Artwork by NK NEWS illustrator Cammy Smithwick

In the final part of our special three-part series featuring Aliou Niane, a Guinean who studied at Wonsan agricultural college in North Korea from 1982-1987, Aliou remembers his role in a march to Pyongyang to protest a lack of clean drinking water.

In the summer of 1984, a group of African students who were receiving improperly treated water at Wonsan Agricultural College decided to protest against their inadequate conditions and march to Pyongyang.

The African students were receiving water that was a “milky, white color,” often boiled and served in kettles. Although they were allowed