April 25, 2024

About the author

Rose

Rose is a pseudonym for a North Korean defector writer. She was born in the city of Chongjin and lived in North Korea until she defected with her family in 2019, resettling in South Korea in Jan. 2020. She previously worked as a video producer in North Korea, specifically in wedding production, and now works in the marketing department of an advertising company.

More articles by 'Rose'

Ask a North Korean: Behind the scenes of wedding shoots for the DPRK’s new rich

Ask a North Korean: Behind the scenes of wedding shoots for the DPRK’s new rich

A former videographer writes about how couples spent days filming videos before crackdown on ‘anti-socialist’ practice

Ask a North Korean: Behind the scenes of wedding shoots for the DPRK’s new rich
Rose March 7, 2024
Ask a North Korean: Does the DPRK have digital payment systems?

Ask a North Korean: Does the DPRK have digital payment systems?

Services have cropped up for transferring money and making payments, but distrust in banks poses obstacles to their use

Ask a North Korean: Does the DPRK have digital payment systems?
Rose February 6, 2024
Ask A North Korean: Do North Koreans celebrate Western holidays?

Ask A North Korean: Do North Koreans celebrate Western holidays?

A defector writes about her memories of festivities in the DPRK and her first experience of Valentine’s Day

Ask A North Korean: Do North Koreans celebrate Western holidays?
Rose January 9, 2024
Ask a North Korean: What are ideological study sessions like?

Ask a North Korean: What are ideological study sessions like?

A defector writes about taking notes for hours to prove her loyalty, memorizing the leader’s speeches and more

Ask a North Korean: What are ideological study sessions like?
Rose November 10, 2023
Ask a North Korean: Do North Koreans believe in God?

Ask a North Korean: Do North Koreans believe in God?

A DPRK escapee writes about the fatal consequences citizens face if they are found to worship the wrong religion

Ask a North Korean: Do North Koreans believe in God?
Rose October 17, 2023
Settling in Seoul: What a North Korean escapee thinks of South Korean politics

Settling in Seoul: What a North Korean escapee thinks of South Korean politics

DPRK’s ‘revolutionary’ politics left no room for choice, but ROK’s democratic system can be bewildering for defectors

Settling in Seoul: What a North Korean escapee thinks of South Korean politics
Rose September 21, 2023
Ask a North Korean: What did state propaganda teach you about love?

Ask a North Korean: What did state propaganda teach you about love?

While praising sacrificial love between comrades, schools discourage romance and treat it as taboo

Ask a North Korean: What did state propaganda teach you about love?
Rose July 7, 2023
Ask a North Korean: How a woman’s disappearance led a family to defect

Ask a North Korean: How a woman’s disappearance led a family to defect

New columnist Rose writes about discovering the world via foreign media and yearning to escape a country-sized prison

Ask a North Korean: How a woman’s disappearance led a family to defect
Rose May 16, 2023