Pyongyang

Pyongyang (Korean pronunciation: [pçɔɲaŋ]) is the capital of North Korea, located on the Taedong River. According to preliminary results from the 2008 population census, it has a population of 3,255,388. The city was split from the South P'yŏngan province in 1946. It is administered as a directly-governed city (chikhalsi), on the same level as provincial governments, not a special city (teukbyeolsi) as Seoul is in South Korea. Some sources, mostl... more

Pyongyang (Korean pronunciation: [pçɔɲaŋ]) is the capital of North Korea, located on the Taedong River. According to preliminary results from the 2008 population census, it has a population of 3,255,388. The city was split from the South P'yŏngan province in 1946. It is administered as a directly-governed city (chikhalsi), on the same level as provincial governments, not a special city (teukbyeolsi) as Seoul is in South Korea. Some sources, mostly older and South Korean, refer to P'yŏngyang as a special city. A large ancient village in the P'yŏngyang area called Kŭmtan-ni was excavated in 1955 by archaeologists who found prehistoric occupation from the Chŭlmun and Mumun pottery periods. North Koreans associate Pyongyang with "Asadal" (아사달; 신시), or Wanggŏmsŏng (왕검성; 王儉城), the first capital of Gojoseon according to Korean history books, notably Samguk Yusa. Many South Korean historians dispute this association because other Korean history books place Asadal around the Liao He located in... less