The artist tracking North Korea's statue-building projects in Africa

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The artist tracking North Korea’s statue-building projects in Africa

Onejoon Che hopes to understand the significance of the Mansudae Art Project

Benjamin R. Young December 19, 2016

The artist tracking North Korea’s statue-building projects in Africa

Hero’s Acre, built 1981, Harare, Zimbabwe 2013

From building statues for dictators to training liberation fighters, North Korea has had an active presence on the African continent for more than four decades. Western press has highlighted the odd features of these North Korean-built statues in Africa and the brutality that North Korean-trained African soldiers once unleashed on dissidents in Zimbabwe.

However, there has been no genuine attempt to look at North Korean activity in Africa from the African perspective. Onejoon Che, a South Korean visual artist and filmmaker, is trying to change that trend.

About the Author

Benjamin R. Young

Benjamin R. Young is an Assistant Professor of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness at VCU (Virginia Commonwealth University). He is the author of Guns, Guerillas, and the Great Leader: North Korea and the Third World (Stanford University Press, 2021). He received his Ph.D. from The George Washington University in 2018. He has previously taught at the U.S. Naval War College and Dakota State University. He has published peer-reviewed articles on North Korean history and politics in a number of scholarly journals and is a regular contributor to NK News.

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