Ask a North Korean: What do North Koreans think about anti-government protests?

Ask A North Korean

Ask a North Korean: What do North Koreans think about anti-government protests?

State media reports on protests in capitalist countries, but most in DPRK can’t imagine voicing discontent with regime

Hyun-seung Lee March 20, 2023

Ask a North Korean: What do North Koreans think about anti-government protests?

Workers at the Hwanghae Iron and Steel Complex attend a rally in support of the results of a North Korean party plenum | Image: KCNA (Feb. 23, 2021)

“Ask a North Korean” is an NK News series featuring interviews with and columns by North Korean defectors, most of whom left the DPRK within the last few years.

Readers may submit their questions for defectors by emailing [email protected] and including their first name and city of residence.

About the Author

Hyun-seung Lee

Hyun-seung Lee is a former DPRK businessman and chair of the Kim Il Sung Socialist Youth League branch in Dalian, China. A series of purges by Kim Jong Un forced him and his entire family to defect in late 2014, making their way first to South Korea then to the United States. Lee now works as a director for One Korea Network and a fellow of North Korean studies at the Global Peace Foundation, and he has interned with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. He also runs the Pyonghattan YouTube channel with his sister.

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