Overview
The Kim Il-sung Square is located at the center of Pyongyang on the west bank of the Taedong river. It is similar in form and design to the Tiananmen Square in Beijing and is used for the same purposes. The Kim Il-sung Square is architecturally more refined with its dramatic riverside setting. If one stands in the square, the Tower of the Juche idea on the opposite bank appears to sit at the other end of the square, although it is actually across the river. The optical effect is achieved since the square is a few meters lower in the middle than near the waterside. Surrounding the square are a number of government buildings, with the Great People's Study House sitting at the "head" of the square.
It is the 30th largest square in the world, having an area of about 75,000 square meters (807,293 square feet) which can accommodate a rally of more than 100,000 people. Portraits of Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-Il are on buildings surrounding the square. Portraits of Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin also hung on one side of the square until being taken down in April 2012. The Grand People's Study House looks out onto the square and the river.
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