Pyongyang Department Store No. 1 | |
---|---|
Location in
Pyongyang | |
General information | |
Type | Department store |
Address | Sungri Street |
Coordinates | 39°1′20.14″N 125°45′11.42″E / 39.0222611°N 125.7531722°E |
Completed | c. late 1980s |
Renovated | c. late 2000s - early 2010s [1] |
Owner | Pyongyang City People's Committee of the WPK |
Design and construction | |
Architect(s) | Yun Ko-gwang [2] |
Other information | |
Public transit access | Chǒllima: Sŭngni Trolleybus: Sadong-No.1 Department Store |
The Pyongyang Department Store No. 1 ( Korean: 평양제1백화점) is a major retail store in Pyongyang, North Korea. On Sungri Street near Kim Il-sung Square in downtown Pyongyang, [3] it is one of the largest retail stores in the country and is often the site of large commodity exhibitions. [4]
The store, along with two others, are reportedly run jointly with Chinese business partners. [5]
The store offers a variety of items including electronics, clothing, furniture, foodstuffs, [6] kitchenware, and toys. [3] As of 2013 [update], approximately 70 percent of the items in the store were produced domestically. [7] The store is also one of several official tourist stops in the city. [8] Department Store No. 1 accepts only local currency. [9] [10] According to the pro-North-Korean newspaper Choson Sinbo, it is a popular shopping destination for local residents and in 2016 an average of 20,000 shoppers visited the store daily. [11]
Swedish journalist Caroline Salzinger described her visit to the department store as a tourist in the mid-2000s. Upon arrival, the store was closed. [12] One of the tour guides accompanying her tried to distract her, while the other one rushed in to get the doors opened. When opened, the guide had to scramble passers-by to occupy the store as "shoppers". The moment they stepped in, the escalator was started. [13] The shoppers appeared clueless as to how to act in a department store. When after great pains Salzinger managed to purchase the goods she wanted, [14] the cashier was confused and would not hand her a plastic bag for her items: "We look at each other in the eyes. She knows that something is wrong, and that not everything is like it should, but she does not know what it is." [15] According to Salzinger, a Western diplomat monitored the department store for one hour and saw no one come out with purchased items. [14]
Theodore Dalrymple visited in 1989. He described the Potemkin nature of the place: "I also followed a few people around at random, as discreetly as I could. Some were occupied in ceaselessly going up and down the escalators; others wandered from counter to counter, spending a few minutes at each before moving on. They did not inspect the merchandise; they moved as listlessly as illiterates might, condemned to spend the day among the shelves of a library. I did not know whether to laugh or explode with anger or weep. But I knew I was seeing one of the most extraordinary sights of the twentieth century." [16]
I also followed a few people around at random, as discreetly as I could. Some were occupied in ceaselessly going up and down the escalators; others wandered from counter to counter, spending a few minutes at each before moving on. They did not inspect the merchandise; they moved as listlessly as illiterates might, condemned to spend the day among the shelves of a library. I did not know whether to laugh or explode with anger or weep. But I knew I was seeing one of the most extraordinary sights of the twentieth century.
Pyongyang Department Store No. 1 | |
---|---|
Location in
Pyongyang | |
General information | |
Type | Department store |
Address | Sungri Street |
Coordinates | 39°1′20.14″N 125°45′11.42″E / 39.0222611°N 125.7531722°E |
Completed | c. late 1980s |
Renovated | c. late 2000s - early 2010s [1] |
Owner | Pyongyang City People's Committee of the WPK |
Design and construction | |
Architect(s) | Yun Ko-gwang [2] |
Other information | |
Public transit access | Chǒllima: Sŭngni Trolleybus: Sadong-No.1 Department Store |
The Pyongyang Department Store No. 1 ( Korean: 평양제1백화점) is a major retail store in Pyongyang, North Korea. On Sungri Street near Kim Il-sung Square in downtown Pyongyang, [3] it is one of the largest retail stores in the country and is often the site of large commodity exhibitions. [4]
The store, along with two others, are reportedly run jointly with Chinese business partners. [5]
The store offers a variety of items including electronics, clothing, furniture, foodstuffs, [6] kitchenware, and toys. [3] As of 2013 [update], approximately 70 percent of the items in the store were produced domestically. [7] The store is also one of several official tourist stops in the city. [8] Department Store No. 1 accepts only local currency. [9] [10] According to the pro-North-Korean newspaper Choson Sinbo, it is a popular shopping destination for local residents and in 2016 an average of 20,000 shoppers visited the store daily. [11]
Swedish journalist Caroline Salzinger described her visit to the department store as a tourist in the mid-2000s. Upon arrival, the store was closed. [12] One of the tour guides accompanying her tried to distract her, while the other one rushed in to get the doors opened. When opened, the guide had to scramble passers-by to occupy the store as "shoppers". The moment they stepped in, the escalator was started. [13] The shoppers appeared clueless as to how to act in a department store. When after great pains Salzinger managed to purchase the goods she wanted, [14] the cashier was confused and would not hand her a plastic bag for her items: "We look at each other in the eyes. She knows that something is wrong, and that not everything is like it should, but she does not know what it is." [15] According to Salzinger, a Western diplomat monitored the department store for one hour and saw no one come out with purchased items. [14]
Theodore Dalrymple visited in 1989. He described the Potemkin nature of the place: "I also followed a few people around at random, as discreetly as I could. Some were occupied in ceaselessly going up and down the escalators; others wandered from counter to counter, spending a few minutes at each before moving on. They did not inspect the merchandise; they moved as listlessly as illiterates might, condemned to spend the day among the shelves of a library. I did not know whether to laugh or explode with anger or weep. But I knew I was seeing one of the most extraordinary sights of the twentieth century." [16]
I also followed a few people around at random, as discreetly as I could. Some were occupied in ceaselessly going up and down the escalators; others wandered from counter to counter, spending a few minutes at each before moving on. They did not inspect the merchandise; they moved as listlessly as illiterates might, condemned to spend the day among the shelves of a library. I did not know whether to laugh or explode with anger or weep. But I knew I was seeing one of the most extraordinary sights of the twentieth century.