In much of the English-speaking world, the country ruled by Kim Jong Un is known simply and succinctly as North Korea. Yet this, of course, is not the country’s official name — the much longer Democratic People’s Republic of Korea — and Pyongyang shuns the shorter “North Korea” in all official and even semi-official dealings as a label legitimizing the peninsula’s division.
There is a degree of hypocrisy in these statements. Northerners themselves normally prefer to just say “the Republic” rather than to break their tongue over the convoluted sobriquet. But what’s funnier, in a rather dark way, is that the DPRK once referred to itself by a wrong name for several years, in a little-known episode that highlights the enduring political culture of fear north of the DMZ.
In much of the English-speaking world, the country ruled by Kim Jong Un is known simply and succinctly as North Korea. Yet this, of course, is not the country’s official name — the much longer Democratic People’s Republic of Korea — and Pyongyang shuns the shorter “North Korea” in all official and even semi-official dealings as a label legitimizing the peninsula’s division.
There is a degree of hypocrisy in these statements. Northerners themselves normally prefer to just say “the Republic” rather than to break their tongue over the convoluted sobriquet. But what’s funnier, in a rather dark way, is that the DPRK once referred to itself by a wrong name for several years, in a little-known episode that highlights the enduring political culture of fear north of the DMZ.
Try unlimited access
Only $1 for four weeks
-
Unlimited access to all of NK News: reporting, investigations,
analysis
-
Year-one discount if you continue past $1 trial period
-
The NK News Daily Update, an email newsletter to keep you in
the loop
-
Searchable archive of all content, photo galleries, special columns
-
Contact NK News reporters with tips or requests for reporting
Get unlimited access to all NK News content, including original reporting,
investigations, and analyses by our team of DPRK experts.
Subscribe
now
All major cards accepted. No commitments – you can cancel any time.