Pyongyang(North Korea) Metro >>Amazing!!

[cicarra]

http://www.travel-images.com/korean112.jpg
http://www.travel-images.com/korean140.jpg
http://www.travel-images.com/korean113.jpg
http://www.pyongyang-metro.com/cgi-bin/framed/2804/instn.jpeg
http://www.pyongyang-metro.com/cgi-bin/framed/2804/bvg.jpeg
http://www.pyongyang-metro.com/cgi-bin/framed/2804/kimmuralsmall.jpeg
http://www.pyongyang-metro.com/cgi-bin/framed/2804/czechlok.jpeg
http://www.pyongyang-metro.com/cgi-bin/framed/2804/cropsongsmall.jpeg
http://www.pyongyang-metro.com/cgi-bin/framed/2804/hallsmall.jpeg
http://www.pyongyang-metro.com/escal.jpeg
http://210.145.168.243/pk/102nd_issue/metro.jpg
http://www.korea-dpr.com/users/switzerland/juche/metro_pyongyang.gif
:eek2: Arguably one of the most beautiful station in the world.(maybe next to Moscow one)

[Nick in Atlanta]

Pyongyang rocks!!

[rj2uman]

Arguably one of the most beautiful station in the world.(maybe next to Moscow one)

I'll argue that you need to get out more. Its alright, but in the WORLD???? I think not even close.

[Landos]

They have a metro because nobody can afford cars. Or food for that matter. I see they have a painting of that fat slob, Kim, on the wall of the station. What a joke. Somebody ought to off that clown and bring North Korea into the 19th Century!

[cicarra]

http://www2m.biglobe.ne.jp/~taro/py/metro01.jpg
http://hk.geocities.com/hkgalbert/metro0001.jpg
http://members.fortunecity.com/mcdeil69/dprk/yonggwang.jpg
http://www2m.biglobe.ne.jp/~taro/py/metro12.jpg
http://www2m.biglobe.ne.jp/~taro/py/metro13.jpg
http://www2m.biglobe.ne.jp/~taro/py/metro07.jpg
http://www2m.biglobe.ne.jp/~taro/py/metro08b.jpg
http://www2m.biglobe.ne.jp/~taro/py/metro09b.jpg
http://www2m.biglobe.ne.jp/~taro/py/metro10.jpg
http://www2m.biglobe.ne.jp/~taro/py/metro04b.jpg
http://www2m.biglobe.ne.jp/~taro/py/metro04a.jpg
http://www2m.biglobe.ne.jp/~taro/py/metro02.jpg
http://www2m.biglobe.ne.jp/~taro/py/metro05.jpg

[cicarra]

http://www.econ.hokudai.ac.jp/~hasimoto/Photo%20NY%20Metro%201.JPG
http://home.swipnet.se/~w-21791/u-newyork.jpg

[Torn]

This subway is fantastic, surrealist, orwellian !!!!!!
And those revolutionary mural paintings are great !!!!!!!

[Homer J. Simpson]

http://www.travel-images.com/korean113.jpg

Wow, this is touching, the leader with the common people. It kind of reminds me of all those effigies of Saddam Hussien.

[Gatis]

You should know - these pictures are a kind of theater:
http://www2m.biglobe.ne.jp/~taro/py/metro09b.jpg
They select good looking people dress in suits and make such pictures. There was one fine Webpage telling about it, but can not find it now. May be it is somewhere in archives of ssc forums. But the designs in metro are very fine. Hope that the day when they will become free, they will not destroy these panos.

[Yardmaster]

Irrespective of whether the photos are staged or not, it's amazing architecture for a subway station.

[federal]

I thought NoKor (N. Korea) is poor and communist? Why is their station with chandeliers and everything ? :)

[cicarra]

^^surprised?:) Well, North Korea IS a poor country, but the government want the people to THINK it's a rich country. Since Koreans don't know anything about the outside world, they can't compare or see the better ones. Some say that there was a tourist once travelling in North Korea and said to one of the officials "in my country average people can never use this kind of luxury." And the official said "we constructed these not to make profit but to benefit our people". Then he ordered to upgrade all those subway stations with natural marble, chandelier, etc.

[DiggerD21]

There was a report on german TV some months ago. A group of german railway enthusiasts were allowed to travel in north korea (1st sensation) and they were allowed to make photos and film (2nd sensation). Of course these tourists were not allowed to have any contact to the common people. In this report you can see that they have very often not enough energy to maintain the metro. Overall they don't have enough energy for even more essential things like heating for all occupied flats during the strong winters.

EDIT: Here is a report of these railway enthusiasts. (http://www.farrail.de/frames/main-0_mainframe-agenda.html)

[federal]

oh... so it's purely superficial... :)

[jimm]

Nice pix

[cicarra]

http://www.travel-images.com/korean113.jpg

Don't you notice something wrong with this picture? Look to the left, the worker with a headlight has HIS left foot stepping out of the painting! :runaway:

[jimm]

Maybe he want to escape from Kim's paradise :D

[amras]

the pictures are freaking me out... :runaway:

[Vertigo]

The idea of such a rich looking metro was of course taken from Moscow, which is even better looking than this one.

A great website about the Pyongyang metro can be found here (http://www.pyongyang-metro.com/).

[jimm]

Map
http://www.geocities.com/janos8/dprk/20-metro.jpg

[xePh3roK]

http://www.urbanrail.net/as/pyon/pyongyang-map.gif

System
Pyongyang is the capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) and has 1.7 million inhabitants.

Construction of the small metro network began in the late 1960's and opened in 1973 between Pulgunbyol and Ponghwa (7.5 km, 6 stations). A second line, the Hyokshin Line, was inaugurated in 1978. It reached its current length in 1985. The first line, the Chollima Line, was extended towards the south (Puhung) in 1987. The total length is currently 22.5 km, with 17 stations, all underground. The system has third rail power supply (825V) and uses 3-4-car-trains (5-6 during peak hours), track gauge is 1435 mm. Both lines run under the city's main streets, Hyokshin Line under Ragwon and Pipa streets, and Chollima Line under Podunamu, Kaeson, Sungni and Yonggwang streets.

Stations lie very deep (20-100m), at an average distance of 1500 m. Like in Russia, they were designed like underground palaces, each in a different colour and decorated with marble, paintings, mosaics and sculptures. The Pyongyang metro is the only one in the world where station names do not refer to a geographical location nearby, but to some theme of the socialist revolution (like Renovation, Victory, Unity, etc). Kwangmyong is currently closed, apparently because it's too close to the Kumsusam Memorial Palace.

History
6 Sept 1973: Ponghwa-Pulgunbyol (7.5 km, 6 stations)
9 Oct 1975: Hyokshin-Rakwon
6 Oct 1978: Hyokshin-Hwangummbol
9 Sept 1978: Hwanuggumbol-Kwongbok
10 Apr 1987: Ponghwa-Puhung

Practical Info
The Pyongyang metro operates from 5:00 until 23:00, with trains every 5-7 minutes (every 2 minutes during morning peak).

KPW 20,00 per trip

[cicarra]

I heard that there are many more lines constructed for government use. They are kept secret.

[cntower]

:)

[cntower]

http://www.pyongyang-metro.com

[xePh3roK]

http://www.pyongyang-metro.com

this page has a ugly design :sleepy:

[Adderbak]

Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful.
You can say a lot about communism but a least they made their public spaces look good, instead of giving in to ugly advertisement frenzy!

[Hitesh]

this all looks like useless propoganda

[Thomas I]

Interesting: I was in Pyongyang in August - but there it was very dark inside the Metro because only 1 of 3 or 4 lights was in service.....

The trains are second hand from Berlin....

[samsonyuen]

Nice, has there been any expansion recently? What's the pop of Pyongyang?

[SeeMacau]

pop : 1.7million

[Thomas I]

Nice, has there been any expansion recently? What's the pop of Pyongyang?


Expansion? Hey these peoples are lucky if they have enough to eat....

[MILIUX]

Did ya know forced labour are used to build these? It's like Nazi Concentration camp labour building munitions under the leadership of Speer.

[Adderbak]

Expansion? Hey these peoples are lucky if they have enough to eat....

so are the millions of homeless people in the United States, doesn't stop that country from building subways (or flying to Mars for that matter).

[Grollo]

Reminds me of the paintings by Australian artist Guo Jian who used to paint real "Political Pop" art paintings for the Chinese government before moving to Australia.

http://www.zeroballet.info/supernaut/media/04apr/GuoJian1.jpg

http://www.zeroballet.info/supernaut/media/04apr/GuoJian2.jpg

http://www.zeroballet.info/supernaut/media/04apr/GuoJian3.jpg

He did a massive three storey high painting at the public art space on the podium of Republic Tower in Melbourne, it looked so cool (and I wish I had a pic of it).

[Avatar]

Grollo, may I ask what images that border in the last pic is made up of? hahahah!

It look ever so slightly pornographic ;)

[gruber]

yes...very beautiful...but probably some hundreds of SLAVES die to built that fantastic work of the Great Comunist NOrth Korean Party!

Peter Kim Hee Tae from Seoul reports (27 Nov 1999):

According to recently declassified secret documents by the Korean National Intelligence Service, the Pyongyang Subway was the subway of tragedy. The disaster struck in 1971, when a sector of an underwater tunnel at Ponghwa station collapsed. More than 100 lives were lost. Among them were the families of high class military officers. Ponghwa metro station is part of the Chollima-Mangyongdae Line, which was opened in September 6th, 1973. The line became the first Subway line on the Korean Peninsula. Originally, the Chollima line was intended to connect the areas north and south of Taedong river. The entire sector of the line and Hyokshin Line was opened in 1978. There are 17 stations altogether, and Pyongyang metro has a total 48 carriages. The vehicles were based on Chinese design. The type was originally used in Beijing metro until 1987, when the Chinese capital city began to upgrade their rolling stock. The Chollima Line starts at Puheung station and finishes at Pulgunbyol. The Hyokshin Line starts at Kwangbok station and finishes at Rakwon in the east. Of the stations along the Hyoksin line, Kwangmyong station is not in use. The main reason is that the subway station is near Kim Jong Il's palace. The Pyongyang metro plans to make extensions by 10 kms, and the only information received is the extension of Hyokshin line west of Kwangbok station. The Chollima Line had operating problems, and the line from Ponghwa to Puheung went under repairs, and the entire line was in normal service from 1987. Pyongyang metro is usually dark, because of the electricity supply problems, and the entire service is suspended once a month, on the first Monday of each month.

http://www.urbanrail.net/as/pyon/pyongyang.htm

[Thomas I]

so are the millions of homeless people in the United States, doesn't stop that country from building subways (or flying to Mars for that matter).


Yes - and the best state was Nazi-Germany from 1933 to 1939 because they builded metros and no one was hungry.... :bash:

Do you have visited North-Korea? I have - and i have also been in the USA for many times - parts of my family lives in Maryland and Pennsylvania.

So dont tell me whats wrong in North-Korea or try to tell me something in the USA is more bad.

[cicarra]

One thing I noticed is that communist countries tend to have this kind of very nicely decorated subway stations.

[Vertigo]

Hey these peoples are lucky if they have enough to eat....

Depends on who "these people" are. Pyongyang citizens have enough to eat. So do the people in other North-Korean cities. The starving people are in the rural areas; those people are treated a whole lot different from the urban citizens of the DPRK. (hmm...wasn't communism all about treating people equally?).

[Xabi]

One thing I noticed is that communist countries tend to have this kind of very nicely decorated subway stations.

It's true. Take a look to those threads for example:

Kiev Subway: http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=132053

Baku Metro: http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=172586