About the author
More articles by 'Tatiana Gabroussenko'
“Flames”: how an unusual tale of North Korean romance pushed the boundaries
Unrequited love and female-on-male harassment define this unique DPRK-made serial
Socialism with a human face? North Korea’s brief, but impactful, cultural “thaw”
DPRK official culture in the 1980s sought to encourage citizens to be more empathetic
Feature-length commercials: N. Korean ideological dramas peddling products
How a drama centered on a mineral water factory set the stage for a new type of advertising
How a Chongryon-made movie gave 1980s North Korea a glimpse of capitalist life
Aimed at instilling patriotism, "Silver Hairpin" suggested Koreans were better off in Japan
How North Korea’s nascent consumerism has succeeded in toeing the party line
Far from challenging juche orthodoxy, DPRK-style capitalism has pushed traditional state values
Bureaucrats, whiners, and wild horses: industrial managers in North Korean TV
Portrayal of non-party enterprise officials has become decidedly more sympathetic over the years
“Do you envy it?” Why North Korean movies urged the people to idealize city life
In DPRK culture, modern technology always means happiness
Suspicious knowledge: foreign languages in North Korean culture
Propaganda has traditionally portrayed those interested in life overseas with suspicion
“Imagine this is tasty!”: cold noodles in North Korean popular culture
The regime's propagandists turned a famine relief food into a national symbol
Misogyny in camouflage: gender relations in Songun cinema
The "military-first" era saw DPRK culture embrace some troubling ideas about romantic relations
