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It’s almost a year ago I visited North Korea (DPRK) and still so much to write about. This time I show you 5 fun activities in Pyongyang you must do. These are activities the locals go to when they have a day off work. You find most men suited up even in the amusement park; very interesting. More photos as text this time; they speak for themselves. If you’re interested in other things you can do in North Korea then check my North Korea itinerary. Have fun!
Picknick in Moranbong park Pyongyang
North Koreans love to go in their free time to the Moranbong Park Pyongyang and as a western tourist it is very interesting to wander around this park. It is one of the places where you get very close to the locals. You can, with some luck have a very small chat, dance with them and see what they do if out with the family. I must also say that here the guides where stricter on making photo’s then in other places. For me this walk in the park was probably one of the most valuable experiences while in Pyongyang.
NORTH KOREA - 7-day North Korea itinerary for first time visitors: A complete guide
Skate park Pyongyang
At the Pyongyang skate park you can see a lot of young people who go there after school for fun. At the time I visited there were also a few professional young skaters training. Interesting to see how motivated all these kids are. Skating is not my thing so I passed on this activity.
Horseback riding in Pyongyang
Just outside of Pyongyang you find the recently built stables on a huge ground. When you arrive, you’ll first get a tour through the memorial hall full of paintings where the great leader is riding horse. A few statues and other horseback riding related items are on display too. Here you make a bow for the great leader, as in most places. After that you can go horseback riding. Their horses are really the best of the best. I had not done much of riding before so after a half hour I thought I did enough but definitively love it!
Ice skating in Pyongyang
Opposite the skating park there is the ice-skating ring of Pyongyang. Being from the Netherlands I do know how to ice-skate but it seemed someone forgot to put the freezer on as there was quite a lot of water on the ice. I skipped my ride therefore. Maybe this was the reason we had to wait some minutes before we could enter as maybe it was not good enough to show a western tourist. A small tour was provided where you learn how many times and in which years the great leader had visited the ice-skating ring. This is very important for the people who run the place. Maybe on my next visit when the ice is good I go for a ride.
NORTH KOREA - 7-day North Korea itinerary for first time visitors: A complete guide
Amusement park Pyongyang
In Pyongyang there are several amusement parks. One evening I visited one of them and they even have fast-lanes. For westerners only though, no waiting for tourists. There are some rides and I did a few of them and the most interesting were the bumper cars because you have the fun together with the North Koreans.
One of my guides was female and I asked why she didn’t join any of the nice rides and the answer was: I’m in skirts and maybe men will look under it. Ok, fair enough. If you look at the clothing of the people you see that all men, but women too, are all very nice dressed up in suits. The kids are more in leisure clothing. You would never see something like this in western countries. I had a great time in the amusement park together with all the locals.
Make sure to check out my North Korea itinerary to see what you can do and see more in this closed country.
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