Will wheat solve the food problem?
Kim Jong-un is trying to shift food production over from corn over to rice, wheat, and barley, and the party’s daily rodong sinmun is reporting,...
Kim Yo-jong’s whopper: Poop balloons represent “People’s Freedom of Expression”
North Korea launched 300 more balloons full of trash and poop in South Korea’s direction this weekend. The latest tit-for-tat barrage began at the end...
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. ...
Why are North Korean defectors conservative?
Nine out of ten North Korean defectors in South Korea support conservative parties. In National Assembly elections in 2012, for example, the turnout among defectors...
The consequences of loyalty and disloyalty in North Korea
Towards the end of his long career, Kim Ki-nam had good reason to worry about his future. As North Korea’s longtime propaganda chief, he had...
When free medical treatment is not free
"Oh, are you a North Korean defector?" the South Korean man at the book club asked me politely. "If it's not too intrusive, may I...
5-jang 6-ki: What a North Korean woman needs for her dowry
I love Pride and Prejudice so much that I've watched it dozens of times. It gets praised a lot for the wonderful story and beautiful...
“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...
By honoring defectors is South Korea unintentionally erecting a barrier to integration?
When I started English lessons again when I was 20, the first topic in the textbook was St. Patrick's Day in America. This celebration of...
South Korea is making it more difficult for defectors to send money to their families
“I once cried and swore all night, praying the broker who stole my money would die. I lost all I had. After that, I borrowed...
Private tutoring is catching on in North Korea
The American philosopher, psychologist and educator John Dewey, who advocated functional psychology and had a significant influence on the American school system, famously said that...
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...
My mother, the Iron Lady
One of my most terrifying memories was the day the secret police ransacked our family’s house. Three men barged in and one of them barked...