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Pyongyang
Capital and largest city of North Korea

Pyongyang

Pyongyang (Korean: 평양) is the capital and largest city of North Korea.

Plan a trip to Pyongyang→From Seoul

According to the 2008 population census, it has a population of 3,255,288. Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about 109 kilometers upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. Pyongyang is a directly administered city with a status equal to that of the North Korean provinces.

Get in

Getting to Pyongyang

see also North Korea entry requirements and formalities Nearly all visitors arrive either by plane or train from Beijing. You will need a visa before you travel and the authorities will need a minimum of 2 weeks to process it.

  1. 01
    Sunan International Airport
  2. 02
    Pyongyang
See

Worth seeing

  1. 01
    Arch of Triumph

    The arch was designed to commemorate Korean resistance to Japan between 1925 and 1945 and eventual liberation from Japanese rule.

  2. 02
    Arirang Mass Games

    A mass gymnastics and artistic performance.

  3. 03
    Children's Palace

    Nearly every city has its own Children's Palace, with Pyongyang having the largest.

  4. 04
    Chollima Statue

    At the top of Mansu Hill is a statue of a man riding Chollima, a winged horse, representing the economic development of Korea.

  5. 05
    Juche Tower

    A 170 m tall monument is dedicated to the Juche philosophy of Kim Il Sung.

  6. 06
    Kaeson Funfair

    This small amusement park has a handful of new rides.

Do

Things to do

Normally, tourists in Pyongyang are restricted to guided tours. Personal visitors to foreign residents are usually free to wander around, though they may also be placed under the care of a guide.

  1. 01
    Pyongyang Marathon

    The Pyongyang Marathon is a yearly event in April open to Americans and most other nationalities since 2014.

  2. 02
    Bowling

    Bowling is available at Golden Lanes for minimal cost.

Eat

Where to eat

Local residents generally eat at home, and as such the Pyongyang restaurant scene is lacking. You will normally eat dinner at your hotel. There are a number of small diners in the city, but they are mostly aimed at local workers and have rather spartan fare—boiled corn, kimchi, some fish or squid, white rice.

How locals move

Getting around Pyongyang the local way

  • Get inWestern foreigners will usually be denied entry to North Korea by train (except for those specially chartered by tour companies).
  • Get aroundHowever, if on a package tour, your short trip on the metro will be organised in advance.

From Wikivoyage: Pyongyang, CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us. Last edited 2026-09.

Text adapted from Wikipedia and Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photograph: Wikimedia Commons (see file page), Wikimedia Commons.