North Korea (DPRK) - Pyongyang: Chuche monument. City from "birds point of view". Money. (Translated by Natalia)
Today’s the last album, dedicated to monuments and palaces.
The Chouchkhe Ideas Monument.
The second monument by it’s value in the country (after the Kim Ihr Sen statue that you’ve seen before).
Built in 1982, situated at the Taedon river shore.
Chouchkhe – is a state ideology of Northern Korea.
By it’s meaning it should be understood as: “The person is the owner of all and defines all ". Another meaning is also heard often: " Support on own forces ".
The last one is more modern treatment.
The sculpture near the monument symbolizes the worker, the farmer and the intellectual.
Inside the foundation – there’re marble slabs from different friendly organizations of many countries of the world.
Everyone’s understood everything, I guess :)
There’s a huge square around the monument. There’re also lots of sculpture compositions: “Independent industry”, “The rich harvest”, “The country of studying”, “Long-lasting” “Original arts” and the “Iron fortress”.
The height of a tower together with the metallic torch on the top – 170 m.
Right under the torch there’s a big viewing platform, where we’ll raise now (there’s a lift inside the tower).
In one direction, from the tower there’s a view of Kim Ihr Sen square in front of the Palace of Studying. It’s often shown in TV news about Northern Korea.
The ice skating rink is seen behind (in a shape of light cone).
I’ll tell a bit about money.
There’re wons and chons.
Chon – is a small coin (although “chon” means “thousand” in Korean). As I know, they’re not in use now.
The 1 won coin (at the left) are in use not often.
In official rate 1 euro = 160 wons
At the black market 1 euro = 1200 wons
The last is the unchecked information and I didn’t really understand what the “Rate in the black market " means. Any Korean can go to the currency shop and buy anything in a legal way to wons or euro in official rate (I haven’t seen any kind of control at the entrance).
As I know, there were some local money before (wons for foreigners). But I’ve never seen them.
This is – 50 wons at the picture.
On the one side there’s a monument to Chouchkhe Ideas, on the other side – a Pektou mountain, I think.
It is forbidden to take away the local money abroad (especially if they have a portrait of the leader) and the foreigners must not buy anything by them inside the country. But really it’s not necessary, because they take euro and dollars everywhere. I’m not sure if I could buy an ice-cream for euro, I didn’t do it (‘cause girls did it for us :).
The only problem – there’s often no delivery from big banknotes ($50-100). So, if you’ll go there, I recommend to change more small banknotes. And better to take euro. They accept dollars, but reluctantly (with the advent of euro they gradually leave from dollar currency - a policy)
Also they take yens and yuans (once they gave the delivery by yens to Alexey, to his agreement).
In the other direction – there’s a view to a river and our hotel.
And this is the Stadium of May 1st, which I mentioned before.
A TV tower is seen in the distance.
I can’t remember, if I told or not, that the river is fine enough and the bridges are not leaf – ships won’t pass there anyway.
Inhabited quarters
Have to notice that there’re no vagrant dogs, cats or vagabonds in the city. Sometimes there’re dogs on the leads and with their owners. But not often.
The fountains in the square near monument.
That’s how it looks in the evening from 39th floor of our hotel.
