmtan-ni, dating to the [[Jeulmun pottery period|Jeulmun]] and [[Mumun pottery period|Mumun]] pottery periods.<ref>National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage. 2001. Geumtan-ri. ''Hanguk Gogohak Sajeon'' [Dictionary of Korean Archaeology], pp. 148–149. NRICH, Seoul. {{ISBN|89-5508-025-5}}</ref> North Koreans associate Pyongyang with the [[Korean mythology|mythological]] city of "[[Asadal]]", or ''[[Wanggeom-seong]]'', the first second millennium BC capital of [[Old Chosŏn|Gojoseon]] ("Old Joseon") according to Korean historiographies beginning with the 13th-century ''[[Samguk yusa]]''.

Historians{{who|date=April 2018}} deny this claim because earlier Chinese historiographical works such as the ''[[Guanzi (text)|Guanzi]]'', ''[[Classic of Mountains and Seas]]'', ''[[Records of the Grand Historian]]'', and ''[[Records of the Three Kingdoms]]'', mention a much later "Joseon".{{citation needed|date=April 2018}} The connection between the two therefore may have been asserted by North Korea for the use of propaganda.{{citation needed|date=April 2018}} Nevertheless, Pyongyang became a major city in old Joseon.

===Historical period===
[[File:Tomb of King Tongmyong, Pyongyang, North Korea.jpg|thumb|150px|[[Tomb of King Tongmyong]]]]
Pyongyang was, according to legend, founded in 1122 BC on the site of the capital of the legendary king [[Dangun]].<ref name="EBPyongyang"/> [[Wanggeom-seong]], which was in the location of Pyongyang, became the capital of [[Old Chosŏn|Gojoseon]] from 194 to 108 BC. It fell in the [[Han conquest of Gojoseon]] in 108 BC. [[Emperor Wu of Han]] ordered four commanderies be set up, with [[Lelang Commandery]] in the center and its capital established as "Joseon" (朝鮮縣, 조선현) at the location of Pyongyang. Several archaeological findings from the later, [[Eastern Han]] (20–220 AD) period in the Pyongyang area seems to suggest that Han forces later launched brief incursions around these parts.

The area around the city was called Nanglang during the early [[Three Kingdoms of Korea|Three Kingdoms period]]. As the capital of Nanglang ({{korean|hangul=낙랑국|hanja=樂浪國|labels=no}}),{{Efn |Nanglang-state is different from Lelang Commandery.}} Pyongyang remained an important commercial and cultural outpost after the Lelang Commandery was destroyed by an expanding [[Goguryeo]] in 313.

Goguryeo moved its capital there in 427. According to [[Christopher I. Beckwith|Christopher Beckwith]], ''Pyongyang'' is the [[Sino-Korean vocabulary|Sino-Korean reading]] of the name they gave it in their language: ''Piarna'', or "level land".<ref>{{Cite book |first=Christopher I. |last=Beckwith |title=Empires of the Silk Road: A History of Central Eurasia from the Bronze Age to the Present |publisher=Princeton University Press |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-691-13589-2 |page=104}}</ref>

In 668, Pyongyang became the capital of the [[Protectorate General to Pacify the East]] established by the [[Tang dynasty]] of China. However, by 676, it was taken by [[Silla]], but left on the border between Silla and [[Balhae]]. Pyongyang was left abandoned during the [[Later Silla]] period, until it was recovered by [[Taejo of Goryeo|Wang Geon]] and decreed as the Western Capital of [[Goryeo]].

During the [[Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–98)|Imjin War]], Pyongyang was captured by the Japanese and [[Battle of Pyongyang (1592)|held the city wall]] until they were defeated in the [[Siege of Pyongyang (1593)|Siege of Pyongyang]].<ref name="EBPyongyang"/> Later in the 17th century, it became temporarily occupied during the [[Qing invasion of Joseon]] until peace arrangements were made between Korea and Qing China. While the invasions made Koreans suspicious of foreigners, the influence of [[Christianity]] began to grow after the country opened itself up to foreigners in the 16th century. Pyongyang became the base of Christian expansion in Korea. By 1880 it had more than 100 churches and more Protestant missionaries than any other Asian city,<ref name="EBPyongyang">{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/484693/Pyongyang |title=Pyongyang |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica Online |access-date=19 April 2015}}</ref> and was called "the [[Jerusalem]] of the East".<ref>{{cite news |title=Pyongyang, one-time Jerusalem of East |url=https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/opinion/2021/03/197_304944.html |work=[[The Korea Times]] |date=2021-03-04 |access-date=13 March 2021 |archive-date=6 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210306130908/https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/opinion/2021/03/197_304944.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 1890, the city had 40,000 inhabitants.<ref name="populstat.info">{{cite web |first=Jan |last=Lahmeyer |publisher=University of Utrecht |url=http://www.populstat.info/Asia/nkoreat.htm |work=Populstat |title=North Korea – Urban Population |access-date=27 April 2011 |archive-date=16 May 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130516061707/http://www.populstat.info/Asia/nkoreat.htm |url-status=dead}}</ref> It was the site of the [[Battle of Pyongyang (1894)|Battle of Pyongyang]] during the [[First Sino-Japanese War]], which led to the destruction and depopulation of much of the city.<ref name="britannica.com">{{cite web |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Pyongyang |title=P'yŏngyang &#124; national capital, North Korea &#124; Britannica |date=29 May 2023 |access-date=27 November 2022 |archive-date=4 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190404043358/https://www.britannica.com/place/Pyongyang |url-status=live }}</ref> It was the provincial capital of South Pyeongan Province beginning in 1896. During the [[Korea under Japanese rule|Japanese colonial rule]], Japan tried to develop the city as an industrial center, but faced the [[March First Movement]] in 1919 and severe anti-Japanese socialist movement in 1920s due to economic exploitation.<ref name="britannica.com"/><ref>{{cite web |url=https://english.seoul.go.kr/the-march-first-independence-movement-of-seoul-and-pyeongyang/ |title=March 1st movement Pyongyang |date=5 March 2019 |access-date=8 April 2023 |archive-date=8 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230408084735/https://english.seoul.go.kr/the-march-first-independence-movement-of-seoul-and-pyeongyang/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://kotobank.jp/word/%E6%9C%9D%E9%AE%AE%E7%89%A9%E7%94%A3%E5%A5%A8%E5%8A%B1%E9%81%8B%E5%8B%95-98045 |title=朝鮮物産奨励運動 |access-date=8 April 2023 |archive-date=8 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230408083054/https://kotobank.jp/word/%E6%9C%9D%E9%AE%AE%E7%89%A9%E7%94%A3%E5%A5%A8%E5%8A%B1%E9%81%8B%E5%8B%95-98045 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://encykorea.aks.ac.kr/Article/E0052020 |script-title=ko:물산장려운동 |access-date=8 April 2023 |archive-date=8 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230408083054/https://encykorea.aks.ac.kr/Article/E0052020 |url-status=live }}</ref> It was called Heijō (with the same Chinese characters {{lang|ja|平壤}} but read as {{lang|ja|へいじょう}}) in Japanese.

[[File:De daken van Pyongyang Gezicht op de daken van eenvoudige, dicht op elkaar gebouwde huizen, Pyongyang, Noord-Korea, RP-F-2000-9-51.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Pyongyang, 1907]]
[[File:Heijo Tram.JPG|thumb|Pyongyang Tram, {{circa|1920s}}]]
In July 1931, the city experienced [[Wanpaoshan Incident#Anti-Chinese riots in Korea|anti-Chinese riots]] as a result of the [[Wanpaoshan Incident]] and the sensationalized media reports about it which appeared in Imperial Japanese and Korean newspapers.<ref>Memorandum (Institute of Pacific Relations, American Council), Vol. 2, No. 5 (16 Mar 1933), pp. 1–3</ref>
By 1938, Pyongyang had a population of 235,000.<ref name="populstat.info" />

===After 1945=== <!-- This section can be expanded using THIS LINK http://www.notey.com/@publicdelivery_unofficial/external/15884940/calm-photos-of-pyongyang-the-ultimate-socialist-city.html -->
[[File:Pyongyang aerial view (15124608601).jpg|thumb|right|Modern-day Pyongyang]]
On 25 August 1945, the [[25th Army (Soviet Union)|Soviet 25th Army]] entered Pyongyang and it became the temporary capital of the [[Provisional People's Committee for North Korea]]. A People's Committee was already established there, led by veteran Christian nationalist [[Cho Man-sik]].<ref>{{cite book |title=The Making of Modern Korea |last=Buzo |first=Adrian |year=2002 |publisher=Routledge |location=London |isbn=0-415-23749-1 |pages=54–57}}</ref> Pyongyang became the de facto capital of North Korea upon its establishment in 1948. At the time, the Pyongyang government aimed to recapture Korea's official capital, Seoul. [[Bombing of Pyongyang|Pyongyang was again severely damaged]] in the [[Korean War]], during which it was [[Battle of Pyongyang (1950)|briefly occupied]] by South Korean forces from 19 October to 6 December 1950. The city saw many refugees evacuate when advancing Chinese forces pushed southward towards Pyongyang. UN forces oversaw the evacuation of refugees as they retreated from Pyongyang in December 1950.<ref>{{cite web |title=Pyongyang taken as UN retreats, 1950 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/archive/pyongyang-taken-as-un-retreats/znhynrd |access-date=2021-08-21 |website=BBC Archive |language=en |archive-date=21 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210821095028/https://www.bbc.co.uk/archive/pyongyang-taken-as-un-retreats/znhynrd |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1952, it was the target of the largest aerial raid of the entire war, involving 1,400 UN aircraft.

Already during the war, plans were made to reconstruct the city. On 27 July 1953 – the day the armistice between North Korea and South Korea was signed – ''The Pyongyang Review'' wrote: "While streets were in flames, an exhibition showing the general plan of restoration of Pyongyang was held at the Moranbong Underground Theater", the air raid shelter of the government under [[Moranbong]]. "On the way of victory... fireworks which streamed high into the night sky of the capital in a gun salute briefly illuminated the construction plan of the city which would rise soon with a new look".<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Schinz |first1=Alfred |last2=Eckart |first2=Dege |year=1990 |title=Pyongyang-Ancient and Modern – the Capital of North Korea |journal=GeoJournal |volume=22 |issue=1 |page=25 |doi=10.1007/BF02428536 |s2cid=153574542}}</ref> After the war, the city was quickly rebuilt with assistance from the [[Soviet Union]], and many buildings were built in the style of [[Stalinist architecture]]. The plans for the modern city of Pyongyang were first displayed for public viewing in a theatre building. Kim Jung-hee, one of the founding members of the Korean Architects Alliance, who had studied architecture in [[Empire of Japan|prewar Japan]], was appointed by Kim Il Sung to design the city's master plan. [[Moscow Architectural Institute]] designed the "Pyongyang City Reconstruction and Construction Comprehensive Plan" in 1951, and it was officially adopted in 1953. The transformation into a modern, propaganda-designed city featuring Stalin-style architecture with a Korean-style arrangement (and other modernist architecture that was said to have been greatly influenced by Brazilian architect [[Oscar Niemeyer]]) began.<ref>金聖甫、李信澈「写真と絵で見る北朝鮮現代史」監修: 李泳采、韓興鉄訳、コモンズ、東京・新宿(原著2010年12月1日).{{ISBN|978-4861870750}}.2018年4月30日閲覧.</ref> The [[Constitution of North Korea|1972 Constitution]] officially declared Pyongyang the capital.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Korea (Democratic People's Republic of) 1972 (rev. 1998) Constitution - Constitute |url=https://www.constituteproject.org/constitution/Peoples_Republic_of_Korea_1998 |access-date=2023-07-16 |website=www.constituteproject.org |language=en |archive-date=16 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230716120714/https://www.constituteproject.org/constitution/Peoples_Republic_of_Korea_1998 |url-status=live }}</ref> During Kim Il Sung's 1956 diplomatic [[List of international trips made by Kim Il Sung|tour]] of the USSR, he was heavily inspired by Proto-[[Khrushchevka|Krushchyovka]] mass housing concepts introduced to him, which was urgently replicated in the fast-expanding region south of the Taedong. Soviet architectural influence re-emerged in the 1980s; the newly-built Kwangbok and Tongil Street apartments were of near-identical design to [[Brezhnevka|Brezhnevka]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hahn |title=Architectural Development in North and South Korea |website=Proceedings of the 11th FIG International Symposium on Deformation Monitoring (TUFE) |publisher=[[International Federation of Surveyors]] |year=2018 |url=https://www.fig.net/resources/proceedings/2018/11_tufe/4-hahn.pdf |access-date=23 October 2025}}</ref>

The [[Death and state funeral of Kim Il Sung|funeral of Kim Il Sung]] was held in Pyongyang in 1994. Then on 19 July, it concluded with a cortege procession when his corpse moved through the streets with a hearse as people cried out in hysteria while watching the funeral.<ref>{{Cite web |date=1994-07-19 |title=Crying by numbers at Kim's state funeral |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/crying-by-numbers-at-kim-s-state-funeral-1415015.html |access-date=2023-07-16 |website=The Independent |language=en |archive-date=16 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230716121753/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/crying-by-numbers-at-kim-s-state-funeral-1415015.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2001, North Korean authorities began a long-term modernisation programme. The Ministry of Capital City Construction Development was included in the [[Cabinet of North Korea|Cabinet]] in that year. In 2006, Kim Jong Il's brother-in-law [[Jang Song-thaek|Jang Song Thaek]] took charge of the ministry.

Throughout the rule of [[Kim Jong Un]] a number of residential projects were constructed. In 2012, Changjon Street,<ref>{{Cite web |script-title=ko:[통일문화가꿔가기 38] 평양 창전거리 건설 비하인드 소설《강자》 |url=http://www.jajusibo.com/39729 |access-date=2024-05-14 |website=자주시보}}</ref> a residential project with 2,784 units, was inaugurated in the heart of Pyongyang. 2013 and 2014 residential projects dedicated to scientists were completed in Unha Scientists Street and Wisong Scientists Street with more than 1,000 units each while in 2015 work took place on a residential project in [[Mirae Scientists Street]] with 2,584 units. In 2017, in dedication to the [[Day of the Sun|105th birthday]] of the [[History of North Korea|founder]] and first leader, [[Kim Il Sung]], 4,804 units were built in the new [[Ryomyong New Town|Ryomyong Street complex]]. The second decade of the 2000s saw the construction of residential projects in Songhwa Street near the [[Taedonggang Brewing Company]] in Sadong District (2022), in Taephyong area in Mangyongdae district, and in the Pothong Riverside Terraced Residential District located at the city center next to the Pothong River on land previously used by the headquarters of the [[International Taekwon-Do Federation]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.38north.org/2021/04/pyongyang-development-projects-off-to-a-strong-start/ |title=Pyongyang Development Projects off to a Strong Start |first=Martyn |last=Williams |date=15 April 2021 |website=[[38 North]] |access-date=23 June 2022 |archive-date=9 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220809045323/https://www.38north.org/2021/04/pyongyang-development-projects-off-to-a-strong-start/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Kim Jong Un ordered that the residential district be renamed "Kyongru-dong" meaning "beautiful bead terrace".<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.nknews.org/2021/08/kim-jong-un-visits-construction-site-for-new-luxury-apartments-in-pyongyang/ |title=Kim Jong Un visits construction site for new luxury apartments in Pyongyang &#124; NK News |date=21 August 2021 |website=[[NK News]] |access-date=23 June 2022 |archive-date=6 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220706231003/https://www.nknews.org/2021/08/kim-jong-un-visits-construction-site-for-new-luxury-apartments-in-pyongyang/ |url-status=live }}</ref> From the 50s to the 70s the area was the location of the residence of Kim Il Sung and was known as "Mansion No. 5".<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.rfa.org/english/news/korea/legacy-10252021135553.html |title=North Korean leader Kim Jong Un builds luxury villas over grandfather's old home |website=[[Radio Free Asia]] |access-date=23 June 2022 |archive-date=7 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220407200735/https://www.rfa.org/english/news/korea/legacy-10252021135553.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Other recent public building projects include the [[Mansudae People's Theatre]] opened in 2012, the [[Munsu Water Park]] opened in 2013, and the renovated and expanded [[Pyongyang Sunan International Airport|Sunan International Airport]] and [[Pyongyang Sci-Tech Complex]], both completed in 2015,<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.38north.org/2017/07/hferon071817/ |title=Pyongyang's Construction Boom: Is North Korea Beating Sanctions? |first=Henri |last=Féron |date=18 July 2017 |website=[[38 North]] |access-date=23 June 2022 |archive-date=23 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220623122843/https://www.38north.org/2017/07/hferon071817/ |url-status=live }}</ref> the Samjiyon Orchestra Theater,<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20181011005500315 |title=N. Korean leader visits newly renovated orchestra theater in Pyongyang |last=Yoo |first=Cheong-mo |date=11 October 2018 |website=[[Yonhap News Agency]] |access-date=23 June 2022 |archive-date=23 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220623122843/https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20181011005500315 |url-status=live }}</ref> which was fitted out of the domed Korean People's Army Circus built in 1964, and the [[Pyongyang General Hospital]], of which construction started in 2020. Additional re-development projects occurred in the area around the Arch of Triumph where the Pyongyang People's Hospital no. 1 was demolished. Apartment blocks in the area of Inhŭng-dong, in [[Moranbong-guyok]] district and in the area of Sinwon-dong in [[Potonggang-guyok|Pothonggang district]] were demolished<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.nknews.org/2019/01/major-demolition-underway-in-central-pyongyangs-moranbong-district-imagery/ |title=Major demolition underway in central Pyongyang's Moranbong district: imagery &#124; NK News |first=Colin |last=Zwirko |date=9 January 2019 |website=[[NK News]] |access-date=23 June 2022 |archive-date=23 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220623122843/https://www.nknews.org/2019/01/major-demolition-underway-in-central-pyongyangs-moranbong-district-imagery/ |url-status=live }}</ref> in 2018–2019 for the construction of new apartment buildings.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.nknews.org/pro/major-construction-springs-up-in-shadow-of-infamous-pyongyang-hotel-imagery/ |title=Major construction springs up in shadow of infamous Pyongyang hotel: Imagery |first=Colin |last=Zwirko |date=14 June 2022 |website=NK PRO |access-date=23 June 2022 |archive-date=23 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220623122429/https://www.nknews.org/pro/major-construction-springs-up-in-shadow-of-infamous-pyongyang-hotel-imagery/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Also in 2018 the Youth Park Open-Air Theatre in Sungri Street, used to host political rallies, was rebuilt.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://kcnawatch.org/newstream/1579273291-970390963/Pyongyang-City-Youth-Park-Open-Air-Theatre-inaugurated/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230407050859/https://kcnawatch.org/newstream/1579273291-970390963/Pyongyang-City-Youth-Park-Open-Air-Theatre-inaugurated/ |archive-date=7 April 2023 |title=Newstream}}</ref> In 2021–2022 a major housing project was executed along Songhwa Street in southeast part of the city<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nknews.org/2024/02/north-korea-kicks-off-fourth-10000-home-project-in-capital-in-four-years/|title=North Korea kicks off fourth 10,000-home project in capital in four years|author=Colin Zwirko|date=2024-02-26|accessdate=2024-02-26|publisher=[[NK News]]}}</ref> Hwasong Street in [[Hwasong-guyok|Hwasong District]] in northern Pyongyang with high-rises.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nknews.org/pro/north-korea-adds-skyscraper-simplifies-designs-for-major-new-housing-project/ |title=North Korea adds skyscraper, simplifies designs for major new housing project |date=2023-02-23 |access-date=2023-02-23 |publisher=[[NK News]] |author=Colin Zwirko |archive-date=23 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230223140131/https://www.nknews.org/pro/north-korea-adds-skyscraper-simplifies-designs-for-major-new-housing-project/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2023 phase two of construction of housing in [[Hwasong-guyok|Hwasong district]] was launched, on the former territory of the Pyongyang Vegetable Science Institute. In addition, a complex of [[greenhouse]] farm and housing was initiated on the former territory of [[Kangdong Airport|Kangdong Airfield]] which was demolished in 2019.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nknews.org/2023/02/kim-jong-un-opens-construction-on-major-housing-and-farm-projects-in-capital/ |title=Kim Jong Un opens construction on major housing and farm projects in capital |author=Colin Zwirko |date=2023-02-16 |access-date=2023-02-17 |publisher=[[NK News]] |archive-date=17 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230217203312/https://www.nknews.org/2023/02/kim-jong-un-opens-construction-on-major-housing-and-farm-projects-in-capital/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In April 2024 the second stage of construction in the Hwasong area was completed in Rimhung Street with 10,000 apartments was marked with an extravagant ceremony.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nknews.org/2024/04/kim-jong-un-debuts-new-song-praising-himself-at-grand-opening-of-housing-project/|title=Kim Jong Un debuts new song praising himself at grand opening of housing project|publisher=[[NK News]]|author=Colin Zwirko|date=2024-04-17|accessdate=2024-04-17}}</ref>

In 2025 a new residential district at Taesŏng-dong, [[Taesong-guyok]], next to [[Korea Central Zoo]] came under construction.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.38north.org/2025/03/quick-take-first-footprints-of-new-pyognyang-housing-project-appear/|title=Quick Take: First Footprints of New Pyongyang Housing Project Appear|date=2025-03-13|accessdate=2025-04-02|last1=Williams|first1=Martyn|last2=Ragnone|first2=Iliana|publisher=[[NK News]]}}</ref> Also in 2025 the last phase in the construction of the southern end of the Hwasong District occurred.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.38north.org/2025/03/kim-jong-un-plots-continued-renewal-of-pyongyang/|title=Kim Jong Un Plots Continued Renewal of Pyongyang|last1=Williams|first1=Martyn|publisher=[[NK News]]|date=2025-03-10|accessdate=2025-04-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250607133850/https://www.38north.org/2025/03/kim-jong-un-plots-continued-renewal-of-pyongyang/|archive-date=2025-06-07}}</ref>

Pyongyang, alongside [[Seoul]], [[Bids for the 2032 Summer Olympics|launched a bid]] to host the [[2032 Summer Olympics]], but failed to make the joint city candidate list.

==Geography==
Pyongyang is in the west-central part of North Korea; the city lies on a flat plain about {{convert|50|km|0}} east of the [[Korea Bay]], an arm of the [[Yellow Sea]]. The [[Taedong River]] flows southwestward through the city toward the Korea Bay. The Pyongyang plain, where the city is situated, is one of the two large plains on the Western coast of the Korean peninsula, the other being the Chaeryong plain. Both have an area of approximately 500 square kilometers.{{Sfn|Country Study|2009|p=63}}

===Climate===
Pyongyang has a [[Continental climate|hot-summer continental monsoon climate]] ([[Köppen climate classification|Köppen]]: ''Dwa''), featuring warm to hot, humid summers and cold, dry winters.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Muller |first=M. J. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=az3qCAAAQBAJ&q=Pyongyang+koppen+dwa&pg=PA125 |title=Selected climatic data for a global set of standard stations for vegetation science |date=2012-12-06 |publisher=Springer Science & Business Media |isbn=978-94-009-8040-2 |language=en |access-date=19 November 2020 |archive-date=28 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230828040607/https://books.google.com/books?id=az3qCAAAQBAJ&q=Pyongyang+koppen+dwa&pg=PA125 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/weather-summary.php3?s=85074&cityname=Pyongyang,+North+Korea |title=Pyongyang, North Korea Köppen Climate Classification (Weatherbase) |website=Weatherbase |access-date=2020-03-24 |archive-date=6 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806160208/http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/weather-summary.php3?s=85074&cityname=Pyongyang,+North+Korea |url-status=live }}</ref> Cold, dry winds can blow from [[Siberian High|Siberia]] in winter, making conditions very cold; the low temperature is usually below freezing between November and early March, although the average daytime high is at least a few degrees above freezing in every month except January. The winter is generally much drier than summer, with snow falling for 37 days on average.

The transition from the cold, dry winter to the warm, wet summer occurs rather quickly between April and early May, and there is a similarly abrupt return to winter conditions in late October and November. Summers are generally hot and humid, with the [[East Asian monsoon]] taking place from June until September; these are also the hottest months, with average temperatures of {{cvt|21|to|25|°C}}, and daytime highs often above {{cvt|30|°C}}. Although largely transitional seasons, spring and autumn experience more pleasant weather, with average high temperatures ranging from {{cvt|20 to 26|°C}} in May and {{cvt|22 to 27|°C}} in September,<ref>{{cite web |title=Average Weather in May in Pyongyang, North Korea - Weather Spark |url=https://weatherspark.com/m/141759/5/Average-Weather-in-May-in-Pyongyang-North-Korea |access-date=2020-08-23 |website=weatherspark.com |archive-date=24 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201024083206/https://weatherspark.com/m/141759/5/Average-Weather-in-May-in-Pyongyang-North-Korea |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Average Weather in September in Pyongyang, North Korea - Weather Spark |url=https://weatherspark.com/m/141759/9/Average-Weather-in-September-in-Pyongyang-North-Korea |access-date=2020-08-23 |website=weatherspark.com |archive-date=24 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201024164909/https://weatherspark.com/m/141759/9/Average-Weather-in-September-in-Pyongyang-North-Korea |url-status=live }}</ref> coupled with relatively clear, sunny skies.<ref>{{cite web |title=Average Weather in Pyongyang, North Korea, Year Round - Weather Spark |url=https://weatherspark.com/y/141759/Average-Weather-in-Pyongyang-North-Korea-Year-Round#Sections-Clouds |access-date=2020-08-23 |website=weatherspark.com |archive-date=26 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201026025723/https://weatherspark.com/y/141759/Average-Weather-in-Pyongyang-North-Korea-Year-Round#Sections-Clouds |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Average Weather in Pyongyang, North Korea, Year Round - Weather Spark |url=https://weatherspark.com/y/141759/Average-Weather-in-Pyongyang-North-Korea-Year-Round#Sections-Precipitation |access-date=2020-08-23 |website=weatherspark.com |archive-date=26 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201026025723/https://weatherspark.com/y/141759/Average-Weather-in-Pyongyang-North-Korea-Year-Round#Sections-Precipitation |url-status=live }}</ref>
{{Weather box|location = Pyongyang (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1961–present)
| collapsed =
| metric first = y
| single line = y
| Jan record high C = 12.0
| Feb record high C = 17.3
| Mar record high C = 22.5
| Apr record high C = 29.1
| May record high C = 34.0
| Jun record high C = 35.8
| Jul record high C = 36.9
| Aug record high C = 37.9
| Sep record high C = 33.5
| Oct record high C = 30.0
| Nov record high C = 26.0
| Dec record high C = 15.0
| Jan high C = -0.4
| Feb high C = 3.1
| Mar high C = 9.7
| Apr high C = 17.6
| May high C = 23.5
| Jun high C = 27.5
| Jul high C = 29.1
| Aug high C = 29.6
| Sep high C = 25.7
| Oct high C = 18.8
| Nov high C = 9.7
| Dec high C = 1.4
| year high C = 16.3
| Jan mean C = -5.4
| Feb mean C = -2.0
| Mar mean C = 4.0
| Apr mean C = 11.4
| May mean C = 17.4
| Jun mean C = 21.9
| Jul mean C = 24.7
| Aug mean C = 25.0
| Sep mean C = 20.2
| Oct mean C = 12.9
| Nov mean C = 4.8
| Dec mean C = -2.9
| year mean C = 11.0
| Jan low C = -9.8
| Feb low C = -6.6
| Mar low C = -0.9
| Apr low C = 5.9
| May low C = 12.0
| Jun low C = 17.4
| Jul low C = 21.4
| Aug low C = 21.5
| Sep low C = 15.6
| Oct low C = 7.8
| Nov low C = 0.5
| Dec low C = -6.8
| year low C = 6.5
| Jan record low C = -26.5
| Feb record low C = -23.4
| Mar record low C = -16.1
| Apr record low C = -6.1
| May record low C = 2.2
| Jun record low C = 7.0
| Jul record low C = 11.1
| Aug record low C = 12.0
| Sep record low C = 3.6
| Oct record low C = -6.0
| Nov record low C = -14.0
| Dec record low C = -22.8
| precipitation colour = green
| Jan precipitation mm = 9.6
| Feb precipitation mm = 14.5
| Mar precipitation mm = 23.9
| Apr precipitation mm = 44.8
| May precipitation mm = 74.7
| Jun precipitation mm = 90.2
| Jul precipitation mm = 274.7
| Aug precipitation mm = 209.6
| Sep precipitation mm = 90.8
| Oct precipitation mm = 47.2
| Nov precipitation mm = 38.4
| Dec precipitation mm = 18.0
| year precipitation mm = 936.4
|unit precipitation days = 0.1 mm
| Jan precipitation days = 3.9
| Feb precipitation days = 3.7
| Mar precipitation days = 4.2
| Apr precipitation days = 5.8
| May precipitation days = 7.1
| Jun precipitation days = 7.9
| Jul precipitation days = 12.5
| Aug precipitation days = 10.1
| Sep precipitation days = 6.3
| Oct precipitation days = 5.8
| Nov precipitation days = 7.1
| Dec precipitation days = 5.7
|year precipitation days = 80.1
| Jan snow days = 5.4
| Feb snow days = 4.0
| Mar snow days = 1.8
| Apr snow days = 0.3
| May snow days = 0.0
| Jun snow days = 0.0
| Jul snow days = 0.0
| Aug snow days = 0.0
| Sep snow days = 0.0
| Oct snow days = 0.1
| Nov snow days = 1.9
| Dec snow days = 5.5
| year snow days = 19.0
| Jan humidity = 69.1
| Feb humidity = 65.0
| Mar humidity = 62.5
| Apr humidity = 60.4
| May humidity = 65.3
| Jun humidity = 72.2
| Jul humidity = 81.1
| Aug humidity = 80.6
| Sep humidity = 75.3
| Oct humidity = 72.0
| Nov humidity = 72.2
| Dec humidity = 70.6
| year humidity = 70.5
| Jan sun = 184
| Feb sun = 197
| Mar sun = 231
| Apr sun = 237
| May sun = 263
| Jun sun = 229
| Jul sun = 181
| Aug sun = 204
| Sep sun = 222
| Oct sun = 214
| Nov sun = 165
| Dec sun = 165
| Jan uv = 2
| Feb uv = 3
| Mar uv = 4
| Apr uv = 6
| May uv = 7
| Jun uv = 8
| Jul uv = 9
| Aug uv = 9
| Sep uv = 7
| Oct uv = 4
| Nov uv = 2
| Dec uv = 1
| source 1 = [[Korea Meteorological Administration]]<ref name= KMA>{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220129211112/https://data.kma.go.kr/resources/normals/pdf_data/northkorea_pdf_0104.pdf |archive-date=29 January 2022 |url=https://data.kma.go.kr/resources/normals/pdf_data/northkorea_pdf_0104.pdf |title=30 years report of Meteorological Observations in North Korea (1991 ~ 2020) |publisher=[[Korea Meteorological Administration]]|access-date=31 January 2022 |language=ko |url-status=live |pages=199–367}}</ref>
| source 2 = Pogodaiklimat.ru (extremes),<ref name="Pogoda i Klimat">{{cite web |url=http://www.pogodaiklimat.ru/climate4/47058.htm |title=Climate Pyongyang |access-date=16 May 2019 |work=Pogoda.ru.net |archive-date=28 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230828041104/http://www.pogodaiklimat.ru/climate4/47058.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> Deutscher Wetterdienst (sun, 1961–1990)<ref name="DWD">{{Cite FTP |url=ftp://ftp-cdc.dwd.de/pub/CDC/observations_global/CLIMAT/multi_annual/sunshine_duration/1961_1990.txt |title=PYONGYANG SUN 1961–1990 |access-date=16 May 2019 |url-status=dead |server=DWD }}</ref> and Weather Atlas<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.weather-atlas.com/en/north-korea/pyongyang-climate |title=Pyongyang, North Korea - Detailed climate information and monthly weather forecast |publisher=Yu Media Group |website=Weather Atlas |language=en |access-date=2019-07-09 |archive-date=19 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220319095047/https://www.weather-atlas.com/en/north-korea/pyongyang-climate |url-status=live }}</ref>
}}

==Politics==
[[File:Mansudae Assembly Hall.jpg|thumb|[[Mansudae Assembly Hall]], seat of the [[Supreme People's Assembly]], the North Korean parliament]]
Major government and other public offices are located in Pyongyang, which is constitutionally designated as the country's capital.{{Sfn|Country Study|2009|p=196}} The [[Government Complex No. 1, Pyongyang|seat]] of the [[Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea|Workers' Party Central Committee]] and the Pyongyang People's Committee are located in Haebangsan-dong, [[Chung-guyok]]. The [[Cabinet of North Korea]] is located in Jongro-dong, [[Chung-guyok]].

Pyongyang is also the seat of all major North Korean security institutions. The largest of them, the [[Ministry of Social Security (North Korea)|Ministry of Social Security]], has 130,000 employees working in 12 bureaus. These oversee activities including: police services, security of party officials, classified documents, census, civil registrations, large-scale public construction, [[traffic control]], fire safety, [[civil defence]], [[public health]] and [[customs]].{{Sfn|Country Study|2009|pp=276–277}} Another significant structure based in the city is the [[Ministry of State Security (North Korea)|Ministry of State Security]], whose 30,000 personnel manage intelligence, political prison systems, military industrial security and entry and exit management.{{Sfn|Country Study|2009|p=277}}

The politics and management of the city is dominated by the [[Workers' Party of Korea]], as they are in the national level. The city is managed by the Pyongyang Party Committee of the [[Workers' Party of Korea]] and its chairman is the ''de facto'' [[mayor]]. The supreme standing state organ is the Pyongyang People's Committee, responsible
for everyday events in support of the city. This includes following local Party guidance as channeled through the Pyongyang Party Committee, the distribution of resources prioritised to Pyongyang, and providing support to KWP and internal security agency personnel and families.

==Administrative status and divisions==
P'yŏngyang is divided into 19 districts (or wards) (''ku-'' or ''guyŏk'') ''(the city proper)'', 2 counties (''kun'' or ''gun''), and 1 [[Dong (administrative division)|neighborhood]] (''dong'').<ref>{{cite web |url=http://nk.chosun.com/map/map.html?ACT=geo_01 |script-title=ko:행정구역현황 |title=Haengjeong Guyeok Hyeonhwang |work=NK Chosun |access-date=10 January 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060109202822/http://nk.chosun.com/map/map.html?ACT=geo_01 |archive-date=9 January 2006}} Also [http://www.xzqh.org/waiguo/asia/1002.htm Administrative divisions of North Korea] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041018022439/http://www.xzqh.org/waiguo/asia/1002.htm |date=18 October 2004 }} (used as reference for hanja)</ref>

{{colbegin}}
* [[Chung-guyok]] ({{lang|ko-Hang|중구역}}; {{lang|ko|中區域}})
* [[Pyongchon-guyok]] ({{lang|ko-Hang|평천구역}}; {{lang|ko|平川區域}})
* [[Potonggang-guyok]] ({{lang|ko-Hang|보통강구역}}; {{lang|ko|普通江區域}})
* [[Moranbong-guyok]] ({{lang|ko-Hang|모란봉구역}}; {{lang|ko|牡丹峰區域}})
* [[Sŏsŏng-guyŏk]] ({{lang|ko-Hang|서성구역}}; {{lang|ko|西城區域}})
* [[Songyo-guyok]] ({{lang|ko-Hang|선교구역}}; {{lang|ko|船橋區域}})
* [[Tongdaewŏn-guyŏk]] ({{lang|ko-Hang|동대원구역}}; {{lang|ko|東大院區域}})
* [[Taedonggang-guyŏk]] ({{lang|ko-Hang|대동강구역}}; {{lang|ko|大同江區域}})
* [[Sadong-guyŏk]] ({{lang|ko-Hang|사동구역}}; {{lang|ko|寺洞區域}})
* [[Taesong-guyok]] ({{lang|ko-Hang|대성구역}}; {{lang|ko|大城區域}})
* [[Mangyongdae-guyok]] ({{lang|ko-Hang|만경대구역}}; {{lang|ko|萬景台區域}})
* [[Hyongjesan-guyok]] ({{lang|ko-Hang|형제산구역}}; {{lang|ko|兄弟山區域}})
* [[Hwasong-guyok]] ({{lang|ko-Hang|화성구역}}; {{lang|ko|和盛區域}})<ref>{{cite web |script-title=ko:조선중앙통신 {{!}} 기사 {{!}} 화성지구의 행정구역명칭을 정하였다 |url=http://kcna.kp/kp/article/q/669fe64b44cd967d77e0f6d1c60cc042.kcmsf |access-date=2022-04-15 |website=[[Korean Central News Agency]] |archive-date=15 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220415001649/http://kcna.kp/kp/article/q/669fe64b44cd967d77e0f6d1c60cc042.kcmsf |url-status=live }}</ref>
* [[Ryongsong-guyok]] ({{lang|ko-Hang|룡성구역}}; {{lang|ko|龍城區域}})
* [[Samsok-guyok]] ({{lang|ko-Hang|삼석구역}}; {{lang|ko|三石區域}})
* [[Ryokpo-guyok]] ({{lang|ko-Hang|력포구역}}; {{lang|ko|力浦區域}})
* [[Rakrang-guyok]] ({{lang|ko-Hang|락랑구역}}; {{lang|ko|樂浪區域}})
* [[Sunan-guyŏk]] ({{lang|ko-Hang|순안구역}}; {{lang|ko|順安區域}})
* [[Unjong-guyok]] ({{lang|ko-Hang|은정구역}}; {{lang|ko|恩情區域}})
* [[Kangdong County]] ({{lang|ko-Hang|강동군}}; {{lang|ko|江東郡}})
* [[Kangnam County]] ({{lang|ko-Hang|강남군}}; {{lang|ko|江南郡}})
* [[Panghyŏn-dong]] ({{lang|ko-Hang|방현동}}; {{lang|ko|方峴洞}})
{{colend}}

Foreign media reports in 2010 stated that [[Kangnam-gun]], [[Chunghwa-gun]], [[Sangwŏn-gun]], and [[Sŭngho-guyŏk]] had been transferred to the administration of neighboring [[North Hwanghae Province]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.asahi.com/english/TKY201007160470.html |periodical=[[Asahi Shimbun]] |date=17 July 2010 |access-date=19 July 2010 |title=Pyongyang now more than one-third smaller; food shortage issues suspected |archive-date=26 May 2012 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120526204201/http://www.asahi.com/english/TKY201007160470.html |url-status=live }}</ref> However, Kangnam-gun was returned to Pyongyang in 2011.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nkeconwatch.com/2012/02/29/kangnam-moved-into-pyongyang/ |title=Kangnam moved into Pyongyang |date=2012-02-29 |work=North Korean Economy Watch |access-date=7 August 2019 |archive-date=7 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190807082953/http://www.nkeconwatch.com/2012/02/29/kangnam-moved-into-pyongyang/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Panghyŏn-dong, a missile base, was administrated by [[Kusong]], [[North Pyongan Province]]. It had been transferred to the administration of P'yŏngyang on February 10, 2018.<ref>{{cite news |author1=안준용 |title=北, 평양서 150km 떨어진 곳을 평양市에 편입 왜? |url=https://www.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2018/03/07/2018030700259.html |access-date=2022-01-30 |work=[[The Chosun Ilbo]] |archive-date=2 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220602194252/https://www.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2018/03/07/2018030700259.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Cityscape==
{{Wide image|Pyongyangpanoramic.jpg|2000px|Panorama of Pyongyang, as seen from the ''Juche'' Tower in April 2012|alt=A panoramic view of Pyongyang from atop the ''Juche'' tower}}
After being destroyed during the Korean War, Pyongyang was entirely rebuilt according to Kim Il Sung's vision, which was to create a capital that would boost morale in the post-war years.{{Sfn|Country Study|2009|p=91,93–94}} The result was a city with wide, tree-lined [[boulevard]]s and public buildings with terraced landscaping, [[mosaic]]s and decorated ceilings.{{Sfn|Country Study|2009|p=91}} Its Soviet-style architecture makes it reminiscent of a [[Siberia]]n city during winter snowfall, although edifices of traditional Korean design somewhat soften this perception. In summer, it is notable for its rivers, willow trees, flowers and parkland.{{Sfn|Country Study|2009|p=91}}

Since the end of the [[Korean War]] the city was planned strictly according to [[Socialism|Socialist]] principles.<ref name="Dongwoo">{{cite web|url=https://www.archpaper.com/2017/08/pyongyang-urban-planning-development/|title=A brief urban history of Pyongyang, North Korea—and how it might develop under capitalism|author=Dongwoo Yim|publisher=The Architect's Newspaper|date=2017-08-24|accessdate=2024-02-29}}</ref> According to the 1953 masterplan designed Kim Jung-hee the city was planned to reach one-million residents stretching from the [[Taedong River]] to the [[Pothong River]]. The city center was planned as the main administrative district with main landscape structures constructed in between districts and are used as buffer zones so that they cannot expand freely.<ref name="Dongwoo" /> The city center was planned with wide avenues and streets and monumental structures and forms the central administrative district where many government and public buildings are located including the [[Government Complex No. 1, Pyongyang|Government Complex No 1]], which houses the headquarters of the ruling party. Together with various monuments and memorials, it forms an important axis of symbolic places which promotes the [[Ideology of the Workers' Party of Korea]] and [[North Korean cult of personality]] around [[Kim family (North Korea)|Kim family]] with the epicentre and [[Kilometre zero]] of the central district located at [[Kim Il Sung Square]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Lonely highways: On the road in Kim Jong Un's North Korea |last=Talmadge |first=Eric |website=[[Associated Press]] |agency=AP |date=20 November 2017 |access-date=5 December 2021 |url= https://apnews.com/article/republic-of-kim-a-road-less-traveled-1589490035 }}</ref>

The 1953 masterplan set the basic layout from which the city's development was derived in the next decades with a unit district system which mixes residential and industrial zoning. Those districts are spread around the central administrative district and together with it they form the key axis of directionality for the city expansion. While in the 50s the major emphasis was placed on the reconstruction of Pyongyang from its ruins as carefully a socialist city in strict line with the masterplan, the 60s and 70s saw new wave of development which included expansion of the central boulevards, construction of high-density apartment buildings along the central boulevards, grandiose civic and cultural buildings and monumental statues and squares. This tendency included also the inclusion of traditional [[Korean architecture]] for some buildings. While the development generally followed the 1953 master plan, it diverted from it in some aspects, such as the construction of high-rises along the central avenues, a step conflicted with the 1953 plan which called for more even distribution of the residential construction throughout the city in several multi-cores.<ref name="Dongwoo" /> The 90s saw a relative slowdown in the development of the urban structure due to the deep economic crisis and [[North Korean famine|famine]] which swept through North Korea and led to the [[Songun|diversion of resources to the army]]. The 2010s and 2020s saw renewed efforts in urbanization and increasing density with the reconstruction of streets and avenues located further from the center and transformation of former rural parts of the city into high density residential districts.

[[File:Victorious Fatherland Liberation War Museum and Ryugyong Hotel (11342673725).jpg|thumb|right|[[Ryugyong Hotel]] and part of the [[Monument to the Victorious Fatherland Liberation War]]]]
[[File:Pyongyang-Highrise-Buildings-2014.jpg|thumb|Apartment buildings with green areas]]

The streets are laid out in a north–south, east–west grid, giving the city an orderly appearance.{{Sfn|Country Study|2009|p=91}} North Korean designers applied the Swedish experience of self-sufficient urban neighbourhoods throughout the entire country, and Pyongyang is no exception. Its inhabitants are mostly divided into administrative units of 5,000 to 6,000 people (''dong''). These units all have similar sets of amenities including a food store, a barber shop, a [[tailor]], a public bathhouse, a [[post office]], a clinic, a library and others. Many residents occupy high-rise apartment buildings.{{Sfn|Country Study|2009|p=97}} One of Kim Il Sung's priorities while designing Pyongyang was to limit the population. Authorities maintain a restrictive regime of movement into the city, making it atypical of [[East Asia]] as it is silent, uncrowded and spacious.{{Sfn|Country Study|2009|pp=91–92}}

Structures in Pyongyang are divided into three major architectural categories: monuments, buildings with traditional Korean motifs and high-rises.<ref name="LCCS93">{{cite web |url=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+kp0053) |title=Architecture and City Planning |publisher=[[Library of Congress]] |access-date=24 April 2015 |archive-date=9 January 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090109103302/http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+kp0053) |url-status=live }}</ref> Some of North Korea's most recognisable landmarks are monuments, like the [[Juche Tower|''Juche'' Tower]], the [[Arch of Triumph (Pyongyang)|Arch of Triumph]] and the [[Mansu Hill Grand Monument]]. The first of them is a {{convert|170|m|ft|adj=on|sp=us}} [[granite]] spire symbolizing the ''[[Juche]]'' ideology. It was completed in 1982 and contains 25,550 granite blocks, one for each day of Kim Il Sung's life up to that point.<ref name="LCCS93"/> The most prominent building on Pyongyang's skyline is [[Ryugyong Hotel]],<ref name="LCCS93"/> the [[List of buildings with 100 floors or more|seventh highest building]] in the world terms of floor count, the tallest unoccupied building in the world,<ref>{{Cite book |title=Guinness World Records 2014 |last=Glenday |first=Craig |isbn=978-1-908843-15-9 |page=[https://archive.org/details/guinnessworldrec0000unse_r3e7/page/144 144] |year=2013 |url=https://archive.org/details/guinnessworldrec0000unse_r3e7/page/144 |publisher=Guinness World Records Limited}}</ref> and one of the [[List of tallest hotels in the world|tallest hotels in the world]]. It has yet to open.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/8306697.stm |title=Will 'Hotel of Doom' ever be finished? |work=BBC News |publisher=BBC |date=15 October 2009 |access-date=24 April 2015 |archive-date=7 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170807204224/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/8306697.stm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=bloom>{{cite news |last=Yoon |first=Sangwon |title=Kempinski to Operate World's Tallest Hotel in North Korea |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-11-01/north-korea-gets-world-s-tallest-hotel-as-kempinski-opens-tower.html |newspaper=Bloomberg |date=1 November 2012 |access-date=24 April 2015 |archive-date=14 January 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150114010721/http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-11-01/north-korea-gets-world-s-tallest-hotel-as-kempinski-opens-tower.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Pyongyang has a rapidly evolving skyline, dominated by high-rise apartment buildings. A construction boom began with the Changjon Street Apartment Complex, which was completed in 2012.<ref name="CityLab">{{cite news |last1=Gray |first1=Nolan |title=The Improbable High-Rises of Pyongyang, North Korea |url=https://www.citylab.com/design/2018/10/whats-behind-north-koreas-building-boom/573142/ |newspaper=Bloomberg.com |access-date=19 October 2018 |language=en |date=16 October 2018 |archive-date=19 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181019121919/https://www.citylab.com/design/2018/10/whats-behind-north-koreas-building-boom/573142/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Construction of the complex began after late leader [[Kim Jong Il]] described Changjon Street as "pitiful".<ref>{{cite web |last=Lee |first=Seok Young |title="Pitiful" Changjeon Street the Top Priority |work=[[Daily NK]] |date=25 August 2011 |url=http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk01500&num=8100 |access-date=30 August 2011 |archive-date=27 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110827075552/http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk01500&num=8100 |url-status=live }}</ref> Other housing complexes are being upgraded as well, but most are still poorly insulated, and lacking elevators and central heating.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://news.yahoo.com/pyongyang-glitters-most-nkorea-still-dark-050645191.html |title=Pyongyang glitters but most of NKorea still dark |publisher=Yahoo News |date=29 April 2013 |access-date=24 April 2015 |archive-date=2 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150702102506/http://news.yahoo.com/pyongyang-glitters-most-nkorea-still-dark-050645191.html |url-status=live }}</ref> An urban renewal program continued under Kim Jong Un's leadership, with the old apartments of the 1970s and '80s replaced by taller high rise buildings and leisure parks like the [[Kaeson Youth Park|Kaesong Youth Park]], as well as renovations of older buildings.<ref name="Makinen">{{cite news |url=http://www.latimes.com/world/asia/la-fg-north-korea-architecture-20160520-snap-story.html |title=North Korea is building something other than nukes: architecture with some zing |last=Makinen |first=Julie |date=20 May 2016 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |access-date=12 July 2016 |archive-date=7 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210207201443/https://www.latimes.com/world/asia/la-fg-north-korea-architecture-20160520-snap-story.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2018, the city was described as unrecognizable compared to five years before.<ref name="Salmon"/>

===Landmarks===
{{Main|List of tourist attractions in Pyongyang}}
[[File:Views from Yanggakdo International Hotel 10.JPG|thumb|The [[Rungrado 1st of May Stadium]] by the [[Taedong River]] is the [[List of stadiums by capacity|second-largest mass-sports/athletic stadium]] in the world by capacity.]]
Notable landmarks in the city include:
* The [[Ryugyong Hotel]]
* The [[Kumsusan Palace of the Sun]]
* The [[Arch of Triumph (Pyongyang)|Arch of Triumph]] (heavily inspired by, but larger than, [[Paris]]'s [[Arc de Triomphe]])
* The birthplace of Kim Il Sung at [[Mangyongdae]] Hill at the city outskirts
* [[Juche Tower|''Juche'' Tower]]
* Two large stadiums:
** [[Rungrado 1st of May Stadium]]
** [[Kim Il Sung Stadium]]
* The [[Mansu Hill Grand Monument|Mansu Hill complex]], including the [[Korean Revolution Museum]]
* [[Kim Il Sung Square]]
* [[Yanggakdo International Hotel]]

[[Pyongyang TV Tower]] is a minor landmark. Other visitor attractions include the [[Korea Central Zoo]]. The [[Reunification Highway]] stretches from Pyongyang to the [[Korean Demilitarized Zone]] (DMZ).

<gallery widths="200" heights="150" class="center" caption="Monuments and sights of Pyongyang">
File:Juche Tower (7399212056).jpg|[[Juche Tower|''Juche'' Tower]] Monument to the philosophy of ''[[Juche]]'' (self-reliance)
File:PyongYang-Arch of Triumph.jpg|[[Arch of Triumph (Pyongyang)|Arch of Triumph]]
File:Party-Foundation-Monument.jpg|[[Monument to Party Founding]]
File:Kumsusan Memorial Palace, Pyongyang.jpg|[[Kumsusan Palace of the Sun]]
File:Tomb of King Tongmyong, Pyongyang, North Korea-1.jpg|[[Tomb of King Tongmyong|Tomb of King Tongmyeong]]
File:Ryugyong Hotel - August 27, 2011 (Cropped).jpg|[[Ryugyong Hotel]]
File:Ryomyong Street.png|[[Ryomyong New Town]]
File:Mirae Scientists Street - Nordkorea 2015 - Pjöngjang (22971791331).jpg|[[Mirae Scientists Street]]
File:Rungnado May Day Stadium, Pyongyang, North Korea (2910089252).jpg|[[Rungrado May Day Stadium]]
</gallery>

==Culture==
===Cuisine===
{{see also|North Korean cuisine}}
[[File:Korean cuisine-Naengmyeon-02.jpg|thumb|250px|''[[Naengmyeon|Pyongyang raengmyŏn]]'' ({{korean|hangul=평양랭면|hanja=平壤冷麵|links-no}}), cold buckwheat noodle soup originating in Pyongyang]]

Pyongyang served as the provincial capital of [[South Pyongan Province]] until 1946,<ref name="EncyKorea Pyongyang">{{cite web |url=http://100.nate.com/dicsearch/pentry.html?s=K&i=298139&v=44 |script-title=ko:평양시 平壤市 |trans-title=Pyongyang |publisher=Nate/Encyclopedia of Korean Culture |language=ko |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110610080045/http://100.nate.com/dicsearch/pentry.html?s=K&i=298139&v=44 |archive-date=10 June 2011}}</ref> and Pyongyang cuisine shares the general culinary tradition of the Pyongan province. The most famous local food is ''[[Pyongyang naengmyeon|Pyongyang raengmyŏn]]'', or also called ''mul raengmyŏn'' or just simply ''raengmyŏn''. ''Raengmyŏn'' literally means "cold noodles", while the affix ''mul'' refers to water because the dish is served in a cold broth. ''Raengmyŏn'' consists of thin and chewy buckwheat noodles in a cold meat-broth with ''[[dongchimi]]'' (watery kimchi) and topped with a slice of sweet [[Korean pear]].

Pyongyang ''raengmyŏn'' was originally eaten in homes built with ''[[ondol]]'' (traditional [[underfloor heating]]) during the cold winter, so it is also called ''"Pyongyang deoldeori"'' (shivering in Pyongyang). Pyongyang locals sometimes enjoyed it as a ''[[haejangguk]]'', which is any type of food eaten as a hangover cure, usually a warm soup.<ref name="Korean Portal">{{cite web |url=http://www.knowledge.go.kr/jsp/theme/themeView.jsp?themeIdx=2872&dir=al&page=4&searchOption=all&searchValue= |script-title=ko:닮은 듯 색다른 매력을 간직한 북한의 음식 문화 |publisher=Korea Knowledge Portal |date=19 June 2009 |language=ko |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111009165958/http://www.knowledge.go.kr/jsp/theme/themeView.jsp?themeIdx=2872&dir=al&page=4&searchOption=all&searchValue= |archive-date=9 October 2011 |df=dmy-all}}
</ref>

Another representative Pyongyang dish, ''[[Taedonggang sungeoguk]]'', translates as "flathead grey mullet soup from the [[Taedong River]]". The soup features [[flathead grey mullet]] (abundant in the Taedong River) along with black peppercorns and salt.<ref>{{cite news |script-title=ko:'오마니의 맛' 관심 |trans-title=Attention to "Mother's taste" |newspaper=[[The Chosun Ilbo]] |last=Ju |first=Wan-jung (주완중) |language=ko |date=12 June 2000}}</ref> Traditionally, it has been served to guests visiting Pyongyang. Therefore, there is a common saying, "How good was the trout soup?", which is used to greet people returning from Pyongyang. Another local specialty, ''Pyongyang onban'' (literally "warm rice of Pyongyang") comprises freshly cooked rice topped with sliced mushrooms, chicken, and a couple of ''[[bindaetteok]]'' (pancakes made from ground mung beans and vegetables).<ref name="Korean Portal" />

===Social life===

In 2018, there were many high-quality restaurants in Pyongyang with Korean and international food, and imported alcoholic beverages.<ref name="Salmon">{{cite news |url=https://asiatimes.com/article/going-native-in-the-hermit-kingdom/ |title=Going native in the Hermit Kingdom |first=Andrew |last=Salmon |work=Asia Times |date=4 December 2018 |access-date=4 March 2021 |archive-date=28 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230828041104/https://asiatimes.com/2018/12/going-native-in-the-hermit-kingdom/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Famous restaurants include [[Okryu-gwan]] and Ch'ongryugwan.<ref name="Lankov">{{cite book |last=Lankov |first=Andrei |author-link=Andrei Lankov |title=North of the DMZ: Essays on daily life in North Korea |location=Jefferson |publisher=McFarland |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-7864-2839-7 |pages=90–91}}</ref> Some [[street food]]s exist in Pyongyang, where vendors operate [[food stall]]s.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/northkorea-food/ |title=Fake meat and free markets ease North Koreans' hunger |first1=James |last1=Pearson |first2=Seung-Woo |last2=Yeom |work=Reuters |access-date=30 September 2018 |archive-date=1 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181001092959/https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/northkorea-food/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Foreign foods like hamburgers, fries, pizza, and coffee are easily found.<ref name="Salmon"/> There is an active nightlife with late-night restaurants and karaoke.<ref name="Salmon"/>

The city has water parks, [[List of amusement parks in North Korea|amusement parks]], skating rinks, health clubs, a shooting range, and a dolphinarium.<ref name="Makinen"/>

==Sports==
{{see also|Sport in North Korea}}
Pyongyang has a number of sports clubs, including the [[April 25 Sports Club]] and the [[Pyongyang City Sports Club]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.footyfair.com/2015/08/the-sights-and-sounds-of-domestic.html |title=The Sights and Sounds of Domestic Football in North Korea |website=Footy Fair |access-date=18 January 2018 |date=August 2015 |archive-date=18 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180118182047/http://www.footyfair.com/2015/08/the-sights-and-sounds-of-domestic.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Economy==
[[File:Laika ac Pyongyang (7975203722).jpg|thumb|right|Central Pyongyang with the newly built Changjon Apartment Complex. The [[Ryugyong Hotel]] and [[Okryu Bridge]] are in the background]]
Pyongyang is North Korea's industrial center.<ref name="EBPyongyang"/> Thanks to the abundance of natural resources like [[coal]], [[iron]] and [[limestone]], as well as good land and water transport systems, it was the first industrial city to emerge in North Korea after the Korean War. Light and heavy industries are both present and have developed in parallel. Heavy manufactures include [[cement]], industrial ceramics,<ref name="britannica.com"/> munitions and weapons, but mechanical engineering remains the core industry. Light industries in Pyongyang and its vicinity include [[textiles]], footwear and food, among others.<ref name="britannica.com"/> Special emphasis is put on the production and supply of fresh produce and subsidiary crops in farms on the city's outskirts. Other crops include [[rice]], [[maize|sweetcorn]] and [[soybeans]]. Pyongyang aims to achieve self-sufficiency in meat production. High-density facilities raise pigs, chicken and other livestock.<ref name="EBPyongyang"/>

Until the late 2010s Pyongyang still experienced frequent shortages of electricity.<ref name="IFES1">{{cite web |url=http://ifes.kyungnam.ac.kr/eng/FRM/FRM_0101V.aspx?code=FRM141219_0001 |title=Ten Power Plants on Chongchon River under Construction to Increase Power Supply to Pyongyang |publisher=Institute for Far Eastern Studies |date=19 December 2014 |access-date=20 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150427143900/http://ifes.kyungnam.ac.kr/eng/FRM/FRM_0101V.aspx?code=FRM141219_0001 |archive-date=27 April 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref> To solve this problem, two power stations – Huichon Power Stations 1 and 2 – were built in [[Chagang Province]] and supply the city through direct transmission lines. A second phase of the power expansion project was launched in January 2013, consisting of a series of small dams along the [[Chongchon River]]. The first two power stations have a maximum generating capacity of 300 megawatts (MW), while the 10 dams to be built under second phase are expected to generate about 120 MW.<ref name="IFES1"/> In addition, the city has several existing or planned [[thermal power station]]s. These include Pyongyang TPS with a capacity of 500 MW, East Pyongyang TPS with a capacity of 50 MW, and Kangdong TPS which is under construction.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://38north.org/2014/11/cmelvin112514/ |title=Pyongyang's Perpetual Power Problems |work=[[38 North]] |date=25 November 2014 |access-date=20 April 2015 |archive-date=19 March 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150319114254/http://38north.org/2014/11/cmelvin112514/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Retail===
[[File:Laika ac Pyongyang Department Store No. 1 (11975506264).jpg|thumb|right|Pyongyang Department Store No. 1]]
Pyongyang is home to several large department stores including the [[Pothonggang Department Store]], [[Pyongyang Department Store No. 1]], Pyongyang Department Store No. 2, Kwangbok Department Store, Ragwon Department Store, Pyongyang Station Department Store, and the Pyongyang Children's Department Store.<ref name="Pyongyang Metro">{{cite web |url=http://www.pyongyang-metro.com/metromaps.html |title=Pyongyang Metro maps |work=pyongyang-metro.com |access-date=17 March 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171026001237/http://www.pyongyang-metro.com/metromaps.html |archive-date=26 October 2017}}</ref>

The city also has Hwanggumbol Shop, a chain of state-owned convenience stores supplying goods at prices cheaper than those in the [[jangmadang]] markets. Hwanggumbol Shops are specifically designed to control North Korea's expanding markets by attracting consumers and guaranteeing the circulation of money in government-operated stores.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ifes.kyungnam.ac.kr/eng/FRM/FRM_0101V.aspx?code=FRM150320_0001 |title=Effort to Prevent Outflow of Capital into Markets |publisher=Institute for Far Eastern Studies |date=20 March 2015 |access-date=20 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160308213634/http://ifes.kyungnam.ac.kr/eng/FRM/FRM_0101V.aspx?code=FRM150320_0001 |archive-date=8 March 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Transportation===
[[File:Tatra tram in Pyongyang.jpg|thumb|left|[[Tatra KT8D5K]] tram]]
Pyongyang is the main transport hub of the country: it has a network of roads, railways and air routes which link it to both foreign and domestic destinations. It is the starting point of inter-regional highways reaching Nampo, Wonsan and Kaesong.<ref name="EBPyongyang"/> [[Pyongyang Station|Pyongyang railway station]] serves the main railway lines, including the [[Pyongui Line]] and the [[Pyongbu Line]]. Regular international rail services to [[Beijing]], the Chinese border city of [[Dandong]] and [[Moscow]] are also available.

A rail journey to Beijing takes about 25&nbsp;hours and 25&nbsp;minutes (K27 from Beijing/K28 from Pyongyang, on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays); a journey to Dandong takes about 6 hours (daily); a journey to Moscow takes six days. The city also connects to the [[Eurasian Land Bridge]] via the [[Trans-Siberian Railway]]. A [[high-speed rail]] link to Wonsan is planned.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ifes.kyungnam.ac.kr/eng/FRM/FRM_0101V.aspx?code=FRM150326_0001 |title=Outline for Development of Wonsan-Kumgangsan Tourist Region Revealed |publisher=Institute for Far Eastern Studies |date=26 March 2015 |access-date=20 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150427143855/http://ifes.kyungnam.ac.kr/eng/FRM/FRM_0101V.aspx?code=FRM150326_0001 |archive-date=27 April 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

[[File:AIR KORYO P632 TUPOLEV TU204-100 AT PYONGYANG SUNAN AIRPORT DPR KOREA OCT 2012 (8192629125).jpg|thumb|[[Tupolev Tu-204]] of [[Air Koryo]] at [[Pyongyang Sunan International Airport|Sunan International Airport]]]]

The [[Pyongyang Metro|Metro]], [[Pyongyang tram system|tram]] and [[Trolleybuses in Pyongyang|trolleybus systems]] are used mainly by commuters as a primary means of urban transportation.<ref name="EBPyongyang"/> Cycle lanes were introduced on main thoroughfares in July 2015.<ref>{{cite news |agency=Reuters |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/northkorea/11737632/North-Korea-installs-bike-lanes-in-Pyongyang.html |title=North Korea installs bike lanes in Pyongyang |newspaper=Telegraph |date=14 July 2015 |access-date=3 April 2017 |archive-date=12 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220812091548/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/northkorea/11737632/North-Korea-installs-bike-lanes-in-Pyongyang.html |url-status=live }}</ref> There are relatively few [[car]]s in the city. Cars are a symbol of status in the country due to their scarcity as a result of restrictions on import because of international sanctions and domestic regulations.<ref>{{cite web |title=In Kim's North Korea, Cars Are Scarce Symbols of Power, Wealth |date=9 July 2007 |last=Martin |first=Bradley K. |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=a31VJVRxcJ1Y |work=Bloomberg |access-date=27 September 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150711092838/http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=a31VJVRxcJ1Y |archive-date=11 July 2015}}</ref> Some roads are also reported to be in poor condition.<ref>{{cite web |last=Fisher |first=Max |title=North Korean Press Bus Takes Wrong Turn, Opening Another Crack in the Hermit Kingdom |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/04/north-korean-press-bus-takes-a-wrong-turn-opening-another-crack-in-the-hermit-kingdom/255955/ |work=The Atlantic |date=16 April 2012 |access-date=11 March 2017 |archive-date=12 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220812091548/https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/04/north-korean-press-bus-takes-a-wrong-turn-opening-another-crack-in-the-hermit-kingdom/255955/ |url-status=live }}</ref> However, by 2018, Pyongyang had begun to experience traffic jams.<ref name="Salmon"/>

State-owned [[Air Koryo]] has scheduled international flights from [[Pyongyang Sunan International Airport]] to Beijing ([[Beijing Capital International Airport|PEK]]), [[Shenyang]] ([[Shenyang Taoxian International Airport|SHE]]) and [[Vladivostok]] ([[Vladivostok Airport|VVO]]).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nknews.org/2016/12/air-koryo-opens-new-office-selling-tickets-for-third-country-travel/ |title=Air Koryo opens new office selling tickets for third country travel |date=7 December 2016 |website=[[NK News]] |access-date=30 September 2018 |archive-date=16 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220816140919/https://www.nknews.org/2016/12/air-koryo-opens-new-office-selling-tickets-for-third-country-travel/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The only domestic destinations are [[Hamhung]],[[Wonsan]], [[Chongjin]], [[Hyesan]] and [[Samjiyon]]. Since July 27, 2025 ,Nordwind Airlines serves direct flights between Moscow-Sheremetyevo and [[Pyongyang Sunan International Airport|Pyongyang]] once a month.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://news.sina.cn/2017-04-14/detail-ifyeimqc3767911.d.html?from=wap&HTTPS=1 |script-title=zh:国航17日起暂停平壤航线 _手机新浪网 |work=sina.cn |date=14 April 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170415201412/https://news.sina.cn/2017-04-14/detail-ifyeimqc3767911.d.html?from=wap&HTTPS=1 |archive-date=15 April 2017}}</ref>

==Education and science==
[[Kim Il Sung University]], North Korea's oldest university, was established in 1946.<ref name="EBPyongyang"/> It has 21 faculties, 4 research institutes, and 10 other university units.<ref>{{cite web |date=2022-06-30 |title=Faculties - KIM IL SUNG UNIVERSITY |url=http://www.ryongnamsan.edu.kp/univ/en/about/organization/faculties |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220630235255/http://www.ryongnamsan.edu.kp/univ/en/about/organization/faculties |archive-date=2022-06-30 |access-date=2022-08-02}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=2022-06-30 |title=Research Institutes - KIM IL SUNG UNIVERSITY |url=http://www.ryongnamsan.edu.kp/univ/en/about/organization/institutes |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220630235605/http://www.ryongnamsan.edu.kp/univ/en/about/organization/institutes |archive-date=2022-06-30 |access-date=2022-08-02}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=2022-06-30 |title=Units - KIM IL SUNG UNIVERSITY |url=http://www.ryongnamsan.edu.kp/univ/en/about/organization/units |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220630235645/http://www.ryongnamsan.edu.kp/univ/en/about/organization/units |archive-date=2022-06-30 |access-date=2022-08-02}}</ref> These include the primary medical education and health personnel training unit, the medical college; a physics faculty which covers a range of studies including [[theoretical physics]], optical science, [[geophysics]] and [[astrophysics]];<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ryongnamsan.edu.kp/univ/intro/college_fac |title=Colleges and Faculties |publisher=[[Kim Il Sung University]] |access-date=20 April 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141213095015/http://www.ryongnamsan.edu.kp/univ/intro/college_fac |archive-date=13 December 2014}}</ref> an atomic energy institute and the largest law firm in the country (Ryongnamsan Law Office).<ref>{{cite web |date=2022-06-30 |title=Ryongnamsan Law Office - KIM IL SUNG UNIVERSITY |url=http://www.ryongnamsan.edu.kp/univ/en/about/organization/units/legal-service |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220630235817/http://www.ryongnamsan.edu.kp/univ/en/about/organization/units/legal-service |archive-date=2022-06-30 |access-date=2022-08-02}}</ref> Kim Il Sung University also has its own publishing house, sports club ([[Ryongnamsan Sports Club]]),<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ryongnamsan.edu.kp/univ/intro/institute |title=Research Institutes and Units |publisher=[[Kim Il Sung University]] |access-date=20 April 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141213100705/http://www.ryongnamsan.edu.kp/univ/intro/institute |archive-date=13 December 2014}}</ref> revolutionary museum, nature museum, libraries, a gym, indoor swimming pool and educator apartment houses. Its four main buildings were completed in 1965 (Building 1), 1972 (Building 2), and 2017 (Buildings 3 and 4).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ryongnamsan.edu.kp/univ/intro/building |title=Main Buildings |publisher=[[Kim Il Sung University]] |access-date=20 April 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150703064914/http://www.ryongnamsan.edu.kp/univ/intro/building |archive-date=3 July 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=2022-07-01 |title=Building No. 3 - KIM IL SUNG UNIVERSITY |url=http://www.ryongnamsan.edu.kp/univ/en/about/buildings/building-3 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220701000300/http://www.ryongnamsan.edu.kp/univ/en/about/buildings/building-3 |archive-date=2022-07-01 |access-date=2022-08-02}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=2022-07-01 |title=Building No. 4 - KIM IL SUNG UNIVERSITY |url=http://www.ryongnamsan.edu.kp/univ/en/about/buildings/building-4 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220701000309/http://www.ryongnamsan.edu.kp/univ/en/about/buildings/building-4 |archive-date=2022-07-01 |access-date=2022-08-02}}</ref>
[[File:Kim Il-sung University computer room.jpg|thumb|A computer class at [[Kim Il Sung University]] in session]]
Other higher education establishments include [[Kim Chaek University of Technology]], [[Pyongyang University of Music and Dance]] and [[Pyongyang University of Foreign Studies]]. [[Pyongyang University of Science and Technology|Pyongyang University of Science and Technology (PUST)]] is the country's first private university where most of the lecturers are American and courses are carried out in English.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-25945931 |title=Inside North Korea's Western-funded university |work=BBC News |date=3 February 2014 |access-date=20 April 2015 |archive-date=5 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180605022138/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-25945931 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/private-university-in-north-korea-offers-lessons-in-science-and-world-peace/2011/07/25/gIQAQ5lPSL_story.html |title=In North Korea, a Western-backed university |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=8 October 2011 |access-date=20 April 2015 |archive-date=22 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220522091910/https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/private-university-in-north-korea-offers-lessons-in-science-and-world-peace/2011/07/25/gIQAQ5lPSL_story.html |url-status=live }}</ref> A science and technology hall is under construction on Ssuk Islet. Its stated purpose is to contribute to the "informatization of educational resources" by centralizing teaching materials, compulsory literature and experimental data for state-level use in a digital format.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ifes.kyungnam.ac.kr/eng/FRM/FRM_0101V.aspx?code=FRM150123_0001 |title=Science and Technology Hall to be Built in Pyongyang's Ssuk Islet |publisher=Institute for Far Eastern Studies |date=23 January 2015 |access-date=21 April 2015 |archive-date=23 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150423163356/http://ifes.kyungnam.ac.kr/eng/FRM/FRM_0101V.aspx?code=FRM150123_0001 |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[Sosong-guyok]] hosts a 20 [[MeV]] [[cyclotron]] called MGC-20. The initial project was approved by the [[International Atomic Energy Agency]] (IAEA) in 1983 and funded by the IAEA, the United States and the North Korean government. The cyclotron was ordered from the [[Soviet Union]] in 1985 and constructed between 1987 and 1990. It is used for student training, production of medical isotopes for [[nuclear medicine]] as well as studies in biology, chemistry and physics.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nti.org/facilities/758/ |title=MGC-20 Cyclotron |publisher=NTI.org |access-date=20 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151117010831/http://www.nti.org/facilities/758/ |archive-date=17 November 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Health care==
Medical centers include the Red Cross Hospital, the First People's Hospital which is located near Moran Hill and was the first hospital to be built in North Korea after the [[liberation of Korea]] in 1945,<ref>{{cite news |title=Pyongyang City People's Hospital No. 1 |agency=[[Korean Central News Agency]] |url=http://www.kcna.co.jp/item/2002/200205/news05/22.htm |date=22 May 2002 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141012034951/http://www.kcna.co.jp/item/2002/200205/news05/22.htm |archive-date=12 October 2014}}</ref> the Second People's Hospital, Ponghwa Recuperative Center (also known as [[Bonghwa Clinic]] or Presidential Clinic) located in Sokam-dong, [[Potonggang-guyok]], {{cvt|1.5|km|mi|0}} northwest of [[Kim Il Sung Square]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://nkleadershipwatch.wordpress.com/2011/10/12/ponghwa-clinic-expanded-during-2009–2010/ |title=Ponghwa Clinic Expanded During 2009-2010, NK Leadership Watch |website=Nkleadershipwatch.wordpress.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150713111814/https://nkleadershipwatch.wordpress.com/2011/10/12/ponghwa-clinic-expanded-during-2009–2010/ |archive-date=13 July 2015}}</ref>{{Unreliable source?|reason=See reliable sources list on [[WP:KO/RS]]|date=May 2025}} Pyongyang Medical School Hospital, Namsan Treatment Center which is adjacent<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nkeconwatch.com/2007/06/25/where-did-kim-jong-il-receive-his-surgery/ |title=Where Did Kim Jong Il Receive His Surgery? |website=North Korean Economy Watch |date=2007-06-25 |access-date=31 May 2015 |archive-date=2 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150702152245/http://www.nkeconwatch.com/2007/06/25/where-did-kim-jong-il-receive-his-surgery/ |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Pyongyang's Maternity Hospital]], Taesongsan General Hospital,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.businessinsider.com/north-korean-healthcare-2014-5 |title=I Had A Scary Encounter With North Korea's Crumbling Healthcare System |website=Business Insider |access-date=31 May 2015 |archive-date=12 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150512045704/http://www.businessinsider.com/north-korean-healthcare-2014-5 |url-status=live }}</ref> Kim Man-yoo Hospital, Staff Treatment Center and Okryu Children's Hospital. A new hospital named [[Pyongyang General Hospital]] began construction in Pyongyang in 2020.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Williams |first1=Martyn |title=Construction Progressing Rapidly at the Pyongyang General Hospital |url=https://www.38north.org/2020/04/pyhospital040320/ |access-date=30 June 2020 |work=[[38 North]] |date=3 April 2020 |archive-date=1 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200701140207/https://www.38north.org/2020/04/pyhospital040320/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Twin towns – sister cities==
Pyongyang is [[Sister city|twinned]] with:<ref>{{cite book |last=Corfield |first=Justin |title=Historical Dictionary of Pyongyang |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a46gFDWr3aMC&pg=PA196 |year=2013 |publisher=Anthem Press |location=London |isbn=978-0-85728-234-7 |page=196 |chapter=Sister Cities |access-date=22 October 2017 |archive-date=18 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230218091156/https://books.google.com/books?id=a46gFDWr3aMC&pg=PA196 |url-status=live }}</ref>
{{div col|colwidth=20em}}
* {{flagicon|IRQ}} [[Baghdad]], Iraq
* {{flagicon|THA}} [[Chiang Mai]], Thailand
* {{flagicon|UAE}} [[Dubai]], United Arab Emirates
* {{flagicon|IDN}} [[Jakarta]], Indonesia
* {{flagicon|NEP}} [[Kathmandu]], Nepal
* {{flagicon|RUS}} [[Moscow]], Russia
* {{flagicon|CHN}} [[Tianjin]], China
* {{flagicon|MNG}} [[Ulaanbaatar]], Mongolia<ref>{{cite web |title=Хотын дарга С.Батболд Токио хотын засаг дарга Юрико Койкэтэй уулзлаа |url=https://mongolia.gov.mn/news/view/16816 |publisher=Mongolian Government |language=mn |date=2017-04-20 |access-date=2022-08-23 |archive-date=19 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221119044639/https://mongolia.gov.mn/news/view/16816 |url-status=live }}</ref>
{{div col end}}

==See also==
{{Portal|North Korea|Cities}}
* [[List of cities in North Korea]]
* [[List of second-level administrative divisions of North Korea]]

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
===Citations===
{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

===Bibliography===
* {{cite book |first=Hugh Alexander |last=Webster |display-authors=0 |contribution=[[s:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition/Corea|Corea]] |title=Encyclopædia Britannica |edition=9th |volume=VI |editor-last=Baynes |editor-first=Thomas Spencer |display-editors=0 |publisher=Charles Scribner's Sons |location=New York |date=1878 |ref={{harvid|EB|1878}} |pages=390–394}}.
* {{cite web |url=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/pdf/CS_North-Korea.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101202052752/http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/pdf/CS_North-Korea.pdf |archive-date=2010-12-02 |url-status=live |title=North Korea – A Country Study |year=2009 |publisher=[[Library of Congress Country Studies]] |ref={{SfnRef|Country Study|2009}}}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book|last1=Dormels|first1=Rainer|title=North Korea's Cities: Industrial Facilities, Internal Structures and Typification|location=Seoul|publisher=Jimoondang|year=2014|ISBN=978-89-6297-167-5}}
* {{Cite journal |last1=Em |first1=Pavel P. |last2=Ward |first2=Peter |last3=Prokopljevic |first3=Jelena |last4=Zakharova |first4=Liudmila V. |last5=Sigley |first5=Alek |display-authors=1 |date=Spring 2021 |volume=17 |number=1 |title=City Profile of Pyongyang 3.0: Inside Out |pages=30–56 |journal=[[North Korean Review]] |jstor=27033549 |issn=1551-2789}}
* {{cite book |author=Kim Chun-hyok |title=Panorama of Pyongyang |year=2014 |publisher=[[Foreign Languages Publishing House (North Korea)|Foreign Languages Publishing House]] |location=Pyongyang |isbn=978-9946-0-1176-9 |url=http://www.korean-books.com.kp/KBMbooks/en/book/common/11004.pdf#.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200622074105/http://www.korean-books.com.kp/KBMbooks/en/book/common/11004.pdf |archive-date=2020-06-22 |url-status=live}}
* {{cite book|author-link=Christian Kracht|last1=Kracht|first1=Christian|first2=Eva|last2=Munz|first3=Lukas|last3=Nikol|title=[[The Ministry of Truth (Kracht book)|The Ministry of Truth: Kim Jong Il's North Korea]]|publisher=Feral House|date=October 2007|ISBN=978-1-93259527-7}}
* {{cite book|editor-last1=Meuser|editor-first1=Philipp|title=Architectural and Cultural Guide Pyongyang|location=Berlin|publisher=DOM|year=2012|ISBN=978-3-86922-187-8}}
* {{cite book|last1=Springer|first1=Chris|title=Pyongyang: The Hidden History of the North Korean Capital|publisher=Saranda Books|year=2003|ISBN=963-00-8104-0}}
* {{cite book |editor-last1=Thak |editor-first1=Song Il |editor-last2=Jang |editor-first2=Hyang Ok |title=Pyongyang in Kim Jong Un's Era |url=http://www.korean-books.com.kp/packages/xnps/download.php?/KBMbooks/en/book/ordinary/20211124104604.pdf |location=DPRK Korea |publisher=[[Foreign Languages Publishing House (North Korea)|Foreign Languages Publishing House]] |year=2021 |translator-last=Tong |translator-first=Kyong Chol |isbn=978-9946-0-2016-7}}<!-- direct http://www.korean-books.com.kp/KBMbooks/en/book/ordinary/20211124104604.pdf -->
* {{cite book|last1=Willoughby|first1=Robert|title=North Korea: The Bradt Travel Guide|publisher=Globe Pequot|year=2003|ISBN=1-84162-074-2}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
{{Wikinews category}}
{{Wikiquote}}
{{wikivoyage}}
{{Wiktionary}}
* [http://www.dprk360.com/360/pyongyang_aerial_view/ Interactive virtual tour] Aerial view of Pyongyang city
* [http://www.dprk360.com/highres/pyongyang01.html Super High Resolution Image] Panoramic view of Pyongyang city
* {{YouTube|D4hLctBvojE|22-minute video of bus ride through Pyongyang, DPRK}}
* [http://www.nkeconwatch.com/north-korea-uncovered-google-earth North Korea Uncovered] ([[North Korea Uncovered|North Korea Google Earth]]), a comprehensive mapping of North Korea, including all of the locations mentioned above, on [[Google Earth]]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/3113352.stm Holidays in Pyongyang]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20141120180535/http://en.isten.me/city/pyongyang.html Instagram photos of Pyongyang]
* [https://koreanologie.univie.ac.at/fileadmin/user_upload/p_koreanologie/North_Korean_Cities/Phyongsong/Phyongsong.pdf City profile of Pyongyang] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202112944/https://koreanologie.univie.ac.at/fileadmin/user_upload/p_koreanologie/North_Korean_Cities/Phyongsong/Phyongsong.pdf |date=2 February 2017 }}

===Pyongyang at night===
* {{YouTube|NUS1mT8K_ak|Pyongyang at Night on 15 April 2012}}
* {{YouTube|VifV0dAVikA|Pyongyang at Night River View DPRK}}

{{regions and administrative divisions of North Korea}}
{{Pyongyang}}
{{Metropolitan cities of North Korea}}
{{List of Asian capitals by region}}
{{National symbols of North Korea}}
{{Most populous cities in North Korea}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Pyongyang| ]]
[[Category:Capitals in Asia]]
[[Category:Directly Governed Cities and Special Administrative Regions of North Korea]]
[[Category:Socialist planned cities]]
[[Category:12th-century BC establishments]]
[[Category:Populated places established in the 2nd millennium BC]]