Kaeson Youth Park, Pyongyang, North Korea (DPRK)

The Kaeson Youth Park (개선청년고원 | 凱旋青年公園）is a youth theme park located in the centre of Pyongyang, very close to sites such as the Arch of Triumph and Kim Il Sung Stadium. This makes it a great stop off if you want a bit of a relax after an evening of touring the sites of Pyongyang.

The Kaeson Youth Park is open to locals and foreigners. It is a very popular spot for children and young adults to come and hang out after school or during the weekends, and especially so on National Holidays.

The total area of the park is 40 hectares (99 acres). Pyongyang has three other amusement parks located at Mangyongdae, Rungra Island, and Mt. Taesong.

History

The Kaeson Youth Park was opened as part of the dedication to the Arch of Triumph. This was completed in 1982, and the Kaeson Youth Park was completed in 1984.

The Kaeson Youth Park was renovated in April 2010. It now includes 10 modern rides imported from Italy and Germany. You can read more about the old Kaeson Youth Park here.

Park Attractions

The rides on offer at this theme park include bumper cars, a rollercoaster, and various other flying and spinning rides to be sure to make you scream.

The rollercoaster at the back of the Kaeson Youth Park is one of the most enjoyable. It is called Inertia Airplane Car (관성비행단차) and has been in operation at the Kaeson Youth Park since 2010. Not for the faint of heart, but also suitable for those who usually prefer to keep two feet on the ground. It is a flying style rollercoaster with a speed of 25.7 mph, g-force factor 3.3 height of 50ft and length of 1,282.8 ft. It was designed by a German company and can hold four people at a time.

On National Holidays in North Korea, the park will be filled with people celebrating their day off. There are also sometimes special celebrations and stalls put up in the park area. For example, on Children’s Day there are sport’s day like events put on in the middle of the park. On May Day, there are many food and drink stalls put up and you can be sure to enjoy a very full, crowded theme park.

There is a fountain park at the park entrance and a traditional pavilion at the very back.

Practical Tips

*The best time to visit the Kaeson Youth Park is evenings, weekends or national holidays when the park is filled with locals enjoying the rides.

*It is not allowed for women to ride on any of the rides whilst wearing a skirt. Around the park, you will see many women and young girls wearing pants. This is an unusual sight in a country that mainly sees women wearing feminine clothing, and conservative skirts or dresses.

*The Kaeson Youth Park can be temporarily closed if there are bad weather conditions.

*Entrance to the park costs 2 EUR per person, and each ride is an additional fee. Rides range from 1-5 EUR. This is a different fee than what locals will pay, but it provides VIP access to the Kaeson Theme Park. Here, you will have a local guide from the theme park take you around and have special VIP access to skip the queues. No more waiting around for rides! You can also pay in USD or RMB.

*The most expensive ride (5 EUR) is the centre piece of the Kaeson Youth Park and supposedly the most scary ride. This is the tall structure and is a drop down rollercoaster.

*Try the North Korean burrito, or Milssam (밀쌈), a wrap with cooked meat and vegetables inside. This is one of the best places to try street food in North Korea.

*If you don’t like rides you can also pay for entry into the park and enjoy being around the locals whilst they terrify themselves on the different roller coasters. Or, you can head into the arcade area to play some arcade games.

Anecdotes

* The park was renovated in 2010. After this, General Kim Jong Il paid the park a visit, and also had his own fun on the rides. Marshall Kim Jong Un has also visited the park in the past. Walking around the park, you can spot red plaques that show all of the rides that the General Kim Jong Il or Marshall Kim Jong Un rode on or gave guidance.

*Locals pay approx. 1,600 Korean Won (approximately 2-3 dollars) to ride all of the rides in the park.

Location and Access

Located right next to the Arch of Triumph and Kim Il Sung Square, and at the bottom of Moran Hill, it is very easy to get to. There is a large parking area at the front of the Kaeson Youth Park. The ticket office is based at the bottom of the car park, and from here it is just a short 30 second walk to the main entrance.

Opening times are usually early evening to 9 or 10 pm from April to October.

You can visit the Kaeson Youth Park on some of our longer trips to North Korea. Or, you can have a private tour and request it to be in your own personalised itinerary. What else can you see in North Korea? Download Koryo Tours' free 75-page guide to the country for a full list and follow us here on Koryo Tours Blog for more in-depth descriptions of various locations in North Korea.