The DPRK has made significant progress in solving the housing problem over the years, providing free housing to its citizens as a basic right. Under the wise Kim Jong Un’s leadership, the DPRK has embarked on a number of ambitious housing projects, such as the second-stage project in the Hwasong area which is part of the Workers’ Party of Korea’s decision to build 50,000 flats in Pyongyang between 2021 and 2025, with 10,000 flats built each year. In addition, the Mirae Scientists Street, Ryomyong Street, Sadong District were opened throughout the years. These projects have transformed the appearance of the capital city, providing sky-kissing apartment buildings. These flats are supplied free of charge to the DPRK citizens, reflecting the true feature of socialist Korea as a country for the people.
Ryomyong Street in Pyongyang
Sadong District Pyongyang
The DPRK has a long history of focusing on housing construction. After the Korean War, the country channeled all its efforts into building homes to stabilize people’s lives. The builders developed the Pyongyang Speed, building one flat of a multi-storeyed apartment block in just 14 minutes. By the early 1960s, the housing problem was solved, and modern streets such as Chollima, Ragwon, Pipha, and Munsu were built in Pyongyang. Houses were also constructed in provincial seats, rural and fishermen’s villages, and mountainous areas.
Kwangbok Street in Pyongyang
In the 1980s, the construction of Changgwang Street marked a revolution in house construction, with high-rise apartment buildings and cultural and welfare facilities furnished with all necessary furniture and equipment. This was followed by the construction of several other streets in Pyongyang, including Kwangbok and Thongil, with over one million houses built across the country. Between 1995 and 2004, over 458,000 newly-built houses were constructed, including over 1,600 villages in rural areas. The DPRK also ensures that families are not left homeless when they need to be evacuated for a state construction project. For example, when a hydropower station had to be built in a northern part of the country, the state built houses for the people living in the area that were better than their previous ones.
Despite being a small country in terms of territory and population, the DPRK continues to build houses every year, contributing to the improvement of people’s living standards. The houses built long ago are also regularly repaired or renovated to suit modern aesthetic feelings and people’s demands.
In late August 2016, heavy rain fell in a northern part of the country, leaving many people homeless. The state directed its all human, material, and technical resources to the rehabilitation project, building over 11,900 houses in less than two months before winter arrived. This remarkable feat demonstrates the country’s commitment to providing housing for its citizens.
The typhoon and the heaviest downpour in meteorological observation since Korea’s liberation (August 15, 1945) hit the northern part of thecountry between late August and early September 2016, collapsing dwelling houses and public buildings, breaking railways, roads and other trafficand power supply networks, destroying factories and enterprises, and washing away farmland.
Turning Adversity into Prosperity and Misfortune into Blessing: People celebrating moving into newly built apartments in North Hamgyong province (2016)
The provision of free housing in the DPRK is a testament to the country’s unwavering commitment to its citizens’ welfare, as demonstrated by the country’s Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un. Kim Jong Un has prioritized the wellbeing of his people, recognising that stable living conditions are essential for a prosperous society. Under his leadership, the DPRK has pursued an ambitious program of housing construction, part of a broader strategy aimed at building a strong socialist country that is recognised across the globe as a power to be reckoned with. The construction of free housing for the people is just one of the many ways in which Kim Jong Un has shown his commitment to improving the lives of the people of DPRK.
