Friday fun: It’s “out with the old” at some Kim family residencies

This story has already gotten some traction in the media, but some things end up getting cut–and this is why we have blogs. As reported in the media, a residential component of the Kim Family’s Ryongsong Housing Compound has been renovated.

Ryongsong-2014-9-21

Image date: 2014-9-21

Ryongsong-2014-10-27

Image date: 2014-10-27

Ryongsong-2014-4-28

Image date: 2015-4-28

I am unsure who now lives here or how much the project cost, but it was completed in about seven months (on the outside). It is hard to say if work is continuing on the inside because, unlike other construction sites in the DPRK, the workers are being bused in to work for the day and then bused out. There are no barracks or equipment next to the construction site. So security was pretty tight for this particular project.

Another interesting change is the destruction of the compound pool and water-slide:

Ryongsong-Pool-2013-2-22

Image date: 2013-2-22

Ryongsong-Pool-2013-3-5

Image date: 2013-3-5

Ryongsong-Pool-2013-5-3

Image date: 2013-5-3

It is unclear when this water-slide and pool were built (pre-2000), but it is highly probable that Kim Jong-un used to enjoy it when he was younger. We all grow up, however. Now he has nicer toys to play with.

But the compound did not go without a pool. Just before the above pool was destroyed, somebody in the Kim family built the most phallic-looking pool/pool house I have ever seen (admittedly a small sample size). This large mansion in the Ryongsong Family Compound underwent significant renovations in the spring of 2012 (Just a few months after the death of Kim Jong-il).

Ryongsong-house-2012-4-4

Image date: 2012-4-4

Ryongsong-house-2013-2-22

Image date: 2013-2-22

Renovations, at least on the outside, appear to have been completed by 2013-2-22. The new phallic-looking pool cover/pool house can be seen in front of the house. At the risk of ruining my career by pandering to an adolescent sense of humor, here it is (the world should know):

Ryongsong-phallus

No doubt the revolutionary new “our-style” pool cover is very functional. It offers the bather coverage from both the sun and imperialist-controlled spy satellites–all while maintaining exposure to the invigorating forces of the outdoors.

I would like to say that this is Kim Jong-un’s pool, but I cannot. However, I am confident that is belongs to someone very close to him. Not many people in North Korea get to enjoy homes like this.

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