Resources to Research North Korea

The History of the United States Involvement in Korea

“U.S. policy in Korea 1945–1948: A Neo-colonial model takes shape” by Mark J. Scher: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/14672715.1973.10406346
Blowback, Season 3: https://open.spotify.com/episode/78BdsG6eicVXJ5cQBRs2Md
Jeju, From Truth to Peace Foundation: http://jeju43peace.org/historytruth/fact-truth/
“The Hidden History of the Korean War” by IF Stone
“Selling the Korean War” by Steven Casey
“From Stolen Land to Riches: US Neo-Colonialism in South Korea” by Riley Bove: https://www.hamptonthink.org/read/from-stolen-land-to-riches-us-neo-colonialism-in-south-korea
“Early History of US Imperialism in Korea” by R.R. Krishnan: https://www.jstor.org/stable/3516875
“The Island of World Peace: The Jeju Massacre and State Building in South Korea” by Gwisook Gwon

The Defector Industrial Complex

Propaganda and Censorship in South Korea and the USA

What is North Korea Really Like?

“Everyday life in the North Korean revolution” by Suzy Kim
videos of the everyday: https://www.youtube.com/c/jakaparker
I'm the only Australian living in North Korea. Let me tell you about it: https://amp.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/mar/31/im-the-only-australian-living-in-north-korea-let-me-tell-you-about-it (*note: this man was later recruited for untrustworthy US State Department Media work so subsequent writing might not be as trustworthy from this source, but this account pre-dates it)
The Forbidden Coast: Surfing in North Korea: https://www.surfline.com/surf-news/forbidden-coast-surfing-north-korea/62693
We Went to North Korea to Get a Haircut: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BO83Ig-E8E
My Brothers and Sisters in the North: https://youtu.be/IBqeC8ihsO8?si=icuAZ_eguLbVesmM
Flowchart of DPRK Worker’s Party vs Government: https://www.unikorea.go.kr/cms/getFile.do?file=2018012913454378143.pdf&orgname=north_korean_Leadership.pdf&mgmtId=MGMT_0000000754&siteId=SITE_00003&filePath=eng_unikorea/common/file/&count=Y
The Parliamentary System of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea: http://www.asgp.info/Resources/Data/Documents/CJOZSZTEPVVOCWJVUPPZVWPAPUOFGF.pdf
“Korea’s Place in the Sun” by Bruce Cumings
“North Korea” by Bruce Cumings
Zoe Discovers North Korea: https://www.tiktok.com/@zoediscoversnk
Touring North Korea: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLegd4KP36a0Y775Xl_HI_tvDKB6qoxPrx

DPRK Foreign Policy

Facts

Despite giving the DPRK a reputation for rampant incarceration, the American government estimates the prison population of the DPRK to be between 80,000 - 200,000 out of a population of 26 million – amounting to 0.3-0.7%. The incarcerated population in the United States is 0.7% of the total population, meaning the DPRK’s is the same or (more likely) far less.
Despite having a reputation for being a single party state, the DPRK has a parliament made up of a minimum of three different political parties. Candidates are selected based on a consensus model at a local level, then officially confirmed or denied at election time.
It is illegal to say anything good about the DPRK in South Korea, and in 2023 a South Korean man was imprisoned for 14 months for writing a poem in favor of reunification that spoke well of the north..

Untrustworthy Sources

Created by the CIA in 1951 to spread misinformation (https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/DOC_0000846953.pdf)
Funded 100% by US Congress
Part of the US Agency for Global Media (US state media)

founded by Chad O’Carroll (who also goes by the alias Tad Farrell — https://www.linkedin.com/in/judeharrison) who previously worked for The German Marshall Fund – heavily tied to the US government

Founded as a memorial to the Marshall Plan assistance through a grant from the West German government — that’s when the US government gave Europe money after World War 2.
The German Marshall Fund was, according to German whistleblower Udo Ulfkotte a “CIA front group” – we’re unsure how credible he is, but we have additional ties to the CIA:

German Marshall Fund programs receive funding from former CIA acting director Michael Morell, Hillary Clinton foreign-policy adviser Jake Sullivan, and former US ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul

NK News is owned by an American company that is registered in the tax haven of Delaware and operates out of South Korea

It’s parent company, NK Consulting, received hundreds of thousands of dollars in funding from the U.S. State Department, the Pentagon and U.S. Army Pacific Command

affiliated with the Stimson Center (https://www.stimson.org/project/38-north/)
Authors include Lynn Lee, the Deputy Director for Asia at the National Endowment for Democracy (https://www.38north.org/author/lynn-lee/)