Editor’s note: The following is the final article in a multipart memoir series written by Alek Sigley about his time studying at Kim Il Sung University.

I was a semester away from graduating with a master’s degree in contemporary fiction when I was apprehended by North Korea’s secret police. But there would have been no cap and gown waiting for me anyway, even if I had been allowed to graduate.

International students do not have the privilege of participating in a graduation ceremony at Kim Il Sung University. For domestic students, a ceremony usually takes place in mid-January outside the