NEWS & EVENTS

On February 21st, the Edwin O. Reischauer Center for East Asian Studies hosted a seminar by Professor Xingxing Wang, a Research Fellow at 한국외국어대학교 (Hankuk University of Foreign Studies) and a Visiting Scholar at the Reischauer Center, on the recent transformation of North Korea’s society under Kim Jong Un.

She discussed the evolving nature of certain aspects of daily life, such as food and fashion, under the dual economic system. At the same time, she described how heavy industry sectors, such as energy, are still struggling, leading to poorly designed infrastructure projects in the capital. Professor Wang stressed that while societal changes may be visible in the capital, the rest of the country has not seen the same development. Additionally, social control and freedoms are still heavily restricted, including individual freedom, protection from environmental pollution and disease, as well as control of information.

After the lecture, members of the audience asked questions regarding the effectiveness of sanctions in recent years, the prevalence of crime in North Korea, and the country’s sensitivity to ideas of “reform” or “openness” despite their recent economic development.