Développement des parcs de loisirs et évolution des pratiques à Pyongyang, Corée du Nord

Kim Jong Un’s rise to power after his father’s death in 2011 was accompanied by a shift in North Korean political discourse, with economic development at the top of the regime’s agenda. In Pyongyang, the construction of major urban projects has profoundly transformed the capital’s landscape. Alongside the development of new residential areas, leisure parks are an integral part of Kim Jong Un’s modernization of Pyongyang. This article attempts to understand the driving forces behind the development of these parks and uses a multi-faceted methodology that combines primary sources, field observations, and cartographic tools under difficult survey conditions. In particular, the study reveals that the analysis of leisure parks and their development not only helps us to understand the urban transformations underway in Pyongyang over the last ten years or so, spurred on by the authoritarian state, but also bears witness to changes in residents’ leisure and consumption practices. In this way, it enables us to assess the role of leisure in the individualization of behaviours underway in the country.