“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.

Today’s question is about commonly used North Korean proverbs and expressions.

Joshua Kim (a pseudonym) — who was born and raised in North Korea and lived there until he defected in 2019 — writes about how culture is embodied in proverbs, how similar expressions are interpreted differently in the North and South