Why North Korea has not collapsed
Don’t you find it puzzling that North Korea, which always seems like it could collapse at any time, is still standing strong? Our media constantly...
Where does patriotism come from?
What does it mean to love one’s country? It means to feel pain when the country suffers, and joy when it thrives. It means to...
How the social system deteriorates
What is the function of a society? Each country, each person may answer this in a different way, but there is one thing we can...
Why does North Korea criminalize sex?
The regime in North Korea makes people consider their natural desires shameful. It makes us feel guilty about the desire for sex or the instinct...
The delusion of home ownership
In North Korea, it is not possible to buy and sell land or property. We all have no doubt about that. All houses and buildings...
The capricious dictator
What kind of person is Kim Jong-un? As a former subject, I am genuinely curious about who he really is. But ordinary people like me...
Are we masters or slaves?
If you were born in North Korea, there’s something you’ve heard since childhood: we are the masters of society. That is the core principle of...
Who are the leader’s “good people”?
Throughout history, rulers have often complained about their subjects. That’s hardly surprising. Rulers fear the masses. They seem to them like a ticking time bomb,...
Copyright in North Korea
For North Koreans, copyright is an unfamiliar concept. That said, if you were to ask whether copyright exists there, my answer would be yes. It’s...
The dictator’s women
One day in July 2012, North Korea’s state media made a grand announcement. The First Lady, Ri Sol-ju, wife of the new leader Kim Jong-un,...
North Korea does it “our way”
Every country has its own traditions, history, and way of doing things. In North Korea, they call this “our way.” The emotions people feel about...
One party vs. multiple parties
The most cited difference between countries that are socialist or capitalist is the extent to which individual citizens are able to own the means of...
Buying time to earn money
Suppression comes in many forms. There is suppression of association, suppression of travel, and suppression of speech. But of these, the most pervasive form of...