It’s better to be a hammer or sickle than a brush
The ruling Workers' Party emblem of North Korea is different from other communist parties in that it includes a brush alongside the hammer and sickle...
Balloons full of poop launched over South Korea needed Kim Jong-un’s direct approval
With North Korea launching balloons full of excrement into South Korea in recent days, the regime seems to be pretending it doesn’t have the power...
“I am a teacher, not a tax collector”
“I am a teacher, not a tax collector,” the teacher explained after announcing he was quitting. “I can no longer do this even if I...
Kim Jong-un portrait appears on classroom walls in rebuilt party school
When Kim Jong-un participated in the opening ceremony of the new Central School of the Workers' Party of Korea, the event was conducted on a...
Was there almost a second Korean War in 1980?
South Korea this week marks the 44th anniversary of protests in Gwangju, where over 200 civilians were killed by martial law forces suppressing what was...
South Korea through the eyes of North Koreans
If you were to ask North Koreans how they view South Korea, their response might vary according to their job, the part of the country...
Animation films and the shaping of violent children
When defectors from North Korea see kids’ animation movies in South Korea for the first time, they’re usually in for a shock. They’re nothing like...
North Korea’s film industry has trouble staying afloat
The once thriving movie industry in North Korea seems to be stagnating. When a new war blockbuster, 72 Hours, was screened this month in theaters...
Is Kim Jong-un playing off Russia and China for gain?
A recent flurry of diplomacy activity suggests that Kim Jong-un may be reviving his grandfather's old strategy of playing off Russia and China against one...
Defectors back ruling party this time in National Assembly elections
In the lead up to the parliamentary elections in South Korea on April 10, the campaigns of some North Korean defectors are gaining attention. These...
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...
A construction worker in Russia in the time of COVID
In Part 2 of his story, Kang, a North Korean laborer in Russia who escaped to South Korea at the end of 2022, recounts his...
When the enemy of my enemy becomes my friend: the South Koreans who scratch Kim Jong-un’s back
In a peculiar dynamic, North Korean media has been reporting on the activities of certain leftist lawmakers and activists in South Korea in a way...
A North Korean laborer in Russia tells his story
The author recently interviewed a North Korean defector who, despite UN sanctions which forbid North Korea dispatching laborers overseas, spent several years near St. Petersburg...
Shouldn’t Kim Ju-ae be in school?
As Kim Jong-un intensifies the confrontation with South Korea, he appears to be raising the profile of his 11-year-old daughter, Ju-ae. Is he positioning her...
Kim’s saber-rattling looks like a prolonged childish tantrum
With Kim Jong-un now walking a path of military escalation, defense experts in South Korea and the United States are assessing the impact on their...
Why North Koreans would vote for Trump if they could
With the US presidential election campaign picking up steam and, despite the controversy and legal issues swirling around him, Donald Trump might win in November....
The Birth of Korea Documentary Leaves No Room to Deny Achievements of Syngman Rhee
“If it weren’t for President Syngman Rhee, South Korea today would hardly differ from North Korea,” said Jo Dong Jin, a 45-year-old North Korean defector. Jo made the comment on February 23 after watching The Birth of Korea, a documentary on South Korea’s first president which has been creating something of a sensation since its release in mid-January.