The Mansudae Grand Monument on the Mansu Hill is the most sacred site in Pyongyang — two enormous bronze statues of Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il, each over 20 metres tall, set against a mural of a Korean landscape with Mount Paektu at its centre. Every foreign visitor is taken here, and the protocol is precise: groups bow before the statues, flowers are laid, and photographs are taken with care. The display of reverence is genuine for most North Koreans.
The approach to the statues is through a paved plaza that accommodates thousands of people — this is not a quiet memorial but a place of mass demonstration. The view from the hill over the surrounding city is good. Below the monument, the Korean Revolutionary Museum wraps around the base of the hill. The experience of visiting the Mansudae monument is central to understanding how the state presents itself to its own people and to the world.