April 26, 2024

Ask A North Korean

Your chance to ask questions to North Koreans about life growing up in the DPRK

Ask a North Korean: What is beach culture like in North Korea?

Ask a North Korean: What is beach culture like in North Korea?

Much like people around the world, North Koreans like to eat, drink and play at the beach. The problem is getting there.

Ask a North Korean: What is beach culture like in North Korea?
Jin September 2, 2022
Ask a North Korean: How do you buy contraception in North Korea?

Ask a North Korean: How do you buy contraception in North Korea?

The lack of sex education in the country means many have little knowledge about how to prevent pregnancy

Ask a North Korean: How do you buy contraception in North Korea?
Joshua Kim August 24, 2022
Ask a North Korean: What is it like to defect across the Northern Limit Line?

Ask a North Korean: What is it like to defect across the Northern Limit Line?

One of the few defectors to escape by sea tells the story of how he and his father pulled it off

Ask a North Korean: What is it like to defect across the Northern Limit Line?
Sersong Han August 19, 2022
Ask a North Korean: How do you move to a new house in the DPRK?

Ask a North Korean: How do you move to a new house in the DPRK?

North Koreans can only move under specific circumstances, and even then finding affordable housing is nigh impossible

Ask a North Korean: How do you move to a new house in the DPRK?
Jin August 12, 2022
Ask a North Korean: Do North Koreans enjoy state media?

Ask a North Korean: Do North Koreans enjoy state media?

Organizations set aside time for reading newspapers, but most citizens find it tedious and overstuffed with ideology

Ask a North Korean: Do North Koreans enjoy state media?
Sersong Han August 2, 2022
Ask a North Korean: What are toilets like in the DPRK?

Ask a North Korean: What are toilets like in the DPRK?

Public restrooms and toilet paper are in short supply, while expense of flush toilets results in a porcelain ‘hierarchy’

Ask a North Korean: What are toilets like in the DPRK?
Alek Sigley
Alek Sigley July 29, 2022
Ask a North Korean: How do North Koreans stay cool in the summer heat?

Ask a North Korean: How do North Koreans stay cool in the summer heat?

Special foods and solar-powered fans are common remedies, and even soldiers will take siestas on hottest days

Ask a North Korean: How do North Koreans stay cool in the summer heat?
Joshua Kim July 20, 2022
Ask a North Korean: The long, dangerous journey to freedom in the South

Ask a North Korean: The long, dangerous journey to freedom in the South

The final chapter in a harrowing escape from North Korea that forced one defector to leave her child and husband behind

Ask a North Korean: The long, dangerous journey to freedom in the South
Jin July 8, 2022
Ask a North Korean: What superstitions and urban myths exist in North Korea?

Ask a North Korean: What superstitions and urban myths exist in North Korea?

The state has failed to fully root out folk beliefs, which range from wedding rituals to tall tales about Kim Il Sung

Ask a North Korean: What superstitions and urban myths exist in North Korea?
Joshua Kim July 4, 2022
Settling in Seoul: Where South Korea succeeds in helping new defectors

Settling in Seoul: Where South Korea succeeds in helping new defectors

Adapting to life in an alien country is a daunting challenge, one defector says, so any assistance can go a long way

Settling in Seoul: Where South Korea succeeds in helping new defectors
Sersong Han June 21, 2022
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