March 28, 2024

About the author

Kim Yoo-sung

Kim Yoo-sung is an Ask a North Korean contributor who left Gil-joo County of Hamkyungbuk-do, DPRK in 2005

More articles by 'Kim Yoo-sung'

Ask a North Korean: What do you think about President Trump and the U.S.?

Ask a North Korean: What do you think about President Trump and the U.S.?

"South Koreans are trapped in the misconception that America will save them from any danger"

Ask a North Korean: What do you think about President Trump and the U.S.?
Kim Yoo-sung
Kim Yoo-sung May 31, 2017
Ask a North Korean: Do North Koreans love cherry blossom, too?

Ask a North Korean: Do North Koreans love cherry blossom, too?

"North Koreans grow up brainwashed to hate cherry blossom trees"

Ask a North Korean: Do North Koreans love cherry blossom, too?
Kim Yoo-sung
Kim Yoo-sung May 19, 2017
Ask a North Korean: Do you use Korean age in North Korea too?

Ask a North Korean: Do you use Korean age in North Korea too?

'If I give my Korean age during the official interview with public servants, I will be scolded'

Ask a North Korean: Do you use Korean age in North Korea too?
Kim Yoo-sung
Kim Yoo-sung April 13, 2017
Ask a North Korean: What did North Koreans know about Kim Jong Nam?

Ask a North Korean: What did North Koreans know about Kim Jong Nam?

"Only after arriving in South Korea did I learn about the genealogy of the Kim family"

Ask a North Korean: What did North Koreans know about Kim Jong Nam?
Kim Yoo-sung
Kim Yoo-sung February 23, 2017
Ask a North Korean: How capitalist is North Korea today?

Ask a North Korean: How capitalist is North Korea today?

"North Korea has become a capitalist state in a manner that cannot easily be defined with words"

Ask a North Korean: How capitalist is North Korea today?
Kim Yoo-sung
Kim Yoo-sung December 29, 2016
Ask a North Korean: How many North Koreans read Chinese characters?

Ask a North Korean: How many North Koreans read Chinese characters?

"I had always wanted to learn Chinese. I memorized 3000 characters by myself in my spare time"

Ask a North Korean: How many North Koreans read Chinese characters?
Kim Yoo-sung
Kim Yoo-sung December 23, 2016
Ask a North Korean: What do N. Koreans eat that Southerners don’t?

Ask a North Korean: What do N. Koreans eat that Southerners don’t?

"When you fall ill in North Korea, the first thing that comes to your mind is a dish of rabbit"

Ask a North Korean: What do N. Koreans eat that Southerners don’t?
Kim Yoo-sung
Kim Yoo-sung December 6, 2016
Ask a North Korean: Guns and going hunting in North Korea

Ask a North Korean: Guns and going hunting in North Korea

Hunting is rare and heavily restricted, and the most prized animal specimens go to top brass

Ask a North Korean: Guns and going hunting in North Korea
Kim Yoo-sung
Kim Yoo-sung November 4, 2016
Finding your significant other in North Korea

Finding your significant other in North Korea

Can love overcome the songbun hierarchical system?

Finding your significant other in North Korea
Kim Yoo-sung
Kim Yoo-sung August 5, 2016
A North Korean in the South Korean army

A North Korean in the South Korean army

When South Korean men talk military service memories it's easy for a defector to feel left out

A North Korean in the South Korean army
Kim Yoo-sung
Kim Yoo-sung July 5, 2016
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