This is the second in a two-part series. Part one can be read here. A version of this originally appeared, in Russian, here.

The main task in life for an adult North Korean is joining the party. The party’s name is usually translated as the “Workers’ Party of Korea,” but a more accurate translation would be “Korean Labor Party.” However, the irony is that people join it to not become a worker – and if one is fortunate, to avoid physical labor entirely.

The party is not a normal political party, but rather a huge bureaucratic structure which