Inside North Korea (English. German and French Edition)

Erased by bombing during the Korean War North Korea‰۪s trophy capital of Pyongyang was entirely rebuilt from scratch from 1953 in line with the vision of the nation‰۪s founder Kim Il Sung. Designed as an imposing stage set it is a place of grand axial boulevards linking gargantuan monuments lined with stately piles of distinctly Korean flavor to be ‰ÛÏnational in form and socialist in content.‰۝Under the present leader Kim Jong Un construction has ramped up apace‰ۥ‰ÛÏLet us turn the whole country into a socialist fairyland‰۝ declares one of his official patriotic slogans. He is rapidly transforming Pyongyang into a playground conjuring a flimsy fantasy of prosperity and using architecture as a powerful anesthetic numbing the population from the stark reality of his authoritarian regime.Guardian journalist and photographer Oliver Wainwright takes us on an eye-opening tour behind closed doors in the most secretive country in the world revealing that past the grand stone fa̤ades lie lavish wonder-worlds of marble and mosaic coffered ceilings and crystal chandeliers along with new interiors in dazzling color palettes. Discover the palatial reading rooms of the Grand People‰۪s Study House and peer inside the locker rooms of the recently renovated Rungrado May Day Stadium ready to host a FIFA World Cup that will never come.This collection features about 200 photographs with insightful captions as well as an introductory essay where Wainwright charts the history and development of Pyongyang explaining how the architecture and interiors embody the national ‰ÛÏJuche‰۝ ideology and questioning what the future holds for the architectural ambitions of this enigmatic country.

Hardcover: 240 pages

Publisher: TASCHEN; Multilingual edition (August 8 2018)

Language: English German French

ISBN-10: 3836572214

ISBN-13: 978-3836572217

Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 1 x 11 inches

Shipping Weight: 3.5 pounds