Archive for the ‘Mansudae creative Company (art studio)’ Category

New statues at Security University of the DPRK (MSS University)

Wednesday, November 19th, 2014

MSS-Uni-Statues-2014-11-19

Pictured above: Security University of the DPRK (formerly “University of KPA Unit 10215″) in Mangyongdae District (39.044446°, 125.633676°)

KCNA has announced the unveiling of new statues of Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il at the “Security University of the DPRK”. The bases for these new statues can be seen in the satellite imagery, but the statues themselves can be seen in the official photos below:

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According to the article:

Present there were Kim Ki Nam, Choe Thae Bok, Pak To Chun, Kim Won Hong, Jo Yon Jun, and commanding officers of the Ministry of State Security, officials of security organs at various levels and teachers, students and employees of the university and their families and officials and those of meritorious services of units which contributed to erecting the statues.

Kim Jong-il last visited this facility on May 5, 2009. Kim Jong-un has yet to make an official visit.

univ-of-KPA-unit-10125

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Zimbabwe signs $5m contracts with DPRK for statue and museum

Wednesday, March 12th, 2014

According to the Christian Science Monitor:

The cost of Bona Mugabe’s wedding on March 1, attended by the heads of state of South Africa, Zambia, and Equatorial Guinea at Mugabe’s private home in Harare’s plush Borrowdale suburb, cost $5 million.

Just after the wedding, plans leaked out that Mugabe’s Zanu (PF) government clandestinely signed North Korea, one of its old friends, to build two statues of Mugabe at an estimated cost of $5 million.

The statues were commissioned by the minister of local government, Ignatius Chombo.

One is a nearly 30-foot high bronze image worth $3.5 million to be placed in Harare; the other is a $1.5 million version to be placed in a $3.8 million museum to be built in Mugabe’s rural Zvimba home, in Mashonaland West. Building statues of leaders is something North Korea has considerable experience doing.

Read more about the story at Bloomberg and Bulawayo 24.

I have documented many of North Korea’s Africa projects on this web page.  See here.

Read the full story here:
Mugabe splashes $5m on N. Korea statues
Christian Science Monitor
Mxosili Ncube
2014-3-12

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Mansudae Art Studio repaired German fountain

Thursday, June 6th, 2013

According to Bloomberg:

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.

Blueprints for the original Fairy Tale Fountain had gone missing, and the City of Frankfurt needed sculptors who could work from old photographs to re-create the naked beauty gazing down on an array of cherubic children and enormous water-spewing reptiles and fish. For this intricate job, the Germans had turned to Pyongyang’s Mansudae Art Studio.

Klaus Klemp, deputy director of Frankfurt’s Museum of Applied Art, discovered Mansudae back in 2004 and was impressed enough by the craftsmanship to convince Frankfurt officials to hire the atelier. “It was a purely technical decision,” he says. “The top tier artists in Germany simply don’t make realist work anymore. North Koreans on the other hand haven’t experienced the long evolution of modern art; they are kind of stuck in the early 1900s, which is exactly when this fountain was made.” North Korea’s price tag for reconstructing the ornate bronze fountain was also attractive: €200,000, including shipping and handling.

In Pyongyang, Ministry of Culture officials escorted Klemp and his colleague, Philipp Sturm, to an expansive, well-lit factory space hung with banners touting slogans like, “When the Party Gives Orders, We Execute!” and “Self-Sustenance Is the Only Path To Survival!” There, a full-size plaster model of the German fountain stood among other works-in-progress, including a 25-foot-tall white marble statue of North Korea’s first leader, and a smaller statue of three revolutionary heroes, one of them brandishing an enormous flag.

The quality of the work was impeccable, but the Germans did have one complaint: Their art nouveau fountain had been rendered with a slightly hard, angular communist touch. “The woman had kind of a cement block hairdo,” recalls Sturm. “It wasn’t anything that couldn’t be fixed. We explained to the head sculptor that the socialist realist style wasn’t really in vogue in Frankfurt at the moment. He was very receptive and softened the look accordingly.”


Germany is the only Western democracy to have hired Mansudae’s art army, and it did so before North Korea further sank into isolation by launching the country’s first nuclear and missile tests in 2006. “There’s no question that North Korea was a criminal country, even then,” says Klemp, but Germany at the time hoped a policy of rapprochement might help the Hermit Kingdom embark on a better, more humanitarian path. “It would be very difficult to hire them today,” Klemp says.

Frankfurt’s Fairy Tale Fountain was completed entirely in North Korea, and went off without a hitch. The Germans took precautions early on to supply Mansudae’s sculptors with photos of European children, so the sculptures “wouldn’t end up looking too Korean,” says Klemp. “We knew that could be a problem, but so did they.” Once complete, the fountain got shipped from China to Hamburg, and then trucked to Frankfurt where it was installed. “We were all really pleased with the work,” says Klemp. “Everything was done on time, and everyone we worked with was exceptionally professional and personable … for me, the most interesting part was how normal it all was.”

Read the full story here:
Mansudae Art Studio, North Korea’s Colossal Monument Factory
Bloomberg
Caroline Winter
2013-6-6

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Mansu Hill statue drama…

Monday, February 11th, 2013

UPDATE 3 (2013-1-10): Kyodo (via The Telegraph) solves the riddle of just why the Kim statues on Mansu Hill were covered up in October 2012 (See below)–a new version of the Kim Jong-il statue was put up. It replaced a statue that was erected in April 2012.

Below is a before/after comparison.

NKOREA_STATUE_COMP_2476186c

UPDATE 1 (2012-10-3): A reader sends in this image of the statues covered up.

Ruedeger Frank also publishes an image at 38 North.

ORIGINAL POST (2012-9-24):

Pictured above are satellite and ground-level images of the Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il statues on Mansu Hill. Although these statues were unveiled just this past April, word on the street is that they are once-again  hidden under a protective covering  that was placed on the site sometime in mid-September. Unfortunately, there are not yet any pictures of the new wraps.

Although it is unclear why the statues have been covered up, Occam’s razor tells me that they are doing some maintenance work of some kind.

On a related note, the Mansu Hill model replica at the newly constructed Pyongyang Folk Village is missing its Kim statues as well. North Korean television footage of Kim Jong-un’s visit to the newly-opened park revealed a Mansudae Grand Monument that looked rather hollow in the center owing to the absence of the Kim statues:

As we all know, official images of the leaders are produced exclusively by the Mansudae Art studio in Pyongyang’s Phyongchon District. Either the art studio has not gotten around to making miniature replicas of the statues on Mansu Hill or this exhibit will never have them.

I believe the latter is probably the case.

From an ideological perspective, miniature Kim replicas would not inspire the masses the way the real [large] statues are meant to. They would almost certainly cause confusion. Can you imagine bowing to a statue shorter than you? Actually from the television footage it is difficult to make out the scale of the site, but it is quite probable that even miniature statues would be larger than life-size.

From a fiscal perspective, installing real [miniature] Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il statues would be expensive for the park managers. In addition to the cost of commissioning the two statues, the park managers would have to begin treating this part of the park as an actual revolutionary site–with all the formality, expense and protocol associated therewith. I don’t think anybody wants that.

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New statues of the Kims in Kanggye

Thursday, October 11th, 2012

UPDATE: A friend sent in a link to the video of the unveiling that appeared on North Korean television:

ORIGINAL POST:

Pictured above (Google Earth:  40.971557°, 126.588980°) the old Kim Il-sung statue in Kanggye, Jagang Province.

Satellite imagery is not recent enough to show the change, but KCNA reports that Kanggye City, the capital of Jagang Province, has received new statues of the deceased Kims:

Pyongyang, October 11 (KCNA) — Statues of President Kim Il Sung and leader Kim Jong Il were erected in Kanggye City, Jagang Province.

The statue of Kim Il Sung depicts him standing in his military uniform whose coat flying in the wind, his right hand held high and left hand taking a pair of binoculars. He seems to dynamically arouse the army and people of the DPRK to provide a turning-point in the Fatherland Liberation War. The statue of Kim Jong Il imposingly standing in his padded dress conveying so many stories about the Songun revolution depicts him with one of his hands placed on his waist. His face beaming with a broad smile looks as if he were wishing the great Paektusan power a rosy future.

An unveiling ceremony took place on Thursday.

Present there were Kim Yong Nam, Choe Yong Rim, Choe Ryong Hae, Kim Jong Gak, Kim Ki Nam, officials concerned, service personnel, officials and employees of the units who contributed to the erection of the statues, members of the shock brigades and people and school youth and children in the province.

The statues were unveiled by senior party, state and army officials and leading officials of the province.
A floral basket sent by the dear respected Kim Jong Un was laid before the statues.

Laid there then was a floral basket in the joint name of the Central Committee of the Worker’ Party of Korea, the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly and the DPRK Cabinet.

Also placed there were a floral basket in the name of Jagang Province and floral baskets in the name of the party and power organs, bodies of different levels, enterprises, factories and farms, KPA units, etc. in Jagang Province.

All the participants paid tribute in profound reverence to the statues of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il.

Kim Yong Nam, member of the Presidium of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the WPK and president of the Presidium of the SPA, made an unveiling speech.

He said the great Generalissimos paved the way of turning the province, which had been considered as unfit for human habitation, into a good place to live in and made sure that the province took the lead in the drive for building a thriving nation.

Recalling that it was the ardent desire of the people in the province to have statues of the great Generalissimos, he said the statues were erected in a brief span of time on the highest level thanks to their loyalty.

After being briefed on the statues, the participants looked round the statues.

A valued reader pointed out to me some some peculiar language (in the English version of the story). I point it out below:

He seems to dynamically arouse the army and people of the DPRK to provide a turning-point in the Fatherland Liberation War. The statue of Kim Jong Il imposingly standing in his padded dress conveying so many stories about the Songun revolution depicts him with one of his hands placed on his waist.

I have to laugh at the phrase “dynamically arouse”. Someday I will need to work that into a conversation.  And just what would you make of a statue of Kim jong-il “imposingly standing in his padded dress”? If only I was proficient with Photoshop…

This will be the 11th Kim Jong-il statue of which I am aware. At this point we can probably expect new Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il statues to go up in all of the provincial capitals.

All of these statues are constructed by the Mansudae Art Studio in Phyongchon, Pyongyang.

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New Kim Jong-il statue at MSS/SSD headquarters

Wednesday, October 3rd, 2012

KCNA ran the following headline on 2012-10-2: “Statue of Generalissimo Kim Jong Il Erected at KPA Unit [10215]“.

According to Ken Gause, KPA Unit 10215 is the military cover designation of the 국가안전보위부 — the Ministry of State Security (MSS) [a.k.a. State Security Department (SSD), National Security Agency (NSA), State Political Security Department (SPSD)].

Checking the Google Earth imagery, we can in fact see the statue under construction at the MSS headquarters in front of the General Bureau Building.

Pictured above (Google Earth:  39.074311°, 125.767690°): Tarps covering the newly unveiled Kim Jong-il statue. Image date: 2012-6-20.

You can see a video of the unveiling on North Korean television below. This is the first time, of which I am aware, that the MSS headquarters has been shown on television:

(UPDATE) NK Leadership Watch also covered the unveiling and provides additional information.

In related news, the Kim Jong-il and Kim Il-sung statues on Mansu Hill have been covered up for renovations. In his latest at 38 North, Ruediger Frank also publishes a photo.

All images of the Kims are produced by the Mansudae Art Studio in Phyongchon District, Pyongyang.

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Kim Jong-il statue erected on Mansu Hill

Thursday, March 1st, 2012

UPDATE 4 (2013-1-10): Kyodo (via The Telegraph) solves the riddle of just why the Kim statues on Mansu Hill were covered up in October 2012 (See below)–a new version of the Kim Jong-il statue was put up. It replaced a statue that was erected in April 2012.

Below is a before/after comparison.

NKOREA_STATUE_COMP_2476186c

UPDATE 3 (2012-10-3): A reader sends in this image of the statues covered up.

Ruedeger Frank also publishes an image at 38 North.

UPDATE 2 (2012-4-14):

 

Pictured Above: Mansudae Grand monument.  (L) Google Earth, (R) Digital Globe

UPDATE 1 (2012-4-13): The Kim Jong-il statue and Kim Il-sung statues were unveiled today to much “fan fair”:

 

Above pictures via KCNA. Compare these with the photo I took of the Kim Il-sung statue in 2004.

Video of the unveiling can be found here (YouTube).

According to KCNA:

Statues of President Kim Il Sung and leader Kim Jong Il were successfully built on Mansu Hill.

The statues portray smiling Kim Il Sung who indicates the way ahead with his hand held forward and smiling Kim Jong Il blessing Songun Korea prosperous morrow while looking far into its bright future in the new century.

Large sculptures on both sides of the statues have been renovated on the highest level.

The unveiling ceremony took place with splendor Friday.

There were huge crowds of people from all walks of life, servicepersons, youth and students, 300 000 in all, on Mansu Hill and nearby streets. They were holding bouquets and balloons.

Supreme leader of the Workers’ Party of Korea and the people of the DPRK Kim Jong Un, first secretary of the WPK, first chairman of the National Defence Commission of the DPRK and supreme commander of the Korean People’s Army, was present at the opening ceremony.

Present there were senior party, state and army officials, chairpersons of friendly parties.

Also on hand were delegates to the celebrations of the centenary of the birth of the President, creators, officials and employees of the Mansudae Art Studio, officials of the party, armed forces and power bodies, social organizations, ministries and national institutions, anti-Japanese revolutionary fighters, anti-Japanese patriotic martyrs, servicepersons of the Korean People’s Army and the Korean People’s Internal Security Forces (KPISF), officials in the fields of science, education, literature and arts, public health and media, heroes, bereaved families of revolutionary martyrs, men of merits and working people in the city.

Also present there were a delegation of the Koreans in Japan and delegations of overseas compatriots and overseas Koreans, the chief of the Pyongyang mission of the Anti-Imperialist National Democratic Front, diplomatic envoys of different countries and representatives of international organizations here and foreign guests who are participating in the World Congress on the Juche Idea, the international festival and the April spring friendship art festival.

The statues were unveiled by senior party, state and army officials.

The moment thunderous cheers of “Hurrah!” resounded forth, fireworks were displayed and balloons were released.

Laid before the statues were large floral baskets in the joint name of the Central Committee of the WPK, the Central Military Commission of the WPK, the National Defence Commission of the DPRK, the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly, Cabinet and in the name of all the Korean people.

Laid were floral baskets in the name of ministries, national institutions, armed forces organs, provinces, cities, counties, important units which were visited by the President and Kim Jong Il, units of the KPA and the KPISF, party and power bodies and factories, enterprises, co-op farms, universities, colleges and schools in Pyongyang and local areas.

Floral baskets were also laid by the diplomatic corps and the military attaches corps here and foreign guests and overseas compatriots.

All the participants bowed to the statues.

Kim Yong Nam, member of the Presidium of the Political Bureau of the WPK Central Committee who is president of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly of the DPRK, made a speech.

He said that Kim Jong Un instructed to build the statue of Kim Jong Il on Mansu Hill together with that of Kim Il Sung and energetically led the work to build them on the highest level in the shortest time possible.

It was possible to erect the statues on the highest level in a matter of some 100 days thanks to the yearning and devotion made by all the soldiers and people, overseas Koreans and the world progressives.

This great auspicious event is a precious fruition of the noble moral obligation of Kim Jong Un and his energetic leadership. It is also a striking manifestation of the unshakable will of the army and people of the DPRK to hold Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il in high esteem for all ages.

ORIGINAL POST (2012-3-1): Hannah Barraclough (Koryo Tours) reports on the CanKor web page:

A new statue of Kim Jong Il on a horse was unveiled at Mansudae Art Studio on the 15th Feb. It has been placed alongside the one already existing there of Kim Il Sung on a horse. It also appears that they are making a new large statue of Kim Jong Il which will go on Mansu Hill next to the one of Kim Il Sung there which is currently covered up. This is expected to be completed by April.

Additional Information:

1. The Kim Il-sung statue on Mansu Hill was recently covered up for renovations of the Korean Revolution Museum located directly behind it.

2. Here, here, and here are recent posts on different construction projects in Pyongyang.

3. A memorial to Kim Jong-il has recently been carved into Mt. Sokda and a memorial to Kim Jong-il is reportedly under construction in Hoeryong.

4. Here and here are additional stories on efforts to venerate Kim Jong-il.

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New Kim Jong-il statue unveiled

Tuesday, February 14th, 2012

Following the unveiling of the Kim Jong-il memorial carved into Mt. Sokda last week, today KCNA announced the unveiling of a Kim Il-sung and a Kim Jong-il statue at the Mansudae Art Studio in Pyongyang.

Click image for a larger version.

You can watch the unveiling in video format on the KCNA page here. You can watch the video on YouTube here.

According ot KCNA:

The statues of President Kim Il Sung and leader Kim Jong Il riding on horses together were erected at the Mansudae Art Studio with approach of the Day of the Shining Star.

Their construction, the first of its kind in the history of the Workers’ Party of Korea and the Korean revolution, is a great glory and pride of Kim Il Sung’s nation and Kim Jong Il’s Korea.

A ceremony of unveiling the statues took place on Tuesday.

Present there were senior party, state and army officials Kim Yong Nam, Choe Yong Rim, Ri Yong Ho, Kim Yong Chun, Kim Ki Nam, Choe Thae Bok, Yang Hyong Sop and Kang Sok Ju, officials of party, military and power bodies, social organizations, ministries and national institutions, men and

officers of the Korean People’s Army and the Korean People’s Internal Security Forces, officials and employees of the Studio and working people in the city of Pyongyang.

Senior officials of the party, state and army and officials of the studio unveiled the statues.

Laid at the statues is a floral basket from Kim Jong Un, supreme leader of the WPK and the people and KPA supreme commander.

Placed were floral baskets in the name of the WPK Central Committee, the Presidium of the DPRK Supreme People’s Assembly, the DPRK Cabinet, the Ministry of the People’s Armed Forces, the Ministry of People’s Security, working people’s organizations, ministries and national institutions,
units of the KPA and party and power organs in the city.

The participants made bows to the statues.

Kim Yong Nam, member of the Presidium of the Political Bureau of the C.C., the WPK and president of the Presidium of the SPA, made an address at the ceremony.

It was the unanimous desire and ardent wish of all the Party members, servicepersons and people to erect a statue of Kim Jong Il as well as Kim Il Sung’s in order to hand down for all ages the prominent traits and revolutionary feats of the illustrious great man, the speaker said, adding:

This ardent desire has been realized thanks to Kim Jong Un’s boundlessly noble loyalty and meticulous guidance.

He called for glorifying the revolutionary careers and undying feats of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il forever with the immutable faith that they are always with us.

The participants looked round the statues after being briefed on them.

Though the unveiling displayed BOTH Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il statues, there was previously a Kim Il-sung statue located at this exact spot.  I am not sure if this statue has been decommissioned, moved, or incorporated into the new sculpture:

This is only the third Kim Jong-il statue of which I am aware–and the first located outside.

There is a Kim Jong-il statue at the International Friendship Exhibition in Myohyangsan:

The other Kim Jong-il statue is in the Ministry of the Peoples’ Armed Forces:

3-stars-of-paektu.jpg  kim-jong-il-bronze-statue.jpg

Both the Kim Il-sung statue and the Kim Jong-il statues were manufactured on location at the Mansudae Art Studio:

Pictured above (Google Earth): The Mansudae Art Studio in Pyongyang. The blue roofs indicate that most of the buildings have recently been renovated.

At the same time, the Daily NK reports that Kim Jong-un has asked that the costs of memorializing his father not be passed on the people (like this).

UPDATES related to the celebrations of Kim Jong-il’s 70th birthday:

1. Kim Jong-il also named “Generalissimo” — a title previously reserved for his father, Kim Il-sung.  This clears the way for Kim Jong-un to be promoted to “Marshal”.  Many officers were also promoted and awarded the Kim Jong-il Prize. Daily NK coverage here.

2. Commemorative gold and silver coins were issued to celebrate Kim jong-il’s 70th birthday. See more here and here.

3. New stamps were issued.

4. A military tribute was held in Kumsusan Palace (which was renamed Kumsuan Palace of the Sun). See video here.

5. The KCNA web page added a Kim Jong-il photo album. See it here.

6. A new Kim Jong-il badge is issued.

7. NK Leadership Watch coverage here.

8. Here is my lengthy collection of material published when Kim Jong-il passed away.

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Kim Jong-il’s name carved on Mt. Sokda

Wednesday, February 8th, 2012

 

Pictured above: (L) A Google Earth satellite image of the face of Mt. Sokda (석다산) before it was “blessed” with the Kim Jong-il commemorative carving (Coordinates:  39.180907°, 125.361290°) (R) A photo from KCNA of the new carving.

According to KCNA:

Pyongyang, February 8 (KCNA) — Letters “Peerless Patriot General Kim Jong Il. February 16, Juche 101 (2012)” were carved on natural rock in Mt. Sokda, Jungsan County, South Phyongan Province on the 70th anniversary of his birth.

The total length of the letters is 120 meters with his name 10 meters high, 5.5 meters wide and 1.4 meters deep. Other letters are 8.5 meters high, 4.8 meters wide and 0.9 meters deep.

Officials and working people in South Phyongan Province chose the rock that is easily visible, reflecting the ardent desire of the people
around the country to exalt his immortal revolutionary feats forever.

An unveiling ceremony took place on Wednesday.

Present there were Kim Ki Nam, Choe Thae Bok, Yang Hyong Sop officials concerned, party members and other working people in the county and helpers.

There are of course many carvings like this in the DPRK. Here is one of my “favorite” examples.

UPDATE 1: The Daily NK has more. See below:

(more…)

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DPRK art merchant arrested in ROK

Wednesday, August 17th, 2011

Pictured above (Google Earth): The Mansudae Art Studio in Pyongyang. The blue roofs indicate that most of the buildings have recently been renovated. See the studio in Google Maps here.

According to Yonhap:

Seoul police said Wednesday that they have booked an ethnic Korean woman from China for allegedly smuggling North Korean paintings into South Korea, selling them to local consumers and sending some of the profits to the North.

The 46-year-old woman, surnamed Kim, was accused of bringing in about 1,300 paintings by some well-known North Korean artists in violation of a law regulating the flow of goods between the two Koreas, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said.

Police also booked three others for allegedly helping Kim peddle the smuggled artworks.

Kim is suspected of smuggling in 1,308 artworks, mostly landscape paintings created by North Korean artists, between May last year and July this year, and pocketing 30 million won (US$27,943) after selling 1,139 of them to local galleries and over the Internet, police said.

Police said the North Korean artists include some famous names who were authorized by the Pyongyang regime and affiliated with the communist country’s top-notch Mansudae art community widely known to be peddling artwork overseas as a means of earning foreign currency.

Kim is believed to have obtained those paintings through her North Korean husband living in China who uses his membership in an expatriates’ support committee in North Korea to secure his supply, police said.

Kim’s husband is believed to have clinched the supply of artwork on the condition that he pays $8,000 won annually on top of half the sales proceeds to the art community, according to the police.

“It is the first case ever to confirm that North Korea is selling (artwork) abroad through the committee,” a police official said.

Police said that the artwork, smuggled personally or through international mail, was mostly sold to art galleries in Incheon, Daejeon and Gwangju for prices ranging from 30,000 won to 1 million won per unit.

Police said they plan to expand the investigation as more North Korean goods could be smuggled into the country.

The Atlantic also has a good blog post on the whole saga.

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