A crazy dictator, starving children, and nuclear testing: this is what most of the world thinks of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (also known as North Korea). In a hyperlinked world where access to information has never been easier, North Korea ironically remains a mystery. However, in a nation of more than 24 million, there is a major gray zone. There is an unrepresented majority that has been neglected the attention of architects. In fact, the critical question still remains unanswered and unaddressed: What should the home of the modern North Korean look like?

          Built for the model citizen, Apartment Unit Proposal for a North Korean (2014) is a cultural artifact, formed by the pre-established economic, political, and social values of the North Korean society. The living unit is spatially efficient, with an untraditional division of space. Various programmatic spaces, such as the bedroom and the kitchen, are subtly suggested by the variance in floor, which also duals as built-in furniture. The undulating floor heights, which serve these two purposes, also eliminate the need for excess possessions. The model citizen is given a complete living space, which is highly controlled, removing the dangerous possibility of personalization and individuality. Open to the east is a wall of glass; the room is to be flooded with natural light, keeping the use of artificial light to a minimum. As the model citizen is able to look out, his watchful neighbors can also look in. And as every space in North Korea demands, portraits of the leaders carefully placed in a dominating angle are included with the room.

          Either through market reformation (as exemplified in China) or through reunification with South Korea, time will come when North Korea will undergo rapid development. Change is inevitable. But are the consequences of globalization also inevitable? My proposal highlights an opportunity to maintain local identity through architecture, even in the homogenizing face of globalization's rapid change.