Christopher Richardson has not even published his thesis yet, but his scholarship into North Korean children’s literature and culture is getting him some early attention from media around the world.  From winged horse riders to butterflies fighting off roosters, Richardson says tales for even the very youngest children play a central and deliberately designed role in establishing the political correctness North Korea demands.

But how is homespun children’s propaganda holding up against the influx of Disney, the Simpsons, and other external narratives seeping in through trade and technology?

NKN 002 : Children's Culture In North Korea

Just a routine audio check with UN Commission of Inquiry Chairman Michael Kirby-- until he induced a jaw drop with an impromptu recitation of Australian poetry.

Michael Kirby Audio Check: 28 Seconds Of Pure Awesome

Kathi Zellweger-- former Swiss envoy to North Korea, and now Stanford scholar-- contends things are getting better for the disabled in North Korea, thanks in no small part to international engagement

NKN 004   Disability & Engagement In North Korea

The BBC's John Sweeney says it was worth it to pose as a London School of Economics professor in order to visit North Korea and share images from his trip with a mass audience.  A year after that controversial trip, and the TV episode and book that spring from it, he sits down to talk to NKNews.org about what he labels "the dark state."

NKN 006  "North Korea Undercover," A Year Later: John Sweeney

In part two of NKNews.org's conversation with North Korea expert Andrei Lankov, he says Pyongyang is making a "huge mistake" in annoying China.  He says Chinese-style economic reforms have little chance to succeed unless the DPRK can attract massive foreign investment.

NKN 014 Part 2 - Lankov On  "Chinese"  Reforms In North Korea

Australian researcher Mark Fahey gathered "terabytes and terabytes" of multimedia content during his visits to North Korea -- often using multimedia recording gear he wasn't supposed to have brought in.  He's making the content available free of charge on the Apple Store, in an interactive ebook titled "Behind The Curtain."

NKN 015 Behind The Curtain- North Korea As Multimedia

"North Korea Confidential" detours from the usual narrative of the DPRK primarily as rogue nuclear state or oppressor of human rights, instead focusing in on ordinary lives in an ever-shifting landscape of emerging capitalist-style market activity.  Co-authors Daniel Tudor and James Pearson speak to NKNews.org.

NKN 016 North Korea Confidential - Skinny Jeans & Beyond

The story of Shin Sang-ok and Choi Eun Hee would almost be hard to believe as a movie screenplay.. except that it happens to be true.  Paul Fischer has brought their tale of conscription into North Korea's nascent film industry to an English reading audience in "A Kim Jong Il Production."

NKN 017  When North Korea Tried To Kidnap A Film Industry

NKNews.org and "Byline,"  a journalism crowdfunding startup, are teaming up in an effort to fund field reporting along the China-North Korea border.

The idea is to go out and get those stories that slip through the cracks of mainstream media... which has to spend most of its time and resources on the 700 pound gorilla stories of geopolitics, and nuclear weapons, and high-level diplomacy.

Want to get involved?  Hear the founders of Byline and NKNews.org, Dan Tudor and Chad O'Carroll, in conversation on the latest NKNews podcast.

NKN 018 Crowdfunding News Coverage Of North Korea

Participants in a symbolic peace walk are breaking some new ground on using technology to send information from North Korea.  It's called "Periscope," and it could turn into something big.

NKN 019 Periscoping North Korea

Andrei Lankov says he's disappointed at the apparent halt of reforms that were expected to sweep through North Korea's economy.  He deconstructs the speedbumps on NKNews.org.

NKN 020 Disappointment In North Korea Reforms

It took Hyeonseo Lee ten years to reach South Korea after leaving the North, and she was separated from her family for 14 years.  As she gets ready to launch her biography, she speaks with NKNews.org.

NKN 021 The Girl With Seven Names Hyeonseo Lee

North Korea's "Jangmadang Generation," named after makeshift markets that sprung up of necessity during famine, may be the most transformational force the country has ever seen.  Sokeel Park, from Liberty in North Korea, sketches out the market generation's characteristics and explains why its members are so different from their predecessors.

NKN 022 North Korea's Market Generation

TBSeFM offers up an interview with Nobel Laureate Richard Roberts, who was accompanied by a BBC team during his visit to North Korea.  Roberts is sharply critical of the BBC's reporting, saying he feels the team clearly went in with an "agenda."

TBSeFM This Morning 11 May 2016

The official podcast of NKNews.org, where you'll find comprehensive and impartial, agenda-free reporting on what's happening in North Korea from trained professionals.  The NKNews.org podcast is committed to bringing together the world's top experts on North Korea, to make honest inquiries into the dynamics shaping the country.

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