AMAZON FOR DICTATORS
Are you a cruel tyrant? Do you need a colossal monument to intimidate your oppressed people? In North Korea you’ll find one-stop shopping at one of the world’s largest centers of art production: the Mansudae Art Studio
Do you think North Korea has nothing to offer? That the country produces nothing that might interest the rest of the world? Wrong! Just look at this photograph. See the statue? It stands on a hill in Senegal on the bulge of western Africa. The monument is 160 feet tall and made entirely of bronze. A masterpiece— and made in North Korea. It is called the African Renaissance Monument, and the opus is intended to celebrate the revival of African culture. It’s nearly 10 feet taller than New York’s Statue of Liberty and even more monumental. And that’s not counting the base—the hill upon which it stands. But we’ve saved the best for last: We charged just $27 million for the majestic piece.
A real bargain! But you know what? Everything is a bargain here in North Korea. And we are the Mansudae Art Studio, one of the world’s biggest studios for art design, located in the capital of Pyongyang. You order, we deliver. We promise—you can bet your life on it (and we do, too).
WORLD MARKET LEADER
The paragraph above, or something similar, might as well be an ad for the Mansudae Art Studio. No need to be modest: Because it covers an area of 1.3 million square feet, the studio in the North Korean capital is among the largest centers of art production in the world. It’s organized like a small city with around 4,000 people living there, among them 1,000 artists. Most of them are kept busy making images of Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un—in the form of paintings, tapestries, and busts. But there is also a special unit, Mansudae Overseas Projects, which
specializes in colossal monuments like the one in Senegal.
In 2007 the president of Senegal at the time, Abdoulaye Wade, installed the world’s biggest bronze statue. It was a job for North Korea’s artists of immense proportions—and a shady affair. Wade used the services of a middleman to pay the North Koreans with a piece of land that was later sold for $27 million (although some sources say it was $70 million). There was criticism not only of this dubious financial transaction but also of the statue itself. The country’s Muslims— who make up an estimated 92% of the Senegalese population—objected to the woman with the exposed breast. As ex-president, Wade continues to pocket a third of the admission price for visiting the grandiose monument— it was his idea, after all.
CONSUMMATE CONSTRUCTION
Mansudae Art Studio offers an allinclusive package deal, from order to on-site construction to the final inspection and approval. The group has designed and erected statues and other structures in about a dozen African countries. Outside of Africa, the group has reconstructed the Fairy Tale Fountain in Frankfurt, Germany, to replace the original that was melted down for its metal during the Second World War. Reconstruction was aided by 1:1 clay models made in Pyongyang. In the case of Senegal, a model was first prepared to gauge the possible damage the monument might suffer from earthquakes or lightning strikes. But despite the marked attention to quality displayed by the world market leader, there is always one recurring drawback: North Korean aesthetics. The African statues often possess Asian facial features—and it was for that reason President Wade rejected the initial design. However, we do not consider that to be a serious problem. We’ll keep refining our work until you like what you see. Promise! So far we have satisfied every dictator.
MANSUDAE ART STUDIO OFFERS AN ALL-INCLUSIVE PACKAGE DEAL, FROM ORDER TO ON-SITE CONSTRUCTION TO THE FINAL INSPECTION AND APPROVAL.