Postcolonial Architecture through North Korean Modes: Namibian Commissions of the Mansudae Overseas Project

Abstract

Since the 1970s the North Korean design firm, the Mansudae Overseas Project, has completed commissions for public sculptures and buildings in eight different African nations. Though these commissions incorporate subject matter specific to their location, the works replicate an aesthetic that is distinctly North Korean. Examples of this visual parallel may be observed in iconic Mansudae works found in Windhoek, the capital of Namibia: the new Namibian State House (2006), the Heroes' Acre Memorial (2002) and the Independence Museum (under construction). This paper argues that the decision by Namibian leaders to award architectural tenders to the Mansudae Overseas Project was not based on economic concerns or preference for Mansudae designs, but was instead motivated by a desire to emulate the authority, cohesiveness and directed nature of a visual culture specific to Pyongyang. Here, the construction of Mansudae-designed buildings and monuments asserts a decisive break with architecture and memorials associated with colonial regimes, and in doing so foregrounds the authority and modernity of the postcolonial government. Thorough consideration of commissions of the Mansudae Overseas Project in urban capitals such as Windhoek expands the limited body of research on the establishment of a postcolonial vernacular in African urban settings.