Real Estate Investment In North Korea: While North Korea has historically been a very secretive nation and one that is still technically at war with South Korea, an exhibition opened this week looking at life in North Korea.
The exhibition is located in Pyongyang, South Korea, a middle-class home that is the capital (and largest city) of North Korea (the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea).
There have also been some very interesting comments about the North Korean property market that will appear to be booming despite the UN sanctions and the recent controversy over the development of a nuclear war.
Life in North Korea
In many ways, as shown in this exhibition, North Korea has been stuck in the past regarding decoration styles.
This replica of an apartment in Pyongyang has North Korean music, vintage curtains, old-style wallpaper, and a lace-throwing backdrop on a dark blue velvet couch. While there is a flatscreen television, it is accompanied by functional custom-made furniture.
At first glance, it looks like an army-style barrack but is a middle-class family apartment.
It is worth noting that the purchase and sale of property in North Korea, one of the last communist countries in the world, is completely banned. Beneath the surface, there is a black market in housing properties, where people with money get better housing facilities to bribe officers.
There is indeed a strange phenomenon in North Korea that is personally assigned to high-rise properties such as scientists, professors, etc. – putting workers in one place.
Foreign Real Estate Investment In North Korea
Despite trade and political restrictions in North Korea, it appears that significant foreign investment is still finding its way to cities such as Pyongyang. Ever since Kim Jong Un assumed power in 2011, there has been significant investment in infrastructure and housing money.
While all events are controlled and monitored by the state, there have been several joint ventures between the North Korean government and foreign investors. How safe these systems are about legal and change is a different matter!
It is also interesting to see that apartments still hold dominance compared to apartments seen in Seoul in the 1980s, but this business differs on the horizon. Pyongyang’s horizon in particular has changed beyond all recognition as Kim Jong Un’s modern architecture and street scenes have now become commonplace.
Economy and lifestyle
North Korea follows a centrally-planned economic model that is not based on money. People cannot choose where to work, the government chooses your job based on your skills. No one can start a private business.
People cannot buy apartments or houses. The government owns all the real estate and gives everyone the right to occupy the house, for free the location, size, and quality of the house depend on your job.
No one is homeless or begging. Good work performance allows you to move to a better home and receive free goods from the government, so monetary payment (if it exists) is not important. The cost of living is almost zero.
People cannot travel freely in their own country, never making up for foreign holidays, unless their job requires exporting goods, sports teams, or Kim’s employees to another country.
Foreigners cannot enter and travel to North Korea independently, except for guided tours through designated locations, or maybe invited by the government.
North Korea does not have a poor and rich class, but ordinary people living in Pyongyang and living elsewhere are privileged. Out of North Korea’s 24 million population, 3.2 million are selected to live in Pyongyang, the healthiest citizens who enjoy work, modern life, cars, computers and mobile phones, good education, health services, food, leisure activities, etc., to give a good image to foreigners.
Disabled, handicapped, poorly functioning, and retired people are kept in rural areas, where living conditions have not changed for decades, fuel stations are not present, so cars are scarce, bicycles are only transported, mobile phone coverage is not present, Land phones are rare, power blackouts occur frequently, food is inadequate, etc.
It is unknown how much North Koreans earn, we consider less than 100 USD per month, we do not even know where they can spend because the government Kwangmyong intranet connection, public transport, housing for healthcare Includes many free services. Etc. They are all free.
I also believe that cars, TV sets, and computers cannot be bought with money and are given only the privileged freebies. Thus, people doing good work can enjoy higher living standards than people from other countries with equal pay.
Architecture and Housing
Pyongyang is an elaborately planned city from which nothing goes with massive apartment buildings, large openings, and even more monumental monuments.
Pollution due to good public transport, smooth traffic, and very few cars. They are wasting resources to show the world that they are an advanced country, which left the population in poverty.
There is no street lighting, except for major boulevards and monuments. Viewed from space, North Korea looks like a black hole!
Unlike the dominance of rows of similar buildings in South Korean and Russian cities, Pyongyang has a vibrant horizon, mixed with old 4-5 story walk-ups and 8-10-story block elevators, including new, 20-40 apartments.
The building is tall. In the story, traditional houses can be found in the middle of the tower blocks. High surge life is not so desirable, due to lack of power you may not always be able to use the lifts.
We never got any apartment floor plans other than what you see in satellite photos under the construction section.
The average size of apartments in North Korea is 150 square meters but has no source. Presumably, this is valid for a high-class apartment complex built for the political elite as one can measure blocks using Google Earth and see that there are about 80-100 squares with 2 floors.
