5 Popular Stereotypes About North Korea

Ever since the release of Crash Landing On You, it has made so many people even more curious on the lives of North Koreans. From watching this drama to documentaries and interviews with North Korean defectors, it is no surprise that we have stereotypes about of North Korean brothers and sisters.

Today, we have gathered the most popular stereotypes about this country and its people; just how true are they? Let's find out!

1. All North Koreans are poor and uneducated.

This is not usually the case. Not all of them have never had good food and good education (교육) before.

Just like any other country, there are families in North Korea (북한) that range from middle class (중산층) to upper class and to some of the richest families.

2. North Koreans are cowards and they don’t fight for their rights.

People don’t understand that as much as North Koreans want to revolt (저항하다), they don’t have the freedom (자유) and safety like other countries to do so.

Their government has a monitoring system where if someone says something bad they can get reported right away and taken to a concentration camp (강제수용소).

3. North Koreans don’t know how to socialize and have fun.

Though some areas in North Korea are somewhat stuck in the 90’s, in Pyongyang (평양) there are so many fun things for the people to do. There is a water theme park (워터파크), fast food restaurants (패스트푸드 음식점), arcades (오락실), internet cafes (피씨방) and even a bowling alley.

Teenagers especially go to these places with their friends but obviously they have to be home by a certain time as the country has curfew (통행금지시간)!

4. North Koreans are not aware of the happenings outside their country.

Most people already know this, but there are quite a number of North Koreans who are up to date with the recent happenings in other countries and most of it is the entertainment (연예계). They are not allowed to listen to K-Pop nor watch South Korean shows, especially American entertainment but they purchase them illegally (불법으로) from black markets (암시장)!

5. There is no electricity in North Korea.

Again, this is somewhat true but prepare to be surprised; or not. Pyongyang, which is the country’s capital (수도) has electricity 24/7 compared to the rural areas of North Korea.

So, there are indeed (정말로) some North Koreans who are not used to electrical shortage.

We hope that this blog was insightful and a fun read for you! It's no doubt that there are more stereotypes about North Korea, but these are the few that we want to bring to light. We hope to cover more topics on North Korea soon to help raise awareness on the situation of the people and their country!