(Click image to enlarge)
While cataloging North Korea’s economic, military, and political infrastructures on Google Earth, my colleagues and I have labeled over a dozen historical fortresses (castles) in the DPRK. Normally the remnants of these fortresses consist of stone walls which skirt the surrounding mountain tops.
Today, however, I came upon Kyongsong Castle in Sungnam-ri on the DPRK’s east coast. As far as I can tell it is the only walled city of this type remaining in the DPRK. If not, it is certainly the most impressively preserved. It is a shame nobody can visit this place–it looks absolutely beautiful.
The castle is not visible in Google Earth, so you can either look at the image above or download the Google Earth overlay I built. The overlay allows you to to see the castle in its actual location on Google Earth. Download the overlay here.
If any readers can find information on this castle in Korean please let me know. Nothing is available in English.
Got a couple of nice, slightly older shots here… http://cafe.naver.com/historygall.cafe?iframe_url=/ArticleRead.nhn%3Farticleid=93
…and some slightly more detailed stuff here…
http://panzercho.egloos.com/10069613
http://panzercho.egloos.com/10187891
Here is a photo from the 1930s of the famous South gate of Kyongsong castle:
http://100.nate.com/dicsearch/pimage.html?i=275986001&en=&pg=search&v=44
if you enter 경성읍성 (Kyongsong castle in Korean) in any search machine you can find a lot of information (in Korean) about Kyongsong castle.
The castle was first built in 1103. By whom ? Koreans or Manchus ?
I made a small mistake in my previous posting. Kyongsong castle was first built in 1107.
Very good general information about cultural heritage in North Korea at this site:
http://north.nricp.go.kr/nrth/kor/cul/cul_view.jsp?cpsno=325