The NK News Study Guide, Part 4: Kim Il Sung's North Korea



Evergreen The NK News Study Guide, Part 4: Kim Il Sung’s North Korea A look back at Kim Il Sung's Korea: 1953 - 1994 Gianluca Spezza September 5, 2013 SHARE COPY LINK FACEBOOK X LINKEDIN MASTODON NK News North Korea today is in many aspects a very different country than under Kim Il Sung. After his death in 1994, things were bound to change, and most analysts agree that North Korea has undergone a continuous transition ever since. Politically, Kim Il Sung’s monolithic leadership was gradually substituted with a more collective form of power. Socially, with the breakout of the famine, North Koreans were exposed to a larger foreign presence in the country. Finally, in economic terms, what was left of a precarious command economy collapsed, and the depth of the country’s humanitarian crisis was brought to the © Korea Risk Group. All rights reserved. No part of this content may be reproduced, distributed, or used for commercial purposes without prior written permission from Korea Risk Group. Get the Daily Update Start your day with the North Korea stories that matter most – as selected by Trending

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The NK News Study Guide, Part 4: Kim Il Sung’s North Korea

A look back at Kim Il Sung's Korea: 1953 - 1994

Gianluca Spezza September 5, 2013

NK News

North Korea today is in many aspects a very different country than under Kim Il Sung. After his death in 1994, things were bound to change, and most analysts agree that North Korea has undergone a continuous transition ever since. Politically, Kim Il Sung’s monolithic leadership was gradually substituted with a more collective form of power. Socially, with the breakout of the famine, North Koreans were exposed to a larger foreign presence in the country. Finally, in economic terms, what was left of a precarious command economy collapsed, and the depth of the country’s humanitarian crisis was brought to the

About the Author

Gianluca Spezza

Gianluca Spezza earned his PhD in 2017 from the University of Central Lancashire under the supervision of Professor Hazel Smith, on the strength of research on the cooperation between UNICEF and the DPRK in education and childcare. Dr Spezza is an assistant professor of international relations and a senior researcher at the DPRK Strategy Center at KIMEP University in Almaty, Kazakhstan; he is writing a monograph on education, international cooperation, and human capital in North Korea (Palgrave 2021). His work on the DPRK, articles or interviews, can be found, among others, on the websites of the BBC, The Guardian, The Diplomat, IRIN News, NK News, DR.dk, Newsweek Korea, and El Confidential.

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