Ask me about North Korea
Politics
North Korea certainly deserves its title of the Hermit Kingdom of East Asia. Even today, for many that country remains a riddle wrapped up in an enigma. Does North Korea really have no COVID-19 cases? Has Kim Jong-un really executed people with a flamethrower? Is everyone there forced to get a Kim Jong-un haircut? As a North Korea watcher, in this podcast I do my best to provide short but detailed responses to these and other most common questions about this country. The podcast is powered by Anchor. For more details visit - askmeaboutdprk.wordpress.com
Location:
United States
Genres:
Politics
Description:
North Korea certainly deserves its title of the Hermit Kingdom of East Asia. Even today, for many that country remains a riddle wrapped up in an enigma. Does North Korea really have no COVID-19 cases? Has Kim Jong-un really executed people with a flamethrower? Is everyone there forced to get a Kim Jong-un haircut? As a North Korea watcher, in this podcast I do my best to provide short but detailed responses to these and other most common questions about this country. The podcast is powered by Anchor. For more details visit - askmeaboutdprk.wordpress.com
Language:
English
Episodes
Episode 50 – Why does this podcast have to come to an end? (at least, for now)
9/19/2021
All things have to come to an end, and it applies to this podcast in its current format too. Thank you for staying tuned for more than 50 episodes! In this last episode I talk about why it has to end and what my future plans are. Spoiler: Once I have more time, I will do my best to rebrand, reformat, and continue this podcast in mid-2022. To use a famous platitude - I am not saying “goodbye”, I am just saying “see you later!”
Duration:00:04:14
Episode 49 – What is the role of military in North Korea?
9/12/2021
In this episode, I would like to talk about the Korean People’s Army or KPA – the military of North Korea, which is also the armed wing of the ruling party. Specifically, today we will look at the current structure, role, and significance of the North Korean army.
Duration:00:10:44
Episode 48 – Why are the North Korean-Japanese relations as bad as it can get?
9/5/2021
Today’s episode talks about the complicated historical framework of the North Korean-Japanese relations – including the two biggest conflict points that both countries have had. In that light, I also discuss their contemporary problems including history interpretation and mutual negative perception.
Duration:00:14:09
Episode 47 – How to release North Korean music covers? (Interview with Justin Martell)
8/29/2021
Today’s episode is unusually musical. Our guest today is Justin Martell, an American producer, and a co-founder of Ship to Shore PhonoCo record label. Justin Martell in 2017 also founded YPT’s partner, Pioneer Media, offering production services across a wide variety of unique locations from Asia to Eastern Europe. He has worked extensively in the horror movie genre and has written the foremost authoritative book Tiny Tim. Today's interview with him will focus on an album, which has been...
Duration:00:36:29
Episode 46 – What does North Korea export to the outside world?
8/22/2021
This episode will not be very analytical, but the topic that I will cover provides some important context for the previous episodes and your understanding of the North Korean socio-economic system and its place in the global trade streams. Today I will talk a bit more about North Korean exports – what the country focuses on in its production and external trade.
Duration:00:10:09
Episode 45 – What happens if Kim Jong-un dies?
8/15/2021
The notorious leader of North Korea, Kim Jong-un, has disappeared several times from the public eye in the course of 2020 and 2021, with both experts and media watchers wondering whether the North Korean leader is suffering from some sort of systemic health issue that could potentially be fatal. But what actually happens if Kim Jong-un dies? What will the immediate political ramifications look like? Let’s think about it together.
Duration:00:12:33
Episode 44 – Why will North Korea remain under quarantine for longer than just 2021?
8/8/2021
Even before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, North Korea had a reputation as one of the most if not the most isolated societies on Earth. It was as if North Korea was already living under the conditions of a permanent COVID-19 lockdown. Indeed, it was hard to imagine that the hermit nation could get any more reclusive than it had already been. Yet with COVID-19 raging all over the world, North Korea seems to be rolling down the path of new unprecedented levels of isolationism. So, in this episode,...
Duration:00:08:53
Episode 43 – How does North Korea make money illegally?
8/1/2021
Quite some time ago I’ve received a couple of suggestions to cover the question of how North Korea earns money illicitly. Since this is a massive topic, it took me a while to figure out what kind of episode I want to make while answering the question. Hence, today, I will try to respond to this question by focusing on the main areas of North Korean criminal activities that earn cash for the regime – ranging from drug trade to counterfeiting. Apart from that, I’ll touch upon the...
Duration:00:15:39
The Podcast’s Participation in Annual Podcast Awards: Your Vote is Needed!
7/27/2021
Hello everyone! So, I am coming to you today with another announcement/request. As some of you might have seen, I have recently registered for the annual Podcast Awards competition in the category 'News & Politics'. I would be very grateful, if you could use 2 minutes of your time and support my podcast with your vote as a listener. Your help would mean a lot! You can find the instructions here:...
Duration:00:01:35
Episode 42 — What is it like to be an organizer of tours to North Korea?
7/27/2021
Today’s podcast episode is an interview with an organizer of North Korea tours. Nicolas Platt is a travel guide, who works with the Young Pioneers’ Tours, one of the most renown DPRK tour organizers internationally. The YPT website describes Nic as a “North Korea wunderkind and tour guide par extraordinaire. Whilst he’s not touring you may usually find him at a North Korean restaurant in China, studying Korean or travelling unique parts of the world”.
Duration:00:19:39
Episode 41 – What is North Korea’s diplomatic standing in the developing world?
7/18/2021
Back in the Cold War days, North Korea was one of the key players in the non-aligned movement or the so-called Third World. Pyongyang used to position itself as a leader of the opposition to international imperialism and even tried to project its juche ideology on other countries. However, now the country is largely seen as an international pariah sponging off the remaining economic and political ties it has with the developing nations. Why did the situation change so dramatically? I am...
Duration:00:14:06
Episode 40 – What are North Korean cartoons?
7/11/2021
North Korean animation is not really renowned world-wide, but you might have seen some of its products without even realizing it. Indeed, its quality can be surprisingly good! For example, North Korean animators drew some of the scenes in “The Lion King”, one of Disney’s biggest bestsellers. On the other hand, it is also responsible for producing extremely funny, cringy or violent series too. If you are curious about North Korea’s cultural exploits in this area, make sure to check out this...
Duration:00:10:33
Episode 39 – Did COVID-19 reach Pyongyang: What is North Korea’s ‘grave coronavirus incident’?
7/4/2021
It was quite a sudden bit of news when Kim Jong-un, speaking at a high-level Party meeting at the end of June of 2021, warned of “grave consequences” as a result of senior officials neglecting the country’s COVID-19 prevention measures. This statement caused a lot of interest and controversy in the international mass-media with North Korea experts divided on what sort of event could have happened. Was it really that North Korea detected its first COVID-19 case? Was there a breach of...
Duration:00:09:41
Episode 38 – Why did the Workers’ Party of Korea change its rulebook and why does it matter?
6/27/2021
Today I am discussing one of the most important recent political developments in North Korea. Specifically, I will talk about the revisions to the rules of the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK). They were made public and resurfaced on the professional DPRK watchdog websites only a couple of weeks ago, despite the fact that officially the WPK Congress, which is the highest decision-making body in North Korea, revised those rules in January. So, what do these revisions mean for North Korea?
Duration:00:12:34
Season 2 Finale – Podcast Updates, Book Lottery, and June Hiatus
5/30/2021
Today I am coming to you with some updates on the podcast, several messages, and a book lottery announcement. Want to get a copy of Kim Jong-un’s biography? Just spread the word about the podcast.
Duration:00:03:47
Episode 37 – Why did Joe Biden and Moon Jae-in meet and what does it mean for North Korea?
5/29/2021
Today I would like to do some news coverage from the past week. If some of you have been following the news on North Korea, South Korea, or the United States, you most likely know that a major meeting between the US President Joe Biden and South Korean President Moon Jae-in took place on May 21. Why did they meet in the first place, why does it matter, and will it change anything in the relations of both countries with North Korea?
Duration:00:14:35
Episode 36 – What are the challenges and joys of studying North Korea?
5/23/2021
After having produced quite a number of podcast episodes, I wanted to reflect a little bit exactly on the subject of my exploits – North Korean studies. Thus, in this episode, I will be doing what I do best – complaining. Specifically, I would like to tell you about all the issues that North Korea watchers like me have to face in their research. Perhaps if any of you ever get interested in this field or choose to conduct their own projects, you might find my ramblings somewhat useful.
Duration:00:12:13
Episode 35 – What is the history of football in the North Korea?
5/22/2021
There are not that many things that both North and South Korea have in common. Yet football is one of them. Given the love of the game in both countries, football can also be a powerful diplomatic tool in inter-Korean relations as well as a gate for North Koreans to the outside world. In today’s episode, I will talk about the history and peculiarities of contemporary North Korean football at the request of one of my listeners, Carl Stewart from Northumberland.
Duration:00:12:22
Episode 34 – How bad is the human rights situation in the DPRK and how did it get there?
5/16/2021
While the human rights problem in North Korea is rather well-documented and well-studied, in this episode I wanted to provide you with a quick introduction on the topic; suggest some follow-up readings; and, most importantly, reflect on how the situation became so bad in the first place. After all, the human rights situation in that country is a good reminder for all of us about why North Korea is not something funny.
Duration:00:18:41
Episode 33 – What is the geopolitical dimension of the Russia-North Korea relations?
5/15/2021
Moscow is often seen, similar to Beijing, as one of the key allies of the North Korean regime. Yet politics and history of the Russia-North Korea relations have vacillated from strategic importance to complete indifference – and the pendulum would swing back and forth every other decade. The Korean Peninsula, which lies as the Eastern-most border with Russia, has remained in the focus of Russia's and USSR’s geopolitical attention throughout the twentieth century. Korea, on the other hand,...
Duration:00:18:30