Ask A North Korean
Your chance to ask questions to North Koreans about life growing up in the DPRK
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: Why a DPRK laborer in Russia decided to defect
A recent defector writes about growing disillusioned during 90s famine and how pandemic pushed him to make a break
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 get tattoos?
Ink is common among older generations, but usually as a way to show loyalty rather than as a form of self-expression
Ask a North Korean: Can children in the DPRK express their creativity?
David, who defected in 2012, writes about discovering the joys of self-expression through his work as a YouTuber
Ask a North Korean: What I learned from visiting a DPRK restaurant abroad
A defector writes about his surreal meal at a North Korean restaurant in Laos and how it led him to reflect on his life
Ask A North Korean: Are there private academies and tutors in the DPRK?
North Koreans are passionate about education, and like in South Korea, a fever for private instruction has taken hold
Settling in Seoul: What do you think about critics of North Korean defectors?
A DPRK escapee talks about encountering people who question his testimony and how he learned to embrace his past
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: How do North Koreans think about sexual and gender identity?
The regime does not acknowledge gay and transgender people, but that does not mean they don’t exist in the DPRK
