Ko Young-hee: Joseon’s Nameless, Newly Canonized Mother

By | July 16, 2012

A sister, lover, or just good friend? As the speculation fury over Kim Jong-un’s plus-one at the recent Moranbong Band performance suggests, it may behoove analysts and North Korea watchers to be pay closer attention to the women accompanying the Great Successor than the man himself. SinoNK’s analyst for Gender Issues, Darcie Draudt, leaves the identity […]

North Korean Economic Change as Relinquishing of Party Control

By | May 03, 2017

To what extent is the opposition between market activity and Party control in North Korea overstated? Adam Cathcart presents a few caveats.

Benoit Symposium: Capitalist Dreams in the Communist Utopia: North Korea’s The Schoolgirl’s Diary

By | September 30, 2013

Engaging with a contemporary North Korean film, Sherri Ter Molen unpacks the usage of symbols derived from foreign–and what are often seen as hostile–sources within a distinctly North Korean cultural product.

Mass Games for a Mass Audience: Another Sign of Cultural Diplomacy?

By | July 25, 2013

With Seoul and Pyongyang both set to celebrate the 60th Anniversary of the Korean Armistice Agreement, English- and Korean-language media pick up on different points of a similar theme. Is the DPRK reaching out to foreign audiences for its “Victory Day”?

Tango in Dandong, Liaoning Dirge: Dualities of Sino-North Korean Trade

By | October 17, 2012

As the unprecedentedly large China-DPRK expo winds down in Dandong, the Chinese media reports continuation of a spat between North Korea and a jilted Chinese investor. An exclusive SinoNK translation and analysis.