영어 귀 뚫기, 리스닝 실력 폭발적으로 늘어요 | 한국인도 모르는 북한 이야기

There is a Dunkin' Donuts at the DMZ. They are imprisoning people for this. The daughter that keeps appearing in the media is not the next leader of North Korea.

Welcome back to Lunch Hour English! Today I am at a North Korean restaurant and trying Pyongyang naengmyeon for the first time. First, I would like to introduce today's lovely guest. Hi! Dr. Elizabeth.

I'm Ellie. I'm originally from Canada. I came to Korea in 2017. This year I finished my PhD in North Korean studies. Congratulations! From Korea University.

How did you become interested in North Korean studies?

My background was in history and philosophy. While doing my master's, I researched North Korean cinema and wrote my thesis about that. So I decided if I want to continue researching North Korea, I need to get the background knowledge.

Can you hear the difference between a North Korean person speaking and a South Korean person speaking?

I have a harder time understanding North Korean.

Just curious, just curious.

Interestingly, North Korean has a few letters that are different from Hangul in South Korea, but for the most part, like, anything I've read from North Korea, I've been able to read pretty easily.

Gotcha, that is very interesting.

Yeah, they have some different characters.

I did not know that.

I read a study that most North Koreans who move to South Korea report it takes them around 3 years to feel fully confident and fully comfortable speaking the South Korean dialect. A lot of North Koreans in South Korea, if people ask like, "Where's your accent from?" or "Where did you grow up?" they'll say like, "I was born in such-and-such province in China," because it is an easy way to explain why they don't have a South Korean hometown. It explains any accent, it explains any cultural differences or misunderstandings, and it just dissuades people from asking awkward questions.

Oh, eat, eat, eat! Dang, I feel like I'm gonna learn so much today. Oh, good! I saw news recently about people watching South Korean dramas in North Korea.

I highly doubt that there is a young North Korean in most metropolitan areas of North Korea who has not seen some kind of foreign media. And interestingly, I think it was last year, Pyongyang Language and Culture Protection Act This kind of, in my opinion, represents a crackdown on the influence of foreign media because foreign media is already illegal. But this is specifically using South Korean slang terms, phrases of speech. So it's cracking down on people who are speaking like South Koreans and using slang from South Korea. It's reached a certain level of influence where people are talking like the people in the shows. And I want to clarify something. A lot of headlines about Languages and Culture Protection Act threatens death penalty. That's not untrue, but if you read the details of the act, that's only in extreme cases.

So it doesn't always happen?

No, no, no. They are imprisoning people for this according to the act, which is still very serious, but it's not like they're executing people who are using South Korean slang. That's too much of a generalization.

Speaking of headlines, lately the trash balloons— I see it— Those are haunting.

I did not anticipate that they would keep it up for as many months as they have kept it up.

Same.

Because they've done this in the past, you know, with in North Korea, they do something for a short period of time or they have like an incident and then things calm down a little bit. So I was surprised they continued with the trash balloons for as long as they have. And then recently with the destruction of the road and the railway. But if you go to either the JSA or the DMZ, but very close to the JSA, there is a train station there because years ago there was talk about opening a railroad between North Korea and South Korea. All of this was built, it's not in use. So I'm not saying that it's not serious that they destroyed it, but they weren't in use. So it's possible that they are just thinking, "We're gonna use this area for something else." So that's something to keep an eye on for sure, is what are they gonna do in that area?

Is that just like a, "Hey, don't forget about us, we're here"?

The American election. They're looking to make some kind of influence on that, and increasing tensions and increasing fears on the peninsula will have an effect on any election. They're not solely tied to the American election, but there is a connection there.

You mentioned the DMZ and the JSA. Have you personally visited?

I visited the JSA as a tourist in 2015, so quite a long time ago, and I visited the DMZ probably January or February of 2022, but it was part of a student group. It was for study. There is a Dunkin' Donuts at the DMZ.

There is?

I think that kind of puts into perspective that this is a place that has such a dark history And there was so much suffering and so much loss in this area. But today it's become something different. It's changed and it's evolved. I don't know if a lot of people know about the DMZ. This area is never used by humans and it's become this beautiful nature reserve with a lot of animals in it. At the same time, it's a tourist attraction for both people from the North and people from the South. More commonly, international tourists from the North. And another thing to keep in mind is if you do a DMZ tour, you'll most likely have a South Korean guide. The JSA tours are run by the American military, so it is interesting to do the South Korean tour with a South Korean and then the JSA tour with an American because you do get a different perspective.

Is there anything else that you think the general population might not know about North Korea?

One thing I've noticed a lot of people are shocked by is North Koreans can leave North Korea. North Korea does academic exchanges with countries like China and Russia. Students will go abroad, they'll send athletes to athletic competitions, there's diplomats, there's plenty of North Koreans abroad. There's also the very controversial foreign laborers program. The United Nations declared that program to be a violation of the workers' human rights because they said that there were very poor working conditions and they were not given their wages, their wages went to the government. All countries were legally required to repatriate North Korean laborers But that was quite controversial because there were people who were angry with the United Nations requiring countries send the workers back to North Korea because they said, "You didn't ask the workers what they want." They want to work abroad. They want to have the experience. Even if some of the money goes to the government, they're still making good money. So who are you to make the decision for these people and say, "This is a bad program. We're gonna ban it." But yeah, there's North Koreans all over the world studying, living, working abroad. The process of getting the legal permission to leave is quite complicated. It depends on who you are and what you're going to do because obviously it's a massive privilege.

That is actually surprising. I didn't really think of this.

Yeah, a lot of people think like, well, they can't leave. People leave legally and then they go back legally. It's just there's a lot of restriction. I'm not saying that it's easy and anyone can do it, but these programs do exist.

What are your thoughts on people, like tourists, going to North Korea? Do you think you would ever visit North Korea if you had the chance?

I'm of the opinion that everyone should be able to decide what is ethical or moral for themselves. I don't want to judge tourists who go to North Korea. The vast majority of tourists that go to North Korea are from China. Non-Chinese international tourists make up a teeny teeny tiny percentage of the tourists that go to North Korea. I also have a lot of peers and professors at Korea University and other universities here that have studied in North Korea or done research in North Korea with permission, of course, and they have produced some really amazing research from that. So I personally have not decided yet if I would ever go. I don't plan to ever go as a tourist.

I always hear horror stories of someone going to North Korea and then doing something they shouldn't.

I don't want to gloss over very serious incidents that have happened involving tourists in North Korea. Statistically, it is actually quite safe. To visit North Korea. It's just up to you if it is ethical or moral.

Any hot takes on North Korea?

The daughter that keeps appearing in the media is not the next leader of North Korea. Kim Jong-un, as far as we know, he has multiple children and his oldest child is a son. Personally, I think based on the kind of patriarchal system that they have, it will be one of his sons.

Well, thank you so much for joining me today.

Thank you for inviting me.

You're so well-spoken. I can tell you're a doctor. Yeah, I hope you all enjoyed this video. Also be sure to check out the pinned comment below. We will see you next time. Goodbye everyone!