N. Korea to build donut-shaped airport

An architecture and planning firm in Hong Kong has reportedlybeen chosen to turn a military airstrip in North Korea into an international airport. 


The plans show two donut-shaped terminals that could contribute to what some are describing as a tiny-but-not-imperceptible North Korean economic boom, reports Gizmodo.com.


The plans show the transformation of a former military airport in Kangwon Province—nearMount Kumgang Tourism Zone, a region of Kangwon where South Korean tourists have been allowed to visit intermittently since 2002—into a large commercial hub called Wonsan International Airport. According to the South China Morning Post, the design by Hong Kong architects PLT was confirmed by Kim Jong-un himself—who was apparently so psyched about them that he ordered Pyongyang's airport be revamped, so as not to look shabby next to Wonsan.


The renderings for the hub are surprisingly restrained for a country where architecture is wielded as a tool of state propaganda. They show two 36,000-square-foot oval terminals (one for international, one for domestic) that can each accommodate six planes. Exactly how each terminal is laid out isn't clear, but each seems to consist of a subterranean floor where departures happen, topped off by a larger arrival and commercial core (the hollow areas offer outdoor green space). According to PLT, the donuts were inspired by traditional Korean drums—though they look distinctly reminiscent of Virgin Galactic's spaceport, too.