North Korea's propaganda machine has spent days promoting a new airport in Pyongyang, showcasing the building's sleek glass walls and espresso stations. But the images, which feature Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un, fail to mention that the building's principal designer was likely executed last year because Kim was unhappy with the design. — ibtimes.com

The site is located in Kaesong, the old imperial capital of medieval Korea, now a small industrial city located in North Korea, just north of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) dividing the Republic of Korea (ROK) and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). [...]

“There were wars of nerves between South and North scholars due to differences in methodologies, but we were in a same boat on the achievement of this excavation.” — qz.com

Despite seeing completion last October, following orders from leader Kim Jong Un, only half of the units of a major apartment complex built near Pyongyang’s Taedong River are currently occupied. [...]

“The elevator runs only during breakfast, lunch, and dinner hours, so for long spans of time it will be impossible to get to the 40th floor,” the source said. “There isn’t even a place for people to put their bicycles, which are the most fundamental tools for people’s livelihoods.” — dailynk.com

Lotte World Mall has finally received approval by the Seoul city government to open up its aquarium and movie theater, five months after the facilities were shut down due to safety concerns. [...]

Lotte World Mall has been embroiled in several safety issues since it opened its doors in October. Several construction workers fell to their deaths during the construction of the annexed skyscraper [...]. — Korea JoongAng Daily

With the completion of the 100th floor, Lotte Group invited a group of reporters on Thursday to take a peek at the Lotte World Tower, still under-construction, in Jamsil, southern Seoul. The building is currently the tallest building in Korea. [...]

While the view is awe-inspiring, the fate of the Lotte World Tower hangs in balance, especially after the 2014 Sewol disaster which resulted in more than 300 people dead. — Korea JoongAng Daily

The North Korean government has approved plans by two Norwegian artists to open an art academy in the country. Henrik Placht and Morten Traavik travelled to North Korea together for the first time in August to flesh out the proposal and to look for potential sponsors. So far they have received financial support from the Prince Claus Fund. [...]

“One of the reasons for us going to North Korea is that we don’t believe in sanctions and the boycott of art,” Placht tells The Art Newspaper. — theartnewspaper.com

For the developers of the world's sixth tallest building near Seoul, a mysteriously shrinking lake and the appearance of small sinkholes in residential neighborhoods couldn't have come at a more inopportune time [...]
With about 70 of its 123 floors completed, the Lotte World Tower is now undergoing a review by experts and has put on hold the opening of adjacent low-rise buildings that form part of its complex. — Associated Press

[...] One of its latest projects: Inviting a North Korean architect to imagine the future of local design for travel.

The Jetsons-style results include hovercraft hotel rooms and cone-shaped mountain villas connected by ski slopes. Nothing looks like it would be that out of place in a 1950s magazine, down to details like an old-fashioned rotary phone. This is what the future looks like to someone living in a place that's been cut off from the rest of the world since 1948. — fastcoexist.com

A curvy futuristic $450M building meant to remake Seoul into a global design capital opened to the S. Korean public Friday after years of debate about its impact on a historic city precinct. And not everyone is happy with the outcome.

Designed by award-winning architect Zaha Hadid, the Dongdaemun Design Plaza is a stark contrast to its neighbourhood, which is better known in Seoul for its links to a royal dynasty that ruled for half a millennium and as home to one of the city’s oldest markets. — o.canada.com

In yet another display of the city's commitment to 24-hour culture, Seoul is unveiling its biggest nighttime attraction yet in the neon-studded, wildly trendy shopping district of Dongdaemun.

Designed by Iraqi-British Pritzker Prize winner Zaha Hadid, and completed at a cost of $451 million, the new Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) opens to the public March 21.

[...]the first order of business for Seoul's newest landmark and multipurpose cultural center is to kick off 2014 F/W Seoul Fashion Week. — cnn.com

Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture (AS+GG) announced today the public opening of the new Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) headquarters in Seoul.

AS+GG collaborated with engineering firms Thornton Tomasetti and Environmental Systems Design, and locally based firm Chang-Jo Architects on the project. — bustler.net

I foresee that major urban spaces of Pyongyang, such as Kim Il Sung Square, will be used as “public” space with a greater variety of urban activities, such as commercial activities and show events. [...]

The last thing that may happen in North Korea, or the thing that should not happen in some sense, is the Chinese model. Considering the scale of the economy and the potential of the North Korean market compared to China, it is hard to picture radical and massive urban development in Pyongyang. — NK News

They conceive of urban space as space owned by the public, not space for real estate development. — Dongwoo Yim, NK News

It's time for another project feature from the Mapo Oil Reserve Base design competition we recently covered: "Sangam Culture Storage" from second-prize entry winner Kyuseon Hong.

Sangam Culture Storage addresses the need of an art and culture facility for the Mapo Oil site, which is already surrounded by notable sports arenas like the Sangam World Cup Stadium, educational facilities, and residential areas. — bustler.net