hankyoreh

Pyongyang Folklore Park (Yonhap News)

An amusement park in Pyongyang is being demolished less than four years after its completion, Japanese media reported on June 15.

Yonhap News and other South Korean outlets also reported the day before the demolishing of Pyongyang Folklore Park, citing “well-informed North Korea sources.” The park is currently located near Anhak Palace on Mount Taesong in northern Pyongyang.

Citing a North Korea source, the Tokyo Shimbun newspaper reported on June 15 that the closure of Pyongyang Folklore Park had begun on May 3.

“Nearby, the sound of explosions can be heard from the detonation of park facilities with gunpowder,” the report said, adding that sources suggested a “new town” would be built on the site later.

Regarding the reason for the closure, the report claimed leader Kim Jong-un ordered it “because [its facilities] were serviced under the direction of Jang Song-thaek, and Kim said he ‘continues thinking of Jang as long as the Folklore Park exists.’”

“It’s impossible to tell if [the closure] was meant to show how strong a hatred [Kim] has toward Jang Song-thaek or if he feels uncomfortable about having had his uncle put to death,” the source told the newspaper.

Another source said Kim “showed his lack of prudence and short-sightedness in so casually ordering the dismantling of facilities after so much money was invested in them.”

Kim’s predecessor and father Kim Jong-il ordered the construction of Pyongyang Folklore Park in 2008, citing the “need for facilities to share Choson’s history and national character with future generations.” It was completed in Sept. 2012. Covering a vast area of around 992,000 square meters, sources reported it as including ruins and architectural models to show trends in the ancient to modern history of the Korean people as viewed by North Korea.

Kim Jong-un visited the park for an inspection just before its completion, accompanied by wife Ri Sol-ju, Jang, and then military general politburo head Choe Ryong-hae.

“Seeing this place completed, I feel ardent thoughts for the General [father Kim Jong-il],” the Rodong Sinmun and Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported Kim as saying at the time. “How happy and pleased the General would have been had I brought him here after he personally initiated its construction.”

The Japan-based pro-North Korea Choson Sinbo newspaper reported on the park just after its opening.

“The museum contains exhibits of relics and materials showing 5,000 years of the people’s history from primitive societies to the modern day and the customs and culture of the times,” the report said, adding that it “takes over three hours to tour the entire facility while listening to summaries by museum lecturers.”

The Tokyo Shimbun quoted the KCNA as saying 1.17 million people visited the park over the next three years.

By Gil Yun-hyung, Tokyo correspondent

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]