Ask a North Korean

Understanding North Korean Through the Eyes of Defectors.

The weekly column Ask a North Korean, published by NK News, invites readers from around the world to pose questions to North Korean defectors. By way of these fascinating interviews, the North Koreans themselves provide authentic firsthand testimonies about what is happening inside the "Hermit Kingdom."

North Korean contributors to this book include:

• "Seong" who came to South Korea after dropping out during his final year of his university. He is now training to be an elementary school teacher.
• "Kang" who left North Korea in 2005. He now lives in London, England.
• "Cheol" who was from South Hamgyeong in North Korea and is now a second-year university student in Seoul.
• "Park" worked and studied in Pyongyang before defecting to the U.S. in 2011. He is now studying at a U.S. college.

This book sheds critical light on all aspects of North Korean politics and society and shows that even in the world's most authoritarian regime, life goes on in ways that are very different from what you may think.

Daniel Tudor has lived in Seoul for many years and served as Korea Correspondent for The Economist from 2010 – 2013. His first book Korea: The Impossible Country received strong praise and has been translated into many languages. His subsequent book, North Korea Confidential (with James Pearson), was selected by The Economist as one of the best books of 2015.

Andrei Lankov is a Director at NK News and writes exclusively for the site as one of the world's leading authorities on North Korea. A graduate of Leningrad State University, he attended Pyongyang's Kim Il Sung University from 1984-5. In addition to his writing, he is also a Professor at Kookmin University.