It was the site of the 2008 concert by the New York Philharmonic, which was the first significant cultural visit to North Korea by the United States since the Korean War.

[1] The hall was built in 1989 and is normally a venue for performances that celebrate North Korea's dynastic leaders and national achievements.

[5] Its "massive" stage needed an acoustic shell built to properly project the orchestra's sound.

The theatre was specifically chosen by Zarin Mehta, who rejected the home of the North Korea State Symphony as too small.

[5] According to a Reuters journalist, its architecture is "bland communist", and a "hulking, ramshackle structure the locals struggle to keep heated and lit at night.