Are there books, articles etc that give good insight to the social lives of ordinary North Koreans? What are dating/courtship rituals? What do they do after work? Are there bars? Do they get together to watch sports? What cultural forms are they engaged in?

Looking out the window of a North Korean hotel, you see the law of the jungle laid bare.

I was staying there with Kim, my employee, to scout a casino site. Under the constant gaze of state minders, we couldn’t roam the streets. I watched the world through glass.

Below, a pack of fifteen or sixteen Kotjebi—North Korea’s homeless street children—always loitered. Their faces and clothes were caked in black soot. Indistinguishable.

They survived on small change or rotten food. The clever ones hauled contraband through the black markets for a sliver of bread.

One morning, the routine broke.

I looked down and saw a brawl. Typical childhood friction, I thought. Then it escalated. Five boys swarmed two others, raining down punches and kicks, then striking them with wooden clubs.

I told Kim to do something. Kim grabbed a jar of obsolete local coins, walked to the hotel entrance, and threw a handful into the air.

The fight evaporated. They scrambled for the metal.

A state minder later mapped out the economics of the street. Even the Kotjebi have gangs. Strict territories.

The premier territory is the black market. The boys there are muscle for local syndicates, helping with petty crimes for cheap cigarettes.

The second-tier territory is where we stayed—the city center. Wealthier residents meant spare coins and table scraps.

The most brutal fate belongs to the outliers. The quiet ones who can’t fight their way into a gang. Exiled to the edges of town, they have no food. They simply wait to starve.

Territorial incursions end with fractured skulls. Dead children. Driven by primal survival.

They felt less like humans and more like wild animals. No education. No dignity. Desperate just to see tomorrow.

Kim warned me about lice, but I went down anyway. I brought water to a boy who had been beaten and left in the dirt.

As he drank, my eyes caught the label on his tattered, filthy jacket.

Made in Cambodia.

Even in the darkest corner of this totalitarian state, the cheap debris of global capitalism still finds a way to clothe a dying child.

February 2008. Rajin, North Korea.

The interrogation room inside the state security facility had no windows. None.

A single, dim light hung from the ceiling, illuminating nothing but a wooden desk and a few cold chairs. The paint on the walls was peeling off in sheets.

Across the desk sat the interrogator. He didn't speak. He didn't even look up at me. His hands moved mechanically, flipping through a thick stack of documents with eerie, rhythmic precision.

Two soldiers stood by the door, rifles in hand. They were completely motionless. Only their eyes tracked my every breath.

Finally, the interrogator spoke.

A female interpreter standing next to him immediately translated his words into Japanese. Her voice was smooth, rehearsed—as if she had practiced this exact speech a hundred times.

"You are being arrested under suspicion of currency and customs violations. These are grave acts. In this country, they are equivalent to treason against the State."

My mind went completely blank.

The interrogator kept talking, but I couldn't hear the words anymore. The reality of the regime had just slammed shut behind me.

---

If you want to read the full, raw narrative of my years operating businesses inside North Korea and how I survived the regime's prisons, subscribe to my Substack:
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Imagine that, tomorrow, every North Korean citizen suddenly gained unrestricted access to the global internet for 30 days. No censorship, no government monitoring, no restrictions on foreign news, YouTube, social media or outside opinions.

I hold a dual citizenship with the US and Israel. I will be in china this spring, and figured it would be quite interesting if I was able to tour the DPRK. I know of course that I can't use my American passport. Would my Israeli passport work? Also, what is the attitude of North Koreans towards Israelis (I was born and raised in the us, but my parents are originally from israel and i speak a bit of hebrew)

NOT MY VIDEO. Video from rednote of a Chinese international student studying in North Korea. Crazy thing is she also watched kdrama, which is a serious crime carrying severe punishments. Credits: rouou. Rednote ID: 2899944127. 朝鲜语vlog https://xhslink.cn/o/2qPl8lP6NWh
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Pyongyang is demonstrating that it has no intention of abandoning the development of missile technology. Will Seoul be able to respond to this threat without further increasing military spending?

M(23) U.S. citizen living in Australia at the moment.

Been interested in attending the race if it’s even possible. Any tips, knowledge, advice? Cheers