March 29, 2024
Analysis

Kaesong serves as North Korea’s window into the world

Region surrounding inter-Korean complex features standards of living rest of the country can only imagine

Over the last two decades, the border with China has become North Korea’s major window to the outside world. This border, which until 2010 had been essentially unprotected and which remains quite porous nowadays, has served as a channel for ideas, fashions, images and knowledge to get into the hitherto tightly sealed North Korea. However, over the last 10 years, another window opened: the Kaesong Industrial Complex (KIC).

The KIC is located just north of the DMZ in the city of Kaesong. At present, there are almost 55,000 North Korean workers employed by the 125 South Korean companies operating there. These workers produce everything from clothes to household items.

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