Paved with Good Intentions: The NGO Experience in North Korea

Following disastrous floods in 1995, North Korea appealed to the international community for assistance. An unprecedented number of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) responded, bringing humanitarian assistance and reflief. With their arrival came hopes for a more open, engaged North Korea. The authors of Paved with Good Intentions explore the varying experiences of U.S., South Korean, and European NGOs―and some of the obstacles that have placed those hopes on hold. Intended to assist policy makers, the NGO community, and others interested in engaging North Korea, Paved With Good Intentions is the first book to take an inside look at the NGO experience in North Korea.

Through this study of humanitarian relief activities in North Korea, the authors shed light on what is arguably the world's most inaccessible and closed nation. Experts in their field, the authors have spent considerable time in North Korea and are in a position to analyze the experiences of NGOs there. The book begins with a look at the humantitarian response to the disastrous 1995 floods in North Korea. It was the first practical opportunity to learn about North Korea and its internal structure, organization, and intentions. A unique compilation of the results of numerous in-depth interviews and workshop discussions, the study examines and compares the responses and differing experiences of U.S., European, and South Korean NGOs in North Korea.

L. GORDON FLAKE is Executive Director of the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation.

SCOTT SNYDER is a Representative of the Asia Foundation, South Korea.