Reddit reviews North of the DMZ: Essays on Daily Life in North Korea

Jag vet att folk gillar nordkoreansk propaganda, men varför inte läsa något ur en nordkoreans perspektiv istället för samma trötta charterresa? Det bor över 20000 nordkoreaner i Sydkorea, och en majoritet av dem har flytt dit under det senaste decenniet.

Här är några bokrekommendationer:

• Nothing to Envy: Fokuserar ganska mycket på svältkatastrofen på 90-talet men också många skildringar av vardagen i Nordkorea. Släpptes nyligen på svenska.
  
  
• Escape from Camp 14: Biografi om den enda person som fötts i ett nordkoreanskt koncentrationsläger och lyckats fly landet. Över 200 000 personer tros sitta i dessa läger och Camp 14 är det absolut värsta, i klass med Auschwitz-Birkenau vad gäller grymhet. The Aquariums of Pyongyang handlar om ett annat läger.
  
  
• Några bra böcker som inte är skrivna av/med "avhoppare" (dvs nordkoreanska flyktingar) är The Cleanest Race (om Nordkoreas interna propaganda; väldigt bra för den som undrar "hur de kan tro på det där"), North of the DMZ, och Under the Loving Care of the Fatherly Leader (nästan encyclopedisk bok om nordkoreas historia).

For Korea in general I took a lot of East Asian history courses, including courses on relations with the west, in college. I studied abroad in South Korea for a time where I studied Korean history (ancient and modern) as well as Korean culture and sociology (mostly South Korea). I also had the pleasure of speaking with someone from North Korea.
But if you're interested to know more, these are some sources I can personally recommend...

Books:

• Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea by Barbara Demick
  
  
• Aquariums of Pyongyang: Ten Years in the North Korean Gulag
  
  
• The Cleanest Race
  
  
• Under the Loving Care of the Fatherly Leader: North Korea and the Kim Dynasty
  
  
• North of the DMZ: Essays on Daily Life in North Korea
  
  
• Korea's Place In The Sun by Bruce Cummings
  
  
• Korea Old and New by Harvard Press and Korea Institute
  
  
  And there's more that I have not read yet. If you only read one book out of these, I'd say Nothing to Envy is a great place to start. It gives the most complete picture, in my opinion.
  
  
  Documentaries:
  
  
• A State of Mind (2004)
  
  
• Seoul Train (2005)
  
  
• National Geographic: Inside North Korea (2007)
  
  
• Inside Undercover in North Korea (2007)
  
  
• The Vice Guide to North Korea (2008)
  
  
• Kimjongilia (2008)
  
  
• The Juche Idea (2008)
  
  
• Seven Days in North Korea (2008)
  
  And there's a whole bunch more that I have not seen yet.
  
  And there's a whole bunch of essays and journals/photo collections floating around the internet as well.

Well, I have to tell you you are totally wrong. We do know a lot about the domestic life from defectors to the south, aid workers, Chinese business men that travel there frequently, and the occasional tourist. There are extensive accounts of what life is like there in the city and in the country. But nice try Mr. Know-it-all.

Unlike you I can substantiate my claims with sources:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/northkorea/10206210/As-Pyongyang-celebrates-British-aid-worker-reveals-poverty-of-rural-North-Korea.html

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0786428392/ref=cm_sw_su_dp

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002ZB26AO/ref=cm_sw_su_dp#nav-subnav

http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2016/01/tales-north-korea-defector-story-160107131430263.html

http://www.libertyinnorthkorea.org/blog/category/refugee-stories/

I don't think visiting a country who has a differing foreign policy is really comparable to visiting a country where an oppressive dictator has kept 23 million brainwashed people in utter poverty and starvation. Whatever money you spend in North Korea goes to those in power, and they certainly aren't using that money to feed their people. No, it's more like Hennessy and cigarettes.

Furthermore, anyone who suggests that the official tour that everyone who visits NK goes on is in any way a full and accurate depiction of day to day life in North Korea is kidding themselves. That tour is carefully crafted to only show what the propaganda arm of NK wants. You have two tour guides who are carefully selected from party loyalists, you're not allowed to leave their sight, you're not allowed to talk with anyone else, you're not allowed to take pictures they don't like. I'm not quite sure how you would bring a "glimpse of hope" to an average North Korean if you're not allowed to interact with them in any way.

If you're interested in learning about day to day life in NK, I would recommend reading North of the DMZ by Andrei Lankov, who studied in North Korea in the 80's, or Nothing to Envy by Barbara Demick, who interviewed many defectors about their experiences in NK.

Tourism isn't going to do much for the average North Korean. For a start, I'd place my money on soap operas smuggled in from South Korea and pirate radio stations.