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Canadian Urbanism Uncovered

Urban Planet: North Korea’s Skatepark

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Urban Planet is a daily roundup of blogs from around the world dealing specifically with urban environments. We’ll be on the lookout for websites outside the country that approach themes related to urban experiences and issues.

Congratulations, North Korea, on your first skatepark. The park is part of the Ryugyong Health Complex, a part of leader Kim Jong-un’s new emphasis on physical culture. As film maker Patrik Wallner points out, this represents a real shift in the Democratic People’s Republic, “Skateboarding is very harmless in the eyes of the North Koreans, but it’s not tolerated. They kept referring to it as ‘nonsense,’ meaning skateboarding wasn’t accepted, and would be denied in most places, especially at any war memorials or statues of the Kims — places that have marble stairs, ledges, ramps, obstacles that are essential for skateboarding.” (GOOD)

Image from Imgur

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