On the occasion of Kim Il-Sung’s visit to Indonesia in 1965, the then Indonesian president Sukarno presented the state guest with an orchid. It was not just any orchid, but a specially hybridized variety, which he named after the North Korean president: Kimilsungia. The Kimilsungia is still a symbol for the power of the leader in today’s North Korea—images of the orchid can be found throughout Pyongyang, often accompanied by a red begonia, the Kimjongilia, named after Kim Il-Sung’s son. Today, the tradition of dedicating an orchid to heads of state and political dignitaries extends beyond North Korea. As part of the exhibition Between Walls and Windows. Architecture and Ideology at Haus der Kulturen der Welt (HKW), Arno Brandlhuber created a “Garden of Ideologies” in the cleared entrance area, where visitors could admire a series of orchids bearing the names of famous politicians: the Kimilsungia, named in honor of the North Korean president Kim Il-Sung, was in the illustrious company of Dendrobium Angela Merkel, Maxillaria Gorbatschowii, and Brassolaeliocattleya Margaret Thatcher. Read more