Pizzas for the People

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Exhibition date Nov 26, 2021
Location W139 Amsterdam, Netherlands
Directed by Prof. Hwang Kim

In the course of a long running ideological conflict North Korea is one of the most culturally isolated countries in the world, which reject any foreign influences through a tight control of media and communication equipment. To protect the North Korean identity from potential damaging western influences, short wave radios for example are banned while TV receiver are locked to tune only to the 3 official channels.

Paradoxically, with the support of pizza loving leader Kim Jong-il the first-ever Pizzeria was recently opened to provide an authentic Italian experience for a minority of wealthy political elite.

With the aim of challenging current cultural obstacles in North Korea, I have contacted a number of Chinese smugglers in China to distribute illegal propaganda over the border to North Korea, through the popular DVD format, which players are widely found in North Korean homes.

The Pizzas for the People is the series of designed insertions that explores how design can playfully contribute and impact on a social and cultural level, subtly challenging an ideological status quo.

[Film script]

[Documentation script]

[Pizzas for the People Feedback Letters]

[Pizzas for the People A4 Process Documents]

Pizzas for the People – Film part: Star Pizza capture – Episode 4: How to enjoy Christmas/ Copyright © Hwang Kim

Pizzas for the People – Feedback from North Korea/ Copyright © Hwang Kim

Pizzas for the People – Exhibition – Newspaper for the Separate Families, Designed by Hwang Kim/ Copyright © Hwang Kim

Pizzas for the People – Performance at Festival B:om 2011/ Copyright © Hwang Kim

Pizzas for the People – Performance at Temps D’images 2014/ Courtesy of © Temps D’images

Pizzas for the People – Performance at Temps D’images 2014/ Courtesy of © Temps D’images