:Grand People's Study House

File:Grand People's Study House, Pyongyang, North Korea.jpg

Serving as a manifestation of leader Kim Il Sung's "spirit and wisdom",{{cite journal|last=Kosciejew |first=Marc |title=Inside an Axis of Evil Library: A First-Hand Account of the North Korean Dear Leader's Library System Part Two |journal=Feliciter |year=2009 |volume=55 |issue=5 |pages=207–209 |url=https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/bitstream/123456789/119977/1/Inside%20an%20axis%20of%20evil%20library%20a%20first%20hand%20account%20of%20the%20North%20Korean%20Dear%20Leader%20s%20library%20system%20part%20two%202009.pdf|access-date=2 January 2025}} the Study House was constructed in a neo-traditional Korean style at the insistence of Kim Jong Il.{{cite journal|journal=Journal of Korean Studies|pages=271–296|volume=26|issue=2|date=24 October 2021|title=Pyongyang Modern: Architecture of Multiplicity in Postwar North Korea|last=Kim|first=Cheehyung Harrison|publisher=Duke University Press|doi=10.1215/07311613-9155193 |url=https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/4/article/820369/pdf}} Construction began in April 1982 and spanned 21 months to celebrate leader Kim Il Sung's 70th birthday.{{cite book|last=Portal|first=Jane|author2=British Museum|title=Art under control in North Korea|publisher=Reaktion Books|year=2005|page=97|isbn=978-1-86189-236-2}} Opened as "a sanctuary of learning",{{cite book|last=French|first=Paul|title=North Korea: the paranoid peninsula--a modern history2|publisher=Zed Books|year=2007|edition=2|pages=299|isbn=978-1-84277-905-7}} the library is located in the center of the capital, the Central District of Pyongyang, near the Supreme People's Assembly. It is also across from the Juche Tower, cementing the connection between the people of North Korea and the Juche ideology.

In each room and in every atrium, portraits of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il are hung, reminding visitors of the country's strict surveillance. The library has a total floor space of {{convert|100000|sqm|sqft}}. and 600 rooms.{{cite book|last=Willoughby|first=Robert|title=The Bradt Travel Guide: North Korea|publisher=Bradt Travel Guides|year=2008|edition=2|pages=100|isbn=978-1-84162-219-4}} Its size is determined by the number of books it is expected to store;{{sfn|Song|p=19}} in this case, the Grand People's Study House can house up to 30 million books,{{cite book|title=Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Issues 406-415|publisher=Foreign Languages Pub. House|year=1990|page=18}} of which it contains around 10,800 documents, books and "on-the-spot guidance" written by Kim Il Sung.{{cite news|url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/the-cult-of-the-kims/story-e6frg6t6-1111114475844|title=The cult of the Kims|last=Callick|first=Rowan|date=22 September 2007|newspaper=The Australian}} Foreign publications are available only with special permission.{{cite book|last=Robinson|first=Martin|author2=Bender, Andrew|others=Whyte, Rob|title=Korea|publisher=Lonely Planet|year=2004|page=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781740594493/page/345 345]|isbn=978-1-74059-449-3|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781740594493}} Writings of Kim Jong Il are also included. Almost all materials are strictly accessible to librarians and staff, but people can still search the online or print catalogues to find what they would like to borrow. A formal communication from the library is issued to the offender's employer if a borrowed item is not returned on time. The employer is then required to remind their staff member to return the item right away.

The library is the national centre of Juche studies, with one North Korean guide reporting to study the "Great Leader" Kim Il Sung and "Dear Leader" Kim Jong Il for a total of 90 minutes per day.{{cite magazine|url=http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/oct2007/gb2007102_711625.htm |title=In the Land of the Dear Leader |last=Roberts |first=Dexter |date=2 October 2007 |magazine=Bloomberg Businessweek |access-date=9 December 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081030053556/http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/oct2007/gb2007102_711625.htm|archive-date=2008-10-30}} Lectures on a variety of subjects also take place;{{cite news|url=http://www.kcna.co.jp/item/2009/200903/news03/20090303-11ee.html |title=Grand People's Study House |date=3 March 2009 |publisher=Korean Central News Agency |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110609223245/http://www.kcna.co.jp/item/2009/200903/news03/20090303-11ee.html |archive-date=9 June 2011}} American evangelist Billy Graham gave a talk in the Study House in 1994, despite religious practises often being met with harsh punishments.{{cite book|last=Corfield|first=James|title=Historical Dictionary of Pyongyang|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5zKWBQAAQBAJ|page=57|date=1 December 2014|publisher=Anthem Press|isbn=978-1-78308-341-1 }} Also, the Juche Tower – the physical manifestation of North Korea's Communist brand – is directly across from the library on the other side of the Taedong River. The library, as well as for those who use it, follows Kim Il Sung's "study while working" mindset to help North Koreans advance their socialist and self-reliant education, and strengthen their admiration for the Kim family. For major media coverage, the library is often seen in speeches, military and nuclear parades, and performances celebrating national holidays.

Although not the national library of North Korea, the Grand People's Study House acts as a sort of "quasi-national library" alongside the official National Central Library.{{cite book|editor-last=Stam|editor-first=David H.|title=International Dictionary of Library Histories|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=APtYCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA482|year=2016|publisher=Routledge|location=London|isbn=978-1-136-77785-1|pages=482–483}} In his two-part account of North Korean libraries, library and information scientist Marc Kosciejew{{cite web |title=Dr Marc Kosciejew, Biography section |url=https://www.um.edu.mt/profile/marckosciejew |website=L-Università ta' Malta |publisher=L.-Università ta' Malta |access-date=23 December 2018 |location=Malta |language=en |quote=Dr. Marc Kosciejew is a Lecturer of Library, Information, and Archive Sciences within the Faculty of Media and Knowledge Sciences (MaKS) at the University of Malta. [...] In 2007 he conducted research in North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) on the secretive Communist state's library system, becoming one of the first English-speakers to present and publish on this specific topic. His articles on North Korean libraries, featured in a 2009 two-part series in the national journal of the Canadian Library Association (CLA), are some of the first articles to directly discuss and critically analyze the libraries, specifically the national Grand People's Study House, of the so-called 'hermit kingdom'.}} uses the conceptual framework of library-as-place to better illuminate their significance. The library plays numerous significant roles in the lives of North Koreans, as a place of cult of personality and governmental control. It also helps reinforce the Juche mindset through what tightly controlled and monitored information and events are available to the public, but the mere fact that the library makes some information available is notable among the country.

File:Grand-Peoples-Study-House-Computer-Lab.jpg

The library has numerous spacious computer rooms with modern computers providing access to the North Korean intranet. Alongside Juche, computer education is compulsory in North Korea, making them the two most popular subjects to study for military officers and university students. People with computer-related office jobs, such as librarians, are seen in high regard. As of 2019, the curator is Choi Heui-jung.{{Cite web |title=CNDL Address |last=Savolainen |first=Liisa |publisher=Conference of Directors of National Libraries |date=23 October 2017 |access-date=18 July 2020 |url= http://www.cdnl.info/sites/default/files/docs/2017_cdnl_address_list.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191101053648/http://www.cdnl.info/sites/default/files/docs/2017_cdnl_address_list.pdf |archive-date=2019-11-01 |page=14}}

File:Grand People's Study House.jpg|Grand People's Study House Library

File:Grand People's Study House 03.JPG|Visitors searching for books at a computer catalogue at the Grand People's Study House

• List of national and state libraries

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• {{cite book|url=https://koreascience.kr/article/JAKO200311921731055.pdf|language=ko|title=Architectural Type and Special Feature of Libraries in North Korea|first=Sung-Seob|last=Song}}

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• Interactive 360° Virtual Tour of [http://www.dprk360.com/360/grand_peoples_study_house/ lobby and reading room]
• {{YouTube|LiUxJpx0YdM|North Korean People's Study House – Pyongyang, DPRK}}

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{{Tourist attractions in Pyongyang}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Buildings and structures in Pyongyang

Category:Library buildings completed in 1982

North Korea

Category:Culture of North Korea

Category:Libraries in North Korea

Category:1982 establishments in North Korea

Category:20th-century architecture in North Korea

Category:Libraries established in 1982