“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 what the North Korean state teaches young people about romance.

Rose — who was born and raised in North Korea and lived there until she defected in 2019 — writes about official stories of sacrificial love between comrades, a dating scandal that rocked her university and more. 

Got