A Palace of Talents

   In Kwangbok Street in Pyongyang, the capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, is the Mangyongdae Schoolchildren's Palace where schoolchildren are fully developing their talents.

    The Mangyongdae Schoolchildren's Palace was established on May 2, 1989 under the special concern and instructions of the great leader Kim Jong Il. The eight-storied Palace covers an area of 300,000 square metres and is divided into six sections. More than 5,000 schoolchildren conduct various after-school activities there every day.
   The Palace is comprised of Science Section, Gymnasium, Arts Section, Indoor Swimming Pool and others. There are more than 200 rooms of various circles and activities and a 2,000-seat theatre with automatic flow stage. The Science Section has Automobile Room, Computer Room, Video Lecture Room, Astronomical Telescope Room and other scientific and technical circle rooms. The Arts Section has accordion, kayagum, embroidery, Korean painting and different other art circle rooms. The Gymnasium has the Korean orthodox martial arts Taekwon-Do, table tennis, wrestling and other sports circle rooms and games hall. In the hall, volleyball, basketball and other games can be held simultaneously. In the Indoor Swimming Pool, children can practise various swimming events including water polo, diving and swimming all the year round. Outside the Palace are automobile and tractor driving practice ground and sports ground. Foreign visitors to the Mangyongdae Schoolchildren's Palace express great admiration at the Korean schoolchildren who are fully developing their talents free of charge at such good palace under the favour of the state.

    Members of different circles of the Palace were highly estimated at the France International Folk Art Festivals in 1988 and 1989, the France UNESCO Fine Arts Exhibition in 1990, the overseas Koreans' music and art performances in Los Angeles in 1991, the 11th Asian Game Children's Art Festival in 1991 and other events.
   Today the Mangyongdae Schoolchildren's Palace serves as a comprehensive school for intellectual, moral and physical education of schoolchildren and as a model institution of extracurricular education.

Voice of Korea