This article is part of a series written by Daily NK journalist Kim Jeong Hun entitled “North Korea’s Secret Stories.”
In an era where even inner circle officials from core ministries such as the Organization and Guidance Department and Ministry of State Security are facing dismissal or ousting at the hands of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, is there any place privileged enough to avoid this fate?
According to Daily NK sources in North Korea, that place is the “Mt. Paekdu Architecture Research Institute” (MPARI) in Pyongyang. This research institute has a significant role to play in achieving Kim Jong Un’s ambition of rewriting the history of architecture. In other words, Kim Jong Un is attempting to use construction as a medium for creating an image as a fatherly figure of the people, and MPARI is the brains behind this.
The institute was originally founded as a small architecture office back in the Kim Il Sung era. In 1952, the office took its first steps by drafting the grand plan for rebuilding Pyongyang after the Korean War, and executed this project after receiving approval from the North Korean leader. In 1982, the office was expanded into an architecture and research institute with a focus on urban architecture and architectural design.
In 1989, when Kim Jong Il was desperate to make revolutionary changes to Pyongyang in preparation for the 13th World Festival of Youth and Students, he dubbed the office the Mt. Paekdu Construction Research Institute and gave it a pivotal role. MPARI then set to work on the design of numerous structures, including the May Day Stadium, Pyongyang International Cinema Hall, Pyongyang Circus Theater, Pyongyang International Communications Center, Ryanggang Hotel, Chongnyon Hotel, Kwangbok Street (in Pyongyang’s Mangyongdae District) and the athlete’s village in Ryanggang Province.
The institute was also in charge of architectural design for the Workers’ Party of Korea Foundation Monument, the Songdo Children’s Recreation Center, the North Korean People’s Army April 25 Arts & Film Center, the Korea Computer Center, Kim Man-yu Hospital, Yanggakdo International Hotel, Mansudae Art Theater, Grand People’s Study House and Changgwangwon.
The institute has also completed up to 380 other important architecture designs and 100 types of spatial designs for air conditioner parts, alongside around 120 designs for heat exchangers, large air coolers and fan heaters (both exposed and concealed), and cooling towers.
In this sense, MPARI became North Korea’s top dog in architectural design during the Kim Jong Il era, and has been transformed into a modern architectural research “base” under Kim Jong Un. In fact, Kim encouraged the introduction of a number of architectural design software programs to the institute, including AutoCAD, 3Ds-Max and Sketch-up.
Kim has also made an effort to hire talented staff. He ordered the establishment of a system that grants priority selection to graduates of Pyongyang University of Architecture, architectural and interior designers, and brilliant minds in the field of “coding design.”
As a demonstration of Kim’s special affection for MPARI, even people from outside Pyongyang have been deployed at the institute – guaranteeing them residence in Pyongyang. While North Korea’s elite consisted of families in culture and the arts during the Kim Jong Il era, it appears that this has now shifted towards the fields of science and construction under Kim Jong Un’s rule.
In spite of delays to the Wonsan-Kalma Coastal Tourist Zone and Samjiyon construction projects due to a lack of materials stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, MPARI continues to receive favorable treatment.
“MPARI is well supplied given that it has its own internal accounting department,” a source in the country explained to Daily NK recently.
“Even when there were delays in the distribution of rations to Pyongyang denizens, staff at the institute continued to receive rations as normal, including 21 kilograms of rice [700 grams per day], five kilograms of flour, two kilograms of oil, two trays of eggs [60 in total], five kilograms of pork and 20 kilograms of fish per person every month,” he said, adding, “Whenever a new design for a building is complete, the institute receives such a flood of in-kind ‘bonuses’ that some of them are sold off.”
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