Democratic People's Republic of Korea

Location

Democratic People's Republic of Korea

Contact: David Snell dsnell@fullercenter.org

Osan-Ri, near Pyongyang

North Korea

The work has begun! - A six-man team arrived in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea on Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2012, to begin work on our project in Osan-Ri. Click here to learn more.

You can view many photos from our visits to North Korea by clicking here.

BUILDING HOMES AND PEACE

After discussions began in 2008 regarding a partnership between North Korea (DPRK) and The Fuller Center, innovative plans took shape to not only construct energy-efficient homes, but to build peace between two nations historically separated.

President David Snell last visited Pyongyang in the fall of 2010. Check out his blog to find out what he learned.

The project was born of conversations between Don Mosley, founder of Jubilee Partners, longtime friend and associate of Millard Fuller, and former member of the Habitat for Humanity International Board, and Dr. Han Park, director of the University of Georgia’s Center for the Study of Global Issues (GLOBIS) and respected intermediary between DPRK and the United States.

Their discussions centered on a house-building project in DPRK that would provide, beyond housing, the opportunity for Americans and North Koreans to come together for a common good. Meetings between Fuller Center leaders and DPRK authorities resulted in the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding in July of 2008. Ground was officially broken on the initiative Nov. 11, 2009. View a VIDEO clip of the dedication.

This project was also among the last endorsed by Millard Fuller, founder of The Fuller Center for Housing and Habitat for Humanity, before his death in February 2009.

If you have further questions, please visit our North Korea FAQ page.

BACKGROUND

The Sea of Japan and Yellow Sea that surround the DPRK on either side bring high humidity and rain, including monsoon winds. A typhoon hit in July 2006, destroying more than 30,000 homes, and flooding in 2011 caused further damage to the housing stock. This initiative seeks to help alleviate the overcrowded housing conditions that have resulted in parts of the country.

PLANS

Click to view the project overview.

The Fuller Center will partner with the Paektusan Academy of Architecture, who will help manage the project, to build 50 new homes at Osan-Ri in the outskirts of Pyongyang, the capital of DPRK. The houses will be for farmers working on the tree nursery that surrounds the building site.

Professionals from the United States and the DPRK are working together to develop house plans that are energy efficient and environmentally sensitive in their construction and maintenance.

View a design of the community's layout.

The homes will be built as duplexes, each unit approximately 750 square feet of living space. The homes will be of masonry.

Land Tenure

The houses will not be sold as there is no land ownership in the DPRK. Housing is considered a right and is assigned by the state. The houses in Osan-Ri will go to workers at the nursery collective that surrounds the building site, based on need, driven by issues of overcrowding. Although the families don’t ‘own’ the home, they do have a lifetime right of occupancy and can ‘will’ the houses to their heirs.

Families in the DPRK live in the area where they work. Government workers live in Pyongyang, farm workers in the countryside. Koreans do not commute to work so there is little likelihood that the houses we build will be misappropriated.

GOALS

This community will be a model that can be replicated throughout the DPRK’s more than 200 counties and will develop and test techniques and practices that can be used by Fuller Center covenant partners and other housing providers world wide.

A key element of the project is that volunteers from the United States and other countries will be invited to participate in the construction with citizens of the DPRK, providing an opportunity for trust building and peace making at the grassroots level.

Beyond housing, this initiative offers an unprecedented opportunity for building trust and working toward peace. Volunteer teams from the United States and other countries will travel to North Korea to work side by side with Koreans to build the houses.

The Fuller Center plans to send the first of many Global Builders teams to the DPRK beginning in the summer of 2011. If you're interested in taking part, click here to sign up now.