Mansudae Overseas Projects is a construction company based in Jongphyong-dong,

Phyongchon District P'yŏngch'ŏn-guyŏk (Phyongchon District) is one of the 18 ''Administrative divisions of North Korea#Second-level divisions, guyŏk'' (political districts or wards) of Pyongyang, P'yŏngyang, North Korea. It is bordered by the Taedong River in ...

, Pyongyang, North Korea. It is the international commercial division of the Mansudae Art Studio. 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.

Angola

Mansudae Overseas Projects constructed the President Agostinho Neto Cultural Centre in Luanda, Angola.

Benin

In Benin, the company has built a statue of Béhanzin.

Botswana

In Botswana, it constructed the

Three Dikgosi Monument The Three Dikgosi Monument is a bronze sculpture located in the Gaborone Central Business District, Central Business District of Gaborone, Botswana. The statues depict three kgosi, dikgosi (tribal chiefs): Khama III of the Mangwato tribe, Bangwa ...

, also called the Three Chiefs monument.

Cambodia

Angkor Panorama museum was built next to the Angkor temples. The museum is operated jointly by

APSARA An apsaras or apsara ( sa, अप्सरा ' lso ' pi, अक्चरा, translit=accharā) is a type of female spirit of the clouds and waters in Hinduism and Buddhist culture. They figure prominently in the sculpture, dance, literat ...

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. 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. As of January 2020, the museum has been shuttered indefinitely due to international sanctions compliance.

Democratic Republic of the Congo

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, it has built a statue of Laurent-Désiré Kabila.

Ethiopia

The

Tiglachin Monument The Tiglachin Monument ( am, ትግላችን ሐውልት, lit=Our Struggle Monument), also known as the Derg Monument ( am, ደርግ ሐውልት), is a memorial to Ethiopian and Cuban soldiers involved in the Ogaden War. It was built during th ...

, also known as the Derg Monument, is a pillar erected in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia was donated by North Korea in 1984. The monument has fallen into neglect.

Germany

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. Germany is the only western democracy to have a North Korean-built structure.

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. *'' Heroes' Acre'' (inaugurated August 2002) with a statue of the unknown soldier near Windhoek, Namibia. *

Okahandja Military Museum Okahandja Military Museum is a military museum located in Okahandja, Namibia, which was supposed to exhibit a collection of military memorabilia from History of Namibia, Namibia's history. The museum was built in 2004, but in 2008 it was reporte ...

(inaugurated 2004, closed to the public), located in Okahandja, north of Windhoek *The New

State House of Namibia The State House of the Republic of Namibia is the official residence and workplace of the President of Namibia. Located in the Auasblick suburb of Windhoek, the State House was constructed by Mansudae Overseas Projects of North Korea from Sept ...

(inaugurated 2008) on a 40.4 ha site in Windhoek. *

Independence Memorial Museum Independence Memorial Museum in Colombo, Sri Lanka is located in the basement of the Independence Memorial Hall, Independence Square (formally Torrington Square) in the Cinnamon Gardens. It is maintained by the Department of National Museum. The ...

(inaugurated 2014), central Windhoek.

Senegal

In Senegal, the company built the African Renaissance Monument.

Togo

In the north of Togo, close to the village of Sara-Kawa, the late president Gnassingbé Eyadéma and some of his closest aides were in a plane crash on 24 January 1974. Eyadéma survived. A monument was erected with a huge statue of Eyadéma.

Zimbabwe

National Heroes Acre is a 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-guyŏk Taesŏng-guyŏk, or Taesŏng District is one of the 18 '' guyok'' that constitute Pyongyang, North Korea. Administrative divisions Taesŏng-guyŏk is divided into 15 ''tong'' (neighbourhoods): * Anhak-tong 안학동 (安鶴洞) * Ch'ŏng'am- ...

, just outside Pyongyang, North Korea. The '' Joshua Nkomo Statue'' was constructed in 2010 in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe.

References

External links

{{Commons category
Mansudae Art Studio, North Korea's Colossal Monument Factory
* Tycho van der Hoog: ''Monuments of power: the North Korean origin of nationalist heritage in Namibia and Zimbabwe''. - Leiden : African Studies Centre, 2019
Tycho van der Hoog: ''North Korean monuments in southern Africa: Legitimizing party rule through the National Heroes’ Acres in Zimbabwe and Namibia''. Leiden, 2017
History of Namibia