Suffering and Smiling: Daily Life in North Korea (Asian Voices)

Suffering and Smiling: Everyday Life in North Korea, is a field reportof North Korean culture based on two decades of the author’s personal observation and contact with people. The dichotomy of suffering and smiling becomes a lens through which the author observes the transformation and resilience of North Korean life. The book delves into historical struggles, such as the Arduous March against Imperial Japan and the 1990s famine, juxtaposed with the persistent theme of smiling propagated by the regime.

The author also weaves in the experiences of North Koreans, highlighting their ability to find humor and maintain humanity despite oppressive conditions. Anecdotes, such ass spontaneous comments from refugees, showcase the resilience and subversive humor ingrained in North Korean culture. Despite its isolation and nuclear ambitions, the country is undergoing rapid social changes with informal connections to the global capitalist system.

The book provides readers with empathetic glasses to view North Korea while considering its historical trauma and the enduring impact of Korean War. It promises a rich exploration of North Korean life, offering readers a compelling narrative that combines personal experiences, political insights, and cultural analysis. It sets the stage for a comprehensive understanding of a nation often shrouded in mystery and misunderstood by the outside world.

Byung-Ho Chung is professor emeritus at Hanyang University, South Korea. He was president of the Korean Society for Cultural Anthropology. He has visited North Korea as well as China’s borders with North Korea on numerous occasions for humanitarian purposes. As a public intellectual and action anthropologist, he is the founder or co-founder of seven organizations for equality and multiculturalism, and was a special advisor to the president of Korean Red Cross. He is the co-author of North Korea: Beyond Charismatic Politics, R&L, 2012.