North Korean families are moving into 10,000 homes in the Hwasong District of Pyongyang, Daily NK has learned.
“Families allotted housing units in the first round of distribution are currently moving into their new homes,” a reporting partner in Pyongyang told Daily NK on Wednesday, speaking on condition of anonymity for security reasons.
Members of the military and officials in charge of construction have been explaining the homes’ layout and useful maintenance tips to families before handing over the keys. New residents are reportedly overjoyed at their good fortune.
“We’d heard these houses were built with finishing materials from Korea and other countries that are much better in quality than those in houses in the Songsin and Songhwa districts. We’re so blessed to get to move into such nice houses at no cost,” residents are saying, according to the reporting partner.
The Workers’ Party of Korea announced in its Eighth Congress in January 2021 that it planned to build 10,000 homes every year in Pyongyang through 2025, for a total of 50,000. So far, it has built 10,000 housing units in the Songsin, Songhwa and Hwasong districts of the capital.
“It will take about a month for the families to move into their new houses in Hwasong District on orders from the Pyongyang People’s Committee,” the reporting partner said.
North Korea’s urban administration law gives families two months to move into their allotted homes after regulators sign off on the new building. But the Pyongyang authorities reportedly gave families a month to move in after finding that the units are ready to live in right away.
“The rooms have already been wallpapered and laminated, and the kitchens are set up for cooking with natural gas, instead of a wood-burning stove. The sinks and bathrooms haven’t been tiled yet so that families can set them up to their liking,” the reporting partner explained.
The reporting partner said the rooms have access to district heating and that the kitchens are designed for cooking with natural gas, which makes then more innovative and modern than standard houses in the provinces and in rural areas.
Some new tenants lack confidence in government provided heating
However, some families are remodeling their new housing units with unpowdered boilers, wood-burning stoves and floor heating, according to their individual preferences. That is partly motivated by a lack of confidence in the government’s ability to provide district heating.
Natural gas is too expensive for ordinary families to buy, and district heating is often not reliably available in the winter, leading these families to take these extra precautions.
Meanwhile, the construction oversight department for the second phase of housing units in Hwasong District is reportedly undertaking a propaganda program for workers. The department is encouraging them to draw inspiration from the families moving into the first phase of houses and to finish the second phase of construction on schedule, while meeting global standards and taking advantage of the grandeur and unique characteristics of the Kumsusan Sun Palace while prioritizing convenience and aesthetic appeal.
The reporting partner said that everyone on the housing distribution list received one of the 10,000 units in the first phase of housing construction in Hwasong District, adding that unit sizes were based on the number of family members.
Some unexpected additions were made to the original housing distribution list in line with party policy.
“Some people in the provinces have been assigned houses in Hwasong District to give them a residence in Pyongyang. One woman who was born in Pyongyang and later assigned to a salt works in Onchon County married a disabled veteran, and the newlyweds were allocated one of the new housing units in Pyongyang,” the reporting partner said.
Translated by David Carruth. Edited by Robert Lauler.
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