North Korea Confidential: Private Markets, Fashion Trends, Prison Camps, Dissenters and Defectors

123 Pages·2015·2.87 MB·English

by  Daniel Tudor

Praise for
NORTH KOREA CONFIDENTIAL
“James Pearson and Daniel Tudor have shown that we don’t have to rely on intelligence leaks and
disinformation in trying to fathom North Korea. There is solid information out there, which they have
brought together and augmented with solid personal insights and first-hand reporting, worked into a
readable and informative guide to real life in the DPRK. It’s a useful addition to a small number of
good modern works on North Korea.”
—Martin Uden, former British ambassador to South Korea
“Pearson and Tudor have expertly distilled a deep study of North Korea into a comprehensive yet
highly readable account of the economic, informational and social forces that make North Korea go
round today. From the differences in fashion trends in Pyongyang and Chongjin to the co-operation
of regime officials and private market traders, North Korea Confidential is stacked with insight and
details. For anyone seeking to understand North Korea beyond the headlines of the Kims and
missiles, this book is a must-read.”
—Hannah Song, CEO of Liberty in North Korea (LiNK),
an NGO working with North Korean defectors
“Tudor and Pearson’s timely book goes a long way to counter the lazy stereotypes that provide the
staple of global commentary on North Korea. This beautifully-written account of daily life shows that
North Koreans of every age routinely bypass government restrictions as they participate on a day-
to-day basis in self-interested market-driven activities. Young North Koreans watch South Korean
movies, listen to K-Pop, copy South Korean fashions and like young people everywhere, find ways to
meet up with partners outside the restrictions of parental supervision. The authors do not minimize
the authoritarian nature of the North Korean state but they make a hugely important contribution in
taking seriously the difference between government policy and the reality of daily life. This book is a
must read.”
—Hazel Smith, author of Hungry for Peace: International Security,
Humanitarian Assistance, and Social Change in North Korea
“The book isn’t just invaluable for expanding our view of North Korea beyond the cliche, soda-straw
view of Pyongyang and showing us the gritty, anarchic country in which most North Koreans live, or
at least survive. By explaining how thoroughly capitalism has already penetrated North Korea, it
should cause experts to question the long-held assumption that ‘communist’ North Korea is destined
to be reformed by capitalism. Indeed, North Korea Confidential shows us a North Korea that has
settled into a new set of contradictions—already capitalist, yet as repressive and militarized as ever,
a command economy bifurcated between the Inner Party and everyone else, where the rich are
getting richer and the poor aren’t.”
—Joshua Stanton, human rights campaigner, blogger and media critic
“This book is a fascinating insight into the DPRK by two leading British journalists. Pearson’s and
Tudor’s extensive research draws on a range of sources to analyse aspects of North Korean society
that are so often hidden from view. A compelling read for anyone with an interest in real life in the
DPRK.”
—Scott Wightman, British Ambassador to South Korea
“Books on North Korea continue to flow off the press. Some are polemics, some are alarmist, but
this work by two journalists looks at real life. In fluent and measured terms, it depicts how the
majority of North Koreans really live. Its focus is on those who wheel and deal outside the official
system who have become the new elite in the North. Their new wealth may be precarious and small
by the standards of their neighbors but it is real and it is transforming the North. Well worth
reading.”
—James Hoare, former Charges des affaire at the
British Embassy in Pyongyang
DANIEL TUDOR & JAMES PEARSON

NORTH KOREA
CONFIDENTIAL
Private Markets, Fashion Trends, Prison Camps,
Dissenters and Defectors
TUTTLE
Publishing
Tokyo | Rutland, Vermont | Singapore
Published by Tuttle Publishing, an imprint of Periplus Editions (HK) Ltd.
www.tuttlepublishing.com
Copyright © 2015 by Daniel Tudor & James Pearson
Front cover’s photos: soldier in tower © Joseph A. Ferris III; girl near the door © Joseph A. Ferris III; girl
talking on the phone © Roman Harak; man talking to the street vendor © Flickr: Xevair; billboard
advertisement © Daniel Tudor; street vendor © Daniel Tudor
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means,
electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval
system, without prior written permission from the publisher.
Library of Congress CIP data in progress
ISBN 978-0-8048-4458-1
ISBN 978-1-4629-1512-5 (ebook)
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The Tuttle Story
“Books to Span the East and West”
Many people are surprised to learn that the world’s leading publisher of books on Asia
had humble beginnings in the tiny American state of Vermont. The company’s founder,
Charles E. Tuttle, belonged to a New England family steeped in publishing.
Immediately after WWII, Tuttle served in Tokyo under General Douglas MacArthur and
was tasked with reviving the Japanese publishing industry. He later founded the Charles E.
Tuttle Publishing Company, which thrives today as one of the world’s leading independent
publishers.
Though a westerner, Tuttle was hugely instrumental in bringing a knowledge of Japan
and Asia to a world hungry for information about the East. By the time of his death in
1993, Tuttle had published over 6,000 books on Asian culture, history and art—a legacy
honored by the Japanese emperor with the “Order of the Sacred Treasure,” the highest
tribute Japan can bestow upon a non-Japanese.
With a backlist of 1,500 titles, Tuttle Publishing is more active today than at any time
in its past—inspired by Charles Tuttle’s core mission to publish fine books to span the East
and West and provide a greater understanding of each.
Contents
Introduction
Thanks and Acknowledgments
Chapter 1 The North Korean Markets: How They Work,
Where They Are, and How Much Things Cost
Chapter 2 Leisure Time in North Korea
Chapter 3 Who Is in Charge?
Chapter 4 Crime and Punishment in North Korea
Chapter 5 Clothes, Fashion, and Trends
Chapter 6 Communications
Chapter 7 Social Division
EPILOGUE Will North Korea Collapse?
Index