North Korean monument construction company
Mansudae Overseas Projects
is a construction company based in
Jongphyong-dong
,
Phyongchon District
,
Pyongyang
,
North Korea
.
[1]
[2]
It is the international commercial division of the
Mansudae Art Studio
.
[3]
As of August 2011, it had earned an estimated US$160 million overseas building monuments and memorials. As of 2015, Mansudae projects have been built in 17 countries: Angola, Algeria, Benin, Botswana, Cambodia, Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Germany, Malaysia, Mali, Mozambique, Namibia, Senegal, Togo and Zimbabwe. The company uses North Korean artists, engineers, and construction workers rather than those of the local artists and workers. Sculptures, monuments, and buildings are in the style of North Korean
socialist realism
.
[4]
[5]
[6]
[7]
Angola
[
edit
]
Mansudae Overseas Projects constructed the President Agostinho Neto Cultural Centre in
Luanda
,
Angola
.
[8]
[9]
Benin
[
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]
In Benin, the company has built a statue of
Behanzin
.
[10]
Botswana
[
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]
In Botswana, it constructed the
Three Dikgosi Monument
, also called the Three Chiefs monument.
[10]
Cambodia
[
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]
Angkor Panorama Museum
was built next to the
Angkor temples
. The museum is operated jointly by
APSARA
and Mansudae. About half of 40 staff members are from North Korea. Unlike the earlier Mansudae's projects abroad, this time North Korea is attempting to make money by complementary sales of tickets and art. As of April 2016
[update]
the museum is projected to be completely handed over to Cambodians in twenty years, unless North Korean profits stay low, and the time needs to be extended. The number of visitors to the museum have been meager so far. However, Cambodian deputy director of the museum stated in an interview that in the present day it is very hard to make money with museums, and he remarked that marketing of the museum has not yet started.
[11]
As of January 2020, the museum has been shuttered indefinitely due to international sanctions compliance.
[12]
Democratic Republic of the Congo
[
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]
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, it has built a statue of
Laurent-Desire Kabila
.
[10]
Ethiopia
[
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]
The
Tiglachin Monument
, also known as the Derg Monument, is a 50-metre-tall (160 ft) pillar erected in
Addis Ababa
,
Ethiopia
was donated by North Korea in 1984.
[13]
The monument has fallen into neglect.
Germany
[
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]
Reconstruction of
Frankfurt’s Fairy Tale Fountain
[
de
]
, an art nouveau relic from 1910 that had been melted down for its metal during World War II. Germany is the only western nation to have a North Korean-built structure.
[14]
Mozambique
[
edit
]
In
Mozambique
, Mansudae Overseas Projects constructed the
Samora Machel Statue
in Independence Square,
Maputo
in 2011.
Namibia
[
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]
Namibia
is the only country to have commissioned four public works by Mansudae Overseas Projects.
[4]
Senegal
[
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]
In
Senegal
, the company built the
African Renaissance Monument
.
[10]
Togo
[
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]
In the north of
Togo
, close to the village of Sara-Kawa, the late president
Gnassingbe Eyadema
and some of his closest aides were in a
plane crash
on 24 January 1974. Eyadema survived. A monument was erected with a huge statue of Eyadema.
Zimbabwe
[
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]
National Heroes Acre
is a 23-hectare (57-acre) burial ground and national monument in
Harare
,
Zimbabwe
. Work began on the site in 1981 and used by Zimbabwean and North Korean workers. It closely mirrors the design of the
Revolutionary Martyrs' Cemetery
in
Taesong-guy?k
, just outside
Pyongyang
, North Korea.
[4]
The
Joshua Nkomo Statue
was constructed in 2010 in
Bulawayo
,
Zimbabwe
.
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Dannatt, Adrian (April 22, 2009).
"Art in the DPRK"
. North Korea Economy Watch
. Retrieved
10 October
2012
.
- ^
"Mansudae Overseas Project Group of Companies"
.
Naenara
. Archived from
the original
on 2005-02-13
. Retrieved
2016-05-16
.
- ^
Pier Luigi Cecioni and Eugenio Cecioni,
"The Mansudae Art Studio
[
permanent dead link
]
, from
The Hermit Country
, published by Petra, Padua/Empoli, Italy, May 2007
- ^
a
b
c
d
Kirkwood, Meghan L. E. (2013). "Postindependence Architecture through North Korean Modes: Namibian Commissions of the Mansudae Overseas Project".
A companion to modern African Art
. Chichester, West Sussex: Wiley Blackwell.
ISBN
9781444338379
.
- ^
Winn, Patrick (August 3, 2011).
"North Korea propaganda unit builds monuments abroad"
. Global Post
. Retrieved
11 October
2012
.
- ^
Baecker, Angie (2011).
"Hollow Monuments"
.
Art Asia Pacific
(72). Archived from
the original
on 2015-12-08
. Retrieved
2016-02-05
.
- ^
"All Official Portraiture of North Korea's Reigning Kim Family Is Made By Mansudae Art Studio"
.
Colors
(87). 2013
. Retrieved
2016-09-18
.
- ^
"Agostinho Neto Mausoleum"
. The Angolan Market. May 28, 2011. Archived from
the original
on 7 April 2014
. Retrieved
11 October
2012
.
- ^
"Kim Yong Nam Visits Angolan Cultural Center under Construction"
.
Korean Central News Agency
. March 25, 2008. Archived from
the original
on 17 August 2011
. Retrieved
11 October
2012
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
Niang, Amy.
"African Renaissance, reloaded: the old man, the behemoth and the impossible legacy"
. Archived from
the original
on 26 April 2012
. Retrieved
23 December
2011
.
- ^
Makelainen, Mika (2 April 2016).
"Pohjois-Korean tuorein tulonlahde ? taidekauppaa Angkorin raunioilla"
.
YLE
(in Finnish)
. Retrieved
2 April
2016
.
- ^
Sung-mi, Ahn (2020-01-05).
"NK museum in Cambodia closes as workers repatriated"
.
The Korea Herald
. Retrieved
2021-10-20
.
- ^
Pearson, James (2016-12-01).
"U.N. decapitates North Korea's statue export business"
.
Reuters
. Retrieved
2021-05-13
.
- ^
Winter, Caroline (6 June 2013).
"Mansudae Art Studio, North Korea's Colossal Monument Factory"
.
Bloomberg
. Retrieved
2016-03-18
.
- ^
New State House for New Nation
in AllAfrica.com via New Era, 20 March 2008.
(
registration required
)
- ^
MENGES, WERNER (June 5, 2005).
"Heroes' monument losing battle"
. The Namibian
. Retrieved
11 October
2012
.
Further reading
[
edit
]
- Mansudae Overseas Project Group of Companies
. Pyongyang: Foreign Languages Publishing House. 2013.
OCLC
913431031
.
External links
[
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]