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Architectural and Cultural Guide Pyongyang
Ambitiously designed community buildings, faceless mass housing
developments, and a monumental emptiness are the defining
features of Pyongyang - a city of three million inhabitants rising
from the rubble to which the Korean War reducedit in the 1950s.
This architectural guide to the capital of the Democratic People’s
Republic of Korea has two parts comprising a total of 368 pages.
While Volume 1 offers a selection of images and information
on nearly one hundred buildings in Pyongyang provided by the
Pyongyang Foreign Languages Publishing House and presented
here without further commentary, Volume 2 sets this material
within its architectural and historical context.
The Guide offers unprecedented insights into the capital of what is probably the most isolated country in the world, ruled in the third generation by a “first family” stubbornly upholding its own brand of stone-age communism.
developments, and a monumental emptiness are the defining
features of Pyongyang - a city of three million inhabitants rising
from the rubble to which the Korean War reducedit in the 1950s.
This architectural guide to the capital of the Democratic People’s
Republic of Korea has two parts comprising a total of 368 pages.
While Volume 1 offers a selection of images and information
on nearly one hundred buildings in Pyongyang provided by the
Pyongyang Foreign Languages Publishing House and presented
here without further commentary, Volume 2 sets this material
within its architectural and historical context.
The Guide offers unprecedented insights into the capital of what is probably the most isolated country in the world, ruled in the third generation by a “first family” stubbornly upholding its own brand of stone-age communism.
- GenresArchitectureNonfiction
368 pages, Paperback
First published March 15, 2012
69 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
April 11, 2016
Fascinating! I loved seeing so many pictures of buildings I'd never seen before and I learnt a lot.
Volume 1 provides the North Korean government-approved overview of the city's architecture, and Volume 2 provides critical analysis. Volume 1 is a little strange -- the captions seem to be obsessed with listing the precise dimensions and capacity of each building, but the buildings are split into logical categories and marked on a map, so it's still very useful. The photos are clear and lovely, with a number of floor plans.
Volume 2 doesn't provide as much analysis as I'd like, but I appreciated reading about the symbolism and architectural history. A chapter provides a translated and abridged version of Kim Jong-il's treatise On Architecture (which could have been further abridged to remove repetition) that provided interesting background. The chapter by Christian Posthofen was awful though -- completely unreadable academic-speak that jarred with the rest of the book. That chapter would have benefited from serious editing and rewriting into plain English.
The books themselves are very nicely designed. I'm a little glad I wasn't able to buy it as an ebook (my usual format of choice); the box-set looks nice on a shelf!
Volume 1 provides the North Korean government-approved overview of the city's architecture, and Volume 2 provides critical analysis. Volume 1 is a little strange -- the captions seem to be obsessed with listing the precise dimensions and capacity of each building, but the buildings are split into logical categories and marked on a map, so it's still very useful. The photos are clear and lovely, with a number of floor plans.
Volume 2 doesn't provide as much analysis as I'd like, but I appreciated reading about the symbolism and architectural history. A chapter provides a translated and abridged version of Kim Jong-il's treatise On Architecture (which could have been further abridged to remove repetition) that provided interesting background. The chapter by Christian Posthofen was awful though -- completely unreadable academic-speak that jarred with the rest of the book. That chapter would have benefited from serious editing and rewriting into plain English.
The books themselves are very nicely designed. I'm a little glad I wasn't able to buy it as an ebook (my usual format of choice); the box-set looks nice on a shelf!
November 18, 2012
Surprisingly, odds-defyingly comprehensive survey of the city's architecture--public buildings and private residences alike. And loaded with interesting photos--not just architectural but street scenes as well.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews