North Korea’s multimillion-dollar museum in Cambodia
North Korea hopes to reap large profits from its new Angkor Panorama Museum in Siem Reap, Cambodia.
REVIEW: ‘The Orphan Master’s Son’, by Adam Johnson
PERHAPS THE BEST way to grasp the sad and desperate state of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is to glance at a satellite photo of Northeast Asia by night.
North Korea’s New Friend?
A rare visit by a North Korean official to Cambodia raises the faint prospect of more engagement with Southeast Asia. But ties with Phnom Penh are complicated.
All aboard North Korea’s refugee railroad
PHNOM PENH – In late November 2006, after a long, perilous journey from northeast China, a North Korean national crossed the Vietnamese frontier into Cambodia’s northeast Mondulkiri province. The man, identified only as Ly Hai Long in local media reports, was promptly arrested by Cambodian police, who told a reporter from the Cambodia Daily that...
Portrait of a North Korean propagandist turned protest artist
Before fleeing North Korea, Song Byeok was a propaganda artist, creating portraits of ‘Dear Leader’ Kim Jong-il. Now he uses his art to criticize the regime from South Korea.
North Korean artist turns talents on repressive regime
A harrowing story of escape to the South, Song Byeok’s journey took him from propaganda to pop art.
“You Are Followers of the Juche Philosophy, So I Can Put My Trust in You”
Reading North Korea’s comic book propaganda.
More on North Korea and the Arab Spring
Following my recent Foreign Policy piece on North Korea’s reaction to the revolts in the Middle East, I was interviewed about the issue on NPR’s Morning Edition. I spoke with host Steve Inskeep about the 200 North Korean workers who have been ordered to remain in Libya since outbreak of the uprising against Gaddafi, as...
Pyongyang Spring
Could Kim Jong Il’s regime be the next autocratic government to fall? Don’t bet on it.
For North Korean State Waitresses Abroad, Lives of Rigor and Temptation
The waitresses, enlisted from the DPRK elite into state service and shipped to government-run eateries across Asia, face political scrutiny and the prison-like servitude of home
North Korea-Run Restaurants Spread Propaganda and Kimchi Across Asia
TGI Friday’s meets DPRK propaganda center, the state-owned Pyongyang Cafés provide kitschy entertainment and much-needed revenues for the regime back home
Escaping North Korea
The hundreds of North Koreans escaping into China each year are facing ever tougher border controls. Those caught face imprisonment and torture.
