March 19, 2024

About the author

Markus Bell

Dr. Markus Bell is a cultural anthropologist and a research fellow at La Trobe University. His new book, Outsiders: Memories of Migration to and from North Korea is available in paperback now. Find him on Twitter.

More articles by 'Markus Bell'

South Korea’s demographic crisis could be Yoon Suk-yeol’s biggest challenge
KOREA PRO

South Korea’s demographic crisis could be Yoon Suk-yeol’s biggest challenge

Super-low birth rate poised to reduce workforce and undermine national defense without major policy changes

South Korea’s demographic crisis could be Yoon Suk-yeol’s biggest challenge
Euy Suk Kwon
Euy Suk Kwon | Markus Bell June 7, 2022
A very North Korean way to die

A very North Korean way to die

The Kim personality cult has penetrated the most intimate aspects of North Korean life, even the mourning of the dead

A very North Korean way to die
Markus Bell
Markus Bell September 7, 2021
The movement to return the Japanese wives of Zainichi repatriates from N. Korea

The movement to return the Japanese wives of Zainichi repatriates from N. Korea

Letters sent to Japan revealing the reality of life in the DPRK sparked demands abroad for the wives to be brought home

The movement to return the Japanese wives of Zainichi repatriates from N. Korea
Markus Bell
Markus Bell February 10, 2020
Going “home”: why 87,000 Zainichi Koreans moved from Japan to North Korea

Going “home”: why 87,000 Zainichi Koreans moved from Japan to North Korea

From 1959 to 1984, thousands of Koreans in Japan were promised a better life in the DPRK, only to be met with suffering

Going “home”: why 87,000 Zainichi Koreans moved from Japan to North Korea
Markus Bell
Markus Bell February 5, 2020
Halfway through his presidency, Moon must rethink his inter-Korean strategy

Halfway through his presidency, Moon must rethink his inter-Korean strategy

The South Korean President needs a new way to engage the North to recover in the polls, even if it risks U.S. reprisal

Halfway through his presidency, Moon must rethink his inter-Korean strategy
Marco Milani
Marco Milani | Markus Bell December 1, 2019
Living with a nuclear North Korea: how to move beyond the impasse

Living with a nuclear North Korea: how to move beyond the impasse

Demanding complete denuclearization has long been a diplomatic dead-end

Living with a nuclear North Korea: how to move beyond the impasse
Why South Korea treats North Korean defectors differently to other refugees

Why South Korea treats North Korean defectors differently to other refugees

Ethnic nationalism, culture likely major reasons

Why South Korea treats North Korean defectors differently to other refugees
Markus Bell
Markus Bell May 10, 2019
Shinzo Abe’s legacy building in the age of the new-look North Korea

Shinzo Abe’s legacy building in the age of the new-look North Korea

Japan's Prime Minister faces dilemma over domestic agenda and changes on Korean Peninsula

Shinzo Abe’s legacy building in the age of the new-look North Korea
Markus Bell
Markus Bell February 21, 2019
Why unification offers the best chance for improving North Korean human rights

Why unification offers the best chance for improving North Korean human rights

Only when Kim Jong Un feels secure can real reform take place in the DPRK

Why unification offers the best chance for improving North Korean human rights
Even fashion is authoritarian in North Korea

Even fashion is authoritarian in North Korea

Fashion on the streets, while showing more diversity, still takes its cues from above

Even fashion is authoritarian in North Korea
Markus Bell
Markus Bell | Rosemary Listing March 12, 2015