Extreme left nonprofit bizarrely promotes North Korea as utopia with free housing to cash-strapped New Yorkers
A New York City-based nonprofit known as Nodutdol has drawn attention for a social media post that presents North Korea in a highly favorable light, portraying it as a place where housing is effectively free.
In an Instagram post dated April 1 that reached its roughly 42,000 followers, the group shared an image of children playing in the snow in front of a modern-looking apartment building and claimed, “Is your rent due? Not in North Korea.” The post criticized U.S. capitalism, arguing it “manufactures a housing crisis at home,” and suggested that socialist countries demonstrate alternative systems, citing the construction of 163,000 housing units in both urban and rural areas of North Korea, including the capital Pyongyang.
However, reports from organizations such as Human Rights Watch describe a very different reality. In North Korea, housing is controlled by the state and distributed according to occupation, social standing, and loyalty to the government led by Kim Jong Un. According to those assessments, senior military figures and party elites receive preferential treatment, while most ordinary citizens are assigned lower-quality housing, often lacking reliable electricity or basic maintenance. In some cases, buildings have been described as unsafe or incomplete due to rushed construction driven by political priorities. One widely reported incident includes a 2014 apartment collapse in Pyongyang that killed more than 160 people.
The portrayal in Nodutdol’s post has also sparked criticism from some of its own supporters. The organization is reported to have connections with groups linked to billionaire Neville Roy Singham and activist Jodie Evans, including Code Pink and The People’s Forum. These groups have participated in international delegations such as the “Nuestra America” convoy, which involved travel to Havana, Cuba, where attendees stayed in high-end hotels during a period of economic hardship in the country.
A U.S. State Department report to Congress has also associated Code Pink and the People’s Forum with alleged Chinese influence operations.
Nodutdol has stated goals that include ending the U.S.–South Korea alliance, supporting reunification of North and South Korea, and advocating for what it describes as a world free of “imperialism.”
The organization did not respond to requests for comment.
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