We could say without fear of being wrong that North Korea has a very clear plan in an economic key for this 2025: open (a little) abroad. How much? It will depend, not only on the nation itself, but on the rest of the countries and the ability to seduction for the tourist out. Wonsan will be the cornerstone that will define the rest of that expansion. And the locals? For them there is also great news: a new mega district in the capital, although it will not be for everyone.
Hwasong and what we don’t know. North Korea has proudly revealed its new residential district of no less than 10,000 homes in Pyongyang, a work that reminds the famous New York enclave and that symbolizes both the propaganda desire of the regime and some of its internal contradictions. Located in Hwasong, the new neighborhood of imposing skyscrapers and broad avenues has been presented through the state agency KCNA as a sample of the Kim Jong leader’s commitment to improve the urban level of living.
The official inauguration is scheduled for April 15, that, of course, it has not been chosen randomly, since the birth of Kim Il Sung, founder of the country and grandfather of the current leader, is celebrated. The new urbanization represents the third stage of an ambitious five -year plan announced in 2021 to build 50,000 apartments in the capital, an objective that is inserted in a major offensive to renew infrastructure in a country whipped by poverty, international isolation and a staggering economy.
Luxury on the outside, doubts inside. Despite the images that show modern buildings and an urbanistically imposing architecture, including two towers united by an elevated bridge, reality can be far from a luxury standard. They counted in a wide report of the CNN that, in North Korea, life on high floors is complicated due to the frequent power cuts left by the inoperative elevators.
In fact, that is the reason why the floors are assigned based on the age of the residents: young people occupy the upper floors, while the elderly receive units at low levels. This organization illustrates how structural deficiencies camouflage under a facade of urban modernization. Although Pyongyang enjoys significantly better conditions than other areas of the country, homes in rural regions and mining cities remain precarious, with limited access to electricity, drinking water or basic sanitation services.
The new district in Hwasong
The modernization plan. The Hwasong project is not an isolated case. It adds to other recent urbanizations such as Mira Scientists Street and Songhwa Street, this last home of the second highest tower in the country, completed in 2022. All efforts of the regime to show a renewed image of the nation, while they underpin the cult of Kim Jong Un.
Plus: As the state press explained, the leader has been directly involved in the design and planning of the new district, repeating the classical narrative of the regime that associates each achievement with his personal direction. In fact, even constructions are designed to reinforce the country’s privilege system. As? Housing are assigned by the Government to loyal people to the regime or considered strategically useful, such as scientists, engineers or relatives of the party.
Inequality. A report from the South Korean Institute of Civil Engineering and Construction Technology estimated that North Korea has sufficient homes only for 70% to 80% of its homes. Beyond Pyongyang, the housing situation seems critical. Despite the new projects in mining and rural areas, these works depend on the forced labor of soldiers and civilians, which work in hard conditions and without decent remuneration.
Plus: Construction in North Korea is mainly driven by the popular army, whose participation not only responds to the magnitude of the works, but also to an ideological logic: each brick becomes a piece of propaganda that reinforces the image of the State as a modernizing force.
Facade of cristal. Although the regime promotes the speed with which it lifts skyscrapers (such as the 70 -story building in Ryomyong New Town whose structure was completed in just 74 days), experts have expressed concern about the quality of materials and technical supervision.
In 2014, the collapse of a building in Pyongyang, which allegedly housed dozens of families, highlighted the risks of an accelerated construction without adequate controls. The state press attributed the disaster to an “irresponsible supervision”, without providing dead figures or assuming clear responsibilities, in a country where transparency is little less than non -existent.
“Military” construction. It is another of the legs on which the civil “work” is sustained. The military apparatus meets a central role in all these developments. With more than one million soldiers in active duty and a mandatory conscription system of at least ten years since the age of 17, the state labor becomes the main engine of these works.
Even after fulfilling their service, former soldiers are usually integrated into civil paramilitary forces, which consolidates a system in which the population remains subject to state control through military obedience structures. Urbanization, therefore, not only responds to housing needs, but also to social surveillance and containment mechanisms.
Reopening and isolation. In addition to everything described, the inauguration of the Hwasong district coincides with the first steps of North Korea towards a controlled reopening after more than five years of closing by the pandemic. We have it: although the capital has remained mostly inaccessible, in 2024 the entry of a small group of Russian tourists was allowed.
Another foreign group could only visit Rason, a special economic zone near the borders with China and Russia. This still shy reopening context also serves as a backdrop to show internal achievements such as the new district, whose symbolic value exceeds the direct benefit that it can represent for North Korean citizenship.
Seen, Hwasong is not only a residential district, but an emblem of how North Korea tries to project modernity, hiding behind concrete a reality closer to scarcity, control and structural inequality.
Image | KCNA
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