North Korea responded swiftly to COVID-19 in 2020, suspending virtually all cross-border transit and trade early in the year. It was among the first countries to impose such measures, making it appear to retreat into its designation as the “Hermit Kingdom.” 

Politicians and journalists use the label of Hermit Kingdom as a shorthand to describe North Korea’s seeming aversion to outside engagement. Its use as a descriptor — and in many cases a pejorative — accompanies familiar narratives of the “alien” nature of the Kim leaders, who remain enigmatic and, for much of the world, better known through caricature