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“Sorry, no selfies” say North Korean team
The story behind the lesser-known Olympic selfie between North and South Korean archers Kang Un-Ju and Chang Hye-Jin. From left to right: South Korean coach Han Seung-Hoon, the North Korean coach,...
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When North Koreans win gold medals
North Korean weightlifting champion Rim Jong-Sim/Still from KBS North Korea’s first gold medal in the Rio Olympics was won by weightlifter Rim Jong-Sim, who, in her press interview, stated that, “Even...
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Unification, in marriage: An interview with ‘Heeyon’
“Because North Korea is a very patriarchal society, I heard that the wives are very devoted to their husbands. Is that true?” South Korean men are taking an interest in North Korean women as potential...
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Differing Beauty Standards between North and South
“Your face is as big as my fist!” In beauty-obsessed South Korea, this is a compliment; in North Korea, an insult. Picture from BBC. In beauty-obsessed South Korea, a petite frame and small face is the...
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North Korean daycare: a growing industry
In the era of informal market activity or the jangmadang generation of North Korea, it is almost essential for a woman to work. That means sending their children to North Korean private daycare. Image...
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A North Korean Thanksgiving
This week is Chuseok, the Korean Thanksgiving holiday. North Koreans recall how they used to spend Chuseok back in their hometowns. A Korean grave, with an ancestral rites table./New Focus Residents of...
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New propaganda distributed to high schools in North Korea
High school students have been asked to spy on one another during a new round of propaganda lectures early September. The North Korean state began a round of propaganda lectures in schools in each...
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North Korean women get inventive in underground sex industry
As their financial situations worsen, 40-year-old North Korean mothers must sell their bodies to return home: an insight into North Korea’s underground sex industry. North Korea’s informal economy is...
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No need to be polite: ‘banmal’ in North Korean society
In Korean language and society, honourifics are of utmost importance. The polite form (‘jondaetmal’) is used for those who demand or deserve respect. In South Korea, this often means somebody who is...
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Celebrating International Women’s Day in North Korea
North Korea is one of the few countries in the world where International Women’s Day is a national holiday – well, sort of. In North Korea, what the free world calls International Women’s Day (IWD) is...
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