Mansudae Overseas Projects
| Mansudae Overseas Projects | |
| Chosŏn'gŭl | 만수대해외개발회사 |
|---|---|
| Hancha | 萬壽臺海外開發會社 |
| Revised Romanization | Mansudae Haeoe Gaebal Hoesa |
| McCune–Reischauer | Mansudae Haeoe Kaebal Hoesa |
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, Namibia, Senegal, Togo, 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
Mansudae Overseas Projects constructed the President Dr. Agostinho Neto Cultural Center in Luanda, Angola.[8][9]
Benin
In Benin, the company has built a statue of Béhanzin.[10]
Botswana
In Botswana, it constructed the Three Dikgosi Monument, also called the Three Chiefs monument.[10]
Cambodia
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 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. Amount 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]
Democratic Republic of Congo
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, it has built a statue of Laurent-Désiré Kabila.[10]
Ethiopia
The Tiglachin Monument, also known as the Derg Monument, is a 50 metres (160 ft) tall pillar erected in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in 1984. The monument has fallen into neglect.
Germany
In November 2005, two Germans flew to North Korea on official business. Their goal was not to discuss nuclear disarmament or diplomatic relations. Rather, they went to check on the progress of a sculptural commission: the reconstruction of Frankfurt’s so-called Fairy Tale Fountain, an art nouveau relic from 1910 that had been melted down for its metal during World War II.[12]
Mozambique
In Mozambique, Mansudae Overseas Projects constructed the Samora Machel Statue in Independence Square, Maputo in 2011.
Namibia
Namibia is the only country to have commissioned four public works by Mansudae Overseas Projects.[4]
- Heroes' Acre (inaugurated August 2002) with a statue of the unknown soldier near Windhoek, Namibia.[10]
- Okahandja Military Museum (inaugurated 2004, closed to the public), located in Okahandja, 70 kilometres (43 mi) north of Windhoek
- The New State House of Namibia (inaugurated 2008) on a 40.4 ha site in Windhoek.[13][14]
- Independence Memorial Museum (inaugurated 2014), central Windhoek.[4]
Senegal
In Senegal, the company built the African Renaissance Monument.[10]
Zimbabwe
National Heroes Acre a 57-acre (230,000 m2) burial ground and national monument in near 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-guyŏk, just outside Pyongyang, North Korea.[4]
The Joshua Nkomo Statue was constructed in 2010 in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. The statute had to be removed immediately due to public outcry; thousands of supporters of Joshua Nkomo were killed by troops trained by North Korea advisors.[7]
References
- ↑ 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, from The Hermit Country, published by Petra, Padua/Empoli, Italy, May 2007
- 1 2 3 4 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). Retrieved 2016-02-05.
- 1 2 "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. Retrieved 11 October 2012.
- ↑ "Kim Yong Nam Visits Angolan Cultural Center under Construction". KCNA. March 25. Retrieved 11 October 2012. Check date values in:
|date=(help) - 1 2 3 4 5 Niang, Amy. "African Renaissance, reloaded: the old man, the behemoth and the impossible legacy". Retrieved 23 December 2011.
- ↑ Mäkeläinen, Mika (2 April 2016). "Pohjois-Korean tuorein tulonlähde – taidekauppaa Angkorin raunioilla". YLE (in Finnish). Retrieved 2 April 2016.
- ↑ Winter, Caroline. "Mansudae Art Studio, North Korea's Colossal Monument Factory". Bloomberg.com. 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 Nambian. Retrieved 11 October 2012.