DPRK

Curated reading

• Socialism and Democracy in the DPRK Article

  The DPRK is continuously cast as a villain in international politics. The “hermit kingdom” is painted as tyrannical, repressive, and dynastic. In this essay, the author wants to argue the opposite: North Korea is a deeply democratic country, and this is reflective of its socialist values.

• Why do North Korean defector testimonies so often fall apart? Article

  Cash incentives and the western media’s endless appetite for shocking stories encourage refugees to exaggerate, Jiyoung Song argues. This article is written by The Guardian.

Curated Videos

• Loyal Citizens of Pyongyang in Seoul

  A short independent documentary on the world of defectors and South Korean Intelligence (National Intelligence Service, formerly known as the KCIA). The film was made by PSL member David Yun during the month he spent in South Korea in the summer of 2018.

• We Went To North Korea To Get A Haircut

  The DPRK is shrouded in secrecy, it's nearly impossible to get any reliable information from behind the bamboo curtain. Nonetheless, every week, on T.V. and online, we are bombarded by the bizarre media-spectacle of North Korea. From nuclear apocalypse and prison camps to banned sarcasm and compulsory identical haircuts - any shred of information regarding North Korea becomes a viral media hit, regardless of how dubious the story is. This video gives a brief history of the DPRK and debunks some of the outlandish propaganda.

• Daily life in North Korea - “My Brothers and Sisters in the North”

  Award-winning documentary filmmaker Sung-Hyung Cho was the first South Korean filmmaker to ever receive an official permit to film in North Korea. Traveling the country, she accompanies ordinary people during their everyday life and work routines, talking to them about their hopes and dreams. The resulting film ventures beyond the usual clichés and portrays the country and its people in a unique and respectful way.
  
  Growing up in South Korea, Cho was taught in school that her Northern neighbors had red skin and two horns on their heads. With her film, she took the chance to bid farewell to her prejudices and revise her preconceived image of people in North Korea.

• What's the deal with defectors?

  Defectors! What's the deal with them? Well, let's take a look at the motivations, stories and underlying material conditions for all of this. Sources in the pinned comment.

• Why is North Korea so weird?

  North Korea is weird, right? Well, maybe it isn't. Here's a deeper dive into that claim with highlights of Western reporting on the goings-on of the DPRK. Recommended reading, documentary recommendations and sources are in the pinned comment.

• Why is North Korea so weird?

  Is North Korea evil? Or is that just what the media tells us? In this video, AzureScapegoat reacts to and comments on the documentary called "The Haircut".

• What If North Korea was a Democracy?

  Just a quick and friendly response/analysis of liberal-type commentary on "official enemies". The usual fallacies present themselves, the truth is always a click away, and always more nuanced.

• DPRK Explained

  Explaining interesting, overlooked topics relating to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.