A 52-year-old gunshot reopens South Korea’s historical divide
When the new film opened in South Korean theaters, it sparked a controversy that extends far beyond the cinema. The box-office success has also triggered...
When will the Koreas be reunited?
Whenever South Koreans meet someone from North Korea, there is one question they seem to ask, almost as if they had agreed on it beforehand:...
Is the Kim family still Big Brother?
In every home in North Korea, portraits of the Kim family hang on the wall. Even while they were alive, they inspired fear and awe...
When the past became hope
Today, I came across an article with a photograph of Kim Jong-un smiling brightly. The moment I saw his face as he waved to the...
Border residents supplied with glass for windows to replace plastic sheeting
North Korean authorities are reportedly taking steps to improve the country’s appearance by supplying glass for the windows of houses facing China. Under the slogan...
In North Korea, a newspaper editorial is never just an editorial
Several years ago, when I worked at a state institution in Pyongyang, an order arrived from higher authorities to launch a new project. The goal...
Electricity, not slogans: What North Korean women really need
If reunification happens one day and I am able to meet my childhood friends again, what will their faces look like? A sorrowful question haunts...
Pyongyang’s lights are North Korea’s greatest lie
To outsiders, North Korea seems to be changing and for the better. More cars fill the streets. Young people carry smartphones. New apartment buildings glow...
When seeing the world makes “My Country is the Best” harder to sing
There is a song beloved by many people in North Korea. It is called My Country Is the Best. Even the flowers blooming in a...
Who created “Oppasi”? How tyranny thrives on power and silence
What is it that makes a person endlessly tyrannical? Is it the power that supports him? Or is it our own weakness in submitting to...
‘Even 12 bodies wouldn’t be enough’: North Koreans struggle under farm mobilization crackdown
With the start of the busy farming season, North Koreans are facing a sharp increase in street inspections. In addition to officers from the Ministry...
War on women’s clothing: How fashion has become a political crime
Authorities in North Korea are intensifying propaganda against so-called “anti-socialist” behavior, condemning women’s clothing, hairstyles, speech, and other foreign cultural influences, according to a source...
The unspoken burden of being a woman in North Korea
A few days ago, I was interviewed about the lives of women in North Korea. At first, I thought I would simply speak about what...
The void of civilization
Sign up here. Today, I would like to begin my story by quoting a line from a North Korean song: “We, with 5,000 years of...
North Korea links rising delinquency to foreign culture
North Korea has reportedly launched a sweeping ideological education campaign aimed at eradicating various illegal activities that have recently emerged among young people. Analysts say...
Rising oil prices send ordinary North Koreans into survival mode
When I escaped from North Korea and came to South Korea in May 2023, I had no way of knowing when or how deeply the...
Kim Jong-un’s emphasis on women is core part of regime survival strategy
For Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un, women are “incomparably beautiful beings” who are indispensable to the revolution and to nation-building. This was how he described them...
The value of a being a Party member
(Part Two) The most important factor for advancement is never ability or loyalty. It is family background. If your parents worked in the security services,...