Residents complain about Pyongyang’s fancy new apartments
It has been three years since people moved into their apartments in the futuristic 83-story Songhwa Street Main Tower in Pyongyang and they’re not happy. ...
Evidence of slavery: North Korean workers evaluation
Formal evaluation of employees may be a regular feature of corporate life, but the North Korean version, given the virtues and transgressions it highlights, and...
When true self-reliance turns on the lights
What image best captures the core difference between the two Koreas? Perhaps it is that famous photograph of the peninsula at night with the stark...
The party struggles to rein in rebellious and wayward youth
North Koreans are considered modern-day slaves. They are led by one man, Kim Jong-un and forbidden to live or even think in ways that he,...
Home delivery in North Korea
With around five million people, or 19% of the population, owning mobile phones, delivery service through online platforms is making its appearance in North Korea. ...
“Loyalty is a form of business marketing”
Recent defectors from North Korea are different from the earlier generation who have settled in South Korea in one notable aspect. That is, that they...
Are North Koreans tiring of being told to sacrifice for tomorrow?
Despite the 180 degree turn this year on the long standing goal of reunification and the removal of a monument he built to it, North...
Kim Jong-un loves his luxury cars
Kim Jong-un is a big fan of luxury cars and doesn’t let the fact that most citizens can’t secure their next meal distract him from...
What is causing North Korea’s low birth rate?
With North Korea’s fertility rate under the 2.1 needed to maintain the current population level, Kim Jong-un recently is urging mothers in the country to...
Call me oppa: the changing dating culture in Kim Jong-un’s Korea
“Don’t wait for a man who’s in the military. In fact, don’t date anybody who is going to go into the military.” This is something...
The Changing View of the Dictator’s Gifts
On the last day of school last year, parents all over North Korea dressed up and made their way to nurseries and kindergartens for a special ceremony. There their children received a gift from the leader, Kim Jong Un, of sugary sweets and other goodies.
Is Something Happening in North Korea? 6,000 Young Adults Forcibly Sent to Mines and Farms in January
Young adults are being forcibly relocated to mines and rural areas in increasing numbers, according to recent defectors and sources in North Korea.
A Gift of Rice for Lunar New Year: Propaganda versus Reality
For Lunar New Year, which falls this year on Saturday, February 10, the recently established grain sales centers (which replaced the old distribution centers), were authorized to sell 3 kilograms of rice to each household. Officials characterized this as a thoughtful gesture by the Workers’ Party. But our impression from sources in North Korea is that citizens increasingly see such things as impractical propaganda.