US, S. Korea discussing draft text of end-of-war declaration

US, S. Korea discussing draft text of end-of-war declaration : International : News : The Hankyoreh

US, S. Korea discussing draft text of end-of-war declaration
Posted on : Oct.21,2021

Washington is said to have gone as far as hiring lawyers to review the declaration's text

Top envoys for the North Korean nuclear issue, Noh Kyu-duk of South Korea (left) and Sung Kim of the US (right), remove their masks to answer questions from the press after bilateral discussions on Monday in Washington. (AFP/Yonhap News)

South Korea’s government is pushing for a declaration to formally end the Korean War as a way of bringing North Korea back to the dialogue table, and South Korea and the US are reportedly discussing the text of such a declaration.

Speculation is mounting over whether Washington — whose opinion on the declaration remains unclear — will publicly announce its position on the matter.

A high-ranking South Korean official in Washington on Tuesday spoke to reporters after a meeting of the top nuclear envoys of South Korea, the US and Japan, saying, "South Korea and the US have reached a consensus that the declaration on the war's end is quite useful as an opportunity to resume dialogue with North Korea.”

"This consensus is gradually growing," they added.

This signals a narrowing of the gap between Seoul and Washington in their views on the declaration through intensive talks before and after Sept. 21, when President Moon Jae-in proposed the declaration at the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

Seoul's top nuclear envoy Noh Kyu-duk and his Washington counterpart Sung Kim held five rounds of talks over the past 50 days in South Korea, the US and Indonesia.

On Oct. 12, National Security Office Director Suh Hoon held talks with White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan in Washington on measures for resuming the Korean Peninsula peace process, including an end-of-war declaration. In the process, both governments are known to be discussing a specific text for the declaration.

A high-ranking government official said, "The US deems it highly necessary to examine the impact of adopting the end-of-war declaration, and is considering it in depth internally."

Talks between South Korea and the US on the declaration's text could be a sign that Washington is seriously considering President Moon's proposal to formally end the war. It is premature, however, to consider a review of the text as a sure sign of it being formally agreed upon.

The US is apparently mindful of the potential for unforeseen problems such as the presence of the Republic of Korea-US Combined Forces Command, the US Forces Korea, and the United Nations Command-Rear in Japan if the Korean War is declared over.

In addition, Seoul might invite opposition if it agrees to the declaration without nailing down specific benefits in return for the sake of offering an "opening" for talks on denuclearization.

Washington is also said to have gone as far as hiring lawyers to review the declaration's text. While South Korea considers the proposed proclamation a "political declaration" with little practical significance, the US is a bit more sensitive to the political effects and legal impact.

A government official said, "It's still too early to definitively say what the US position on the declaration will be," adding that "it should be seen as a process of enhancing the understanding of each side's position."

Regarding US nuclear envoy Kim’s scheduled visit to Seoul this weekend, the official said Kim will "continue talks on the results of internal discussions by Washington on its consultations with Seoul and the declaration on the end of the war."

Turning to humanitarian aid to the North, the official said, "Practical discussions are almost complete," adding that over the past several months South Korea and the US have discussed such assistance including that for health, quarantine, potable water and sanitation.

"Since this project requires North Korea's consent, when to do it must be decided based on the circumstances," the official said.

Such aid is one of two pillars Seoul is pushing for along with the declaration to persuade Pyongyang to pick up dialogue again.

By Hwang Joon-bum, staff reporter

Asia West Pacific Topics | Food Security Issue

Asia West Pacific Topics | Food Security Issue



Asia West Pacific Topics | Food Security Issue


Inbox








Adrian Glamorgan <adrian@fwccawps.org>

Oct 17, 2021, 12:46 AM (4 days ago)



Each Sunday Quakers worship in different places, and at different times.

You are warmly invited to share news of Friends around the World
Join us in upholding the following gatherings of Friends' groups this weekend:
Belgium & Luxembourg Yearly Meeting
German Yearly Meeting
QUNO Geneva committee
Online Yangon Meeting (you are invited to join it - alternately 8:30am (17th October) and 8:30pm (next week) Yangon time on Sundays. Email <yangonfriendsmeeting@gmail.com> for a link so you can join the Yangon meeting. I'm also sending on some sobering information about food security in our region.
Here's news of an upcoming Quaker Conversations zoom, and some background information that you or your meeting might find useful

===

Upcoming Zoom - Quaker Conversations: Food Security Saturday October 30
UN 2020 Report on Asia Pacific Food Security (January 2021)
Food Security in Afghanistan
Food Security in India: Dalit, tribal women among worst victims of India's hunger crisis
Food Security in North Korea
As ever, may your meetings be gathered!


Adrian Glamorgan
Secretary, FWCC Asia West Pacific

--
Quakers & Food Security in Asia West Pacific
Quaker Conversations: What does food security mean to you?



The United Nations recognises food security as having physical, social and economic access at all times to sufficient, safe and nutritious food. What does this mean to you and fellow Friends around the world?



We will be joined by Professor Molly Anderson, an expert in sustainable food systems who will talk about her work in the climate and biodiversity negotiations and what impacts food security is having on our human rights. We will also hear from Epa Ndahimana, an expert on cassava as a climate resilient crop, who will share his work and local perspectives on farming, exploring unpredictable climate conditions and the impact on successful crop harvests and livelihoods.


Come, listen, and learn with Friends around the world to understand what food security is and explore what it means to you. Saturday 30th October, 7pm (UK time)
Register via zoom.


UN Report: Maternal and child diets will improve Asia Pacific nutrition (January 2021 report)

The report, ‘Asia and the Pacific Regional Overview of Food Security and Nutrition 2020: Maternal and Child Diets at the Heart of Improving Nutrition’ found that 1.9 billion people were unable to afford a healthy diet in this region, even before the COVID-19 outbreak and the damage it has since caused to economies and individual livelihoods. The report was published jointly by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the United Nations Children’s Fund, the World Food Programme and the World Health Organization. See: https://reliefweb.int/report/world/asia-and-pacific-regional-overview-food-security-and-nutrition-2020-maternal-and-child


Food Security in Afghanistan


What the Taliban Takeover Means for Food Security in Afghanistan Center for Strategic and International Studies Report September 27. See: https://www.csis.org/analysis/what-taliban-takeover-means-food-security-afghanistan


Food Security in India: Dalit, tribal women among worst victims of India’s hunger crisis


While more than 60 percent of Indian women are anaemic as they eat last and the least, rising hunger levels hit the marginalised most: Al Jazzeera 13 October https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/10/13/india-dalit-tribal-women-malnutrition-hunger-crists-pandemic


Food Security in North Korea: "Starvation risk"

Mr Tomas Ojea Quintana, UN special rapporteur on human rights, warned "The most vulnerable children and elderly are at risk of starvation...


Sanctions imposed by the UN Security Council should be reviewed and eased when necessary to both facilitate humanitarian and lifesaving assistance." From The Straits Times October 13, 2021 . See https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/un-rights-report-warns-of-north-korea-starvation-risk
In Friendship,


Adrian

FWCC Asia West Pacific Section
Global Quakers Connect

Sungsoo Kim [Obituary] Hangwoo Lee (1930-2021), a quite Quaker and an active Peacemaker

김성수 

Sungsoo Kim

[Obituary] Hangwoo Lee (1930-2021), a quite Quaker and an active Peacemaker

In 1985, I began to attend the Quaker Meeting in Seoul, South Korea where I met Hangwoo Lee. One Sunday afternoon, after a Meeting for Worship, Lee gave a talk about his visit to North Korea. As my father was a North Korean refugee, I listened to Lee's fascinating talk with great interest. At that time, South Korea was ruled by a military dictatorship, thus Lee's talk on North Korea was a forbidden topic. Naturally Seoul Friends were very cautious about possible interference by the military regime.

Lee was a Korean-American Quaker and visited South and North Korea nearly every year and whenever he came to Seoul Quaker Meeting, we talked about North Korea. Thus, he was blacklisted by the military regime of South Korea.
In 1960, together with a well-known Korean Quaker, Ham Sok Hon (1901-1989), Lee founded a Korean Quaker Meeting in Seoul. In 1968, Lee went to Pendle Hill (Quaker Study Center in the USA) to study Quakerism for a year then he settled in Philadelphia with his family. He worked there as a computer analyst and retired in 2003, when he was 73 years old. However, he did not even own a home of his own and he spent most of his wages and holidays working for the peaceful reunification movement of two Koreas.

Rather than going on family holidays with his wife and children, he met government officials and lawmakers of the USA, North Korea, China, Japan, and Europe and with them, he discussed, appealed and sought a way for the peaceful reunification of two Koreas. Moreover, Lee spent most of his wages on publishing reports on Korea's peaceful reunification issues and sent money to help South Korean dissidents and political prisoners.

He was not a good speaker, but he was a quiet man of action. He spoke through his life.
In 1974, he founded a 'Meeting for Suffering for Koreans in the USA to help and support South Korean dissidents and their families
In 1982, as one of the delegates of the American Friends Service Committee (Quakers), he visited North Korea and tried to promote peace between the two Koreas. Since then, he has visited North Korea more than 40 times with this goal in mind. 
In 1986 he founded the 'Korea-US Public Relations Center' in the USA, where he published a 'Korean Report' in the English language, which was widely read among the US lawmakers, officials, activists, and journalists as well as the overseas Korean experts.
In 1987, he also founded the 'Korean Support Network (KSN)' in the USA and through the KSN, he not only supported South Korea's democratization movement but also raised public awareness among American politicians, officials, and scholars in relations to South Korean democracy.
In 1993, when North Koreans suffered famine, as one of delegates of AFSC, he visited North Korea and supported agriculture facilities there.
In 1995, Lee founded the 'Peaceful Reunification Institute for two Koreas' in the USA, and the institute published various papers on peaceful reunification issues of two Koreas.

Lee laid the foundation for the peaceful relations between the two Koreas and due to his relentless contribution, in June 2000, South Korean president, Kim Dae-jung, was able to visit North Korea and held a summit meeting with the North Korean leader Kim Jung-il. It was the first summit meeting of the two Korean leaders since the cease fire of the Korean War in 1953. Subsequently in October 2000, Kim Dae-jung received the Nobel Peace Prize, thanks to Lee's invisible toil and effort.

In 2009, Lee led an International Conference on 'Ending of Arms Race in the Asia-Pacific Region.'
Due to his contribution, in 2011, Lee received the 'Korean Reunification Culture Award' from South Korea.

In 2013, after 45 years of life in the USA, Lee returned to South Korea for good. After that I was able to meet him every week at Seoul Quaker Meeting. During this time, Lee gave me courage, comfort and inspiration while I was engaged in a lawsuit against a right wing government minister. Thanks to his kind support, in 2016, I won this legal battle. http://english.khan.co.kr/khan_art_view.html?artid=201606031507077&code=710100&fbclid=IwAR3KjQri4-g9X-tfQVThmjrvLpI024-2sgqMGiqm4PitJjRmjIsHtHDXpsc
In August 2020, Lee received the 'Liberation and Peace Award' from the South Korean government on recognition of his contribution for peaceful reunification of two Koreas.
In September 2021, when I rang him by an international telephone call, he was on his sickbed and he said to me , "Sungsoo, let's live cheerfully!" He passed away in the morning of 16th October 2021 of prolonged cancer. To me, he was like a father figure, and he talked to me through his life. An active peacemaker and quiet Quaker, Hangwoo Lee, I miss you!

---
* Sungsoo Kim is a member of Seoul Monthly Meeting and Leicester Quaker Meeting of Britain Yearly Meeting of Religious Society of Friends. He is author of 'Biography of a Korean Quaker, Ham Sok Hon.'
** Photos: Hangwoo Lee with Sungsoo Kim

2110 Jasmine Barrett PhD research proposal presentation

 

===

영화 내 고향의 처녀들

PREVIEW

2:10:13

[조선영화] 내 고향의 처녀들 (전, 후편)

YouTube · Korean World

4 June 2021

PREVIEW

16:10

[온라인 영화토크] 내 고향의 처녀들

YouTube · 남북통합문화센터

13 Oct 2020

====

[참여안내] /영화토크/ 내 고향의 처녀들 (9/17, 목)

피스모모 / 조회수 972 / 2020.08.19

 

참여 신청하기 (클릭!)

 

 

전세계적으로 인기를 얻고 있는 "뽀로로"가

남북 합작으로 탄생했다는 사실을 알고 계신가요?

북한의 2D 애니메이션 기술은 세계적인 수준이며

영화산업도 상당히 활성화되어 있다고 해요.

 

9월 영화토크는 북한영화를 통해

북한의 사회와 문화를 들여다보는 

시간을 가져 보려 합니다.

 

<내 고향의 처녀들>은 북한의 집단주의 정서를 이해하는데

많은 도움을 준다고 해요.

 

영화를 추천해 주신 북에서 온 김윤희 선생님은

영화와 영화 넘어의 북과 소통하는데 좋은 길잡이가 되어주실 거예요.

 

북한영화도 보고,

북에 대한 이야기도 함께 듣고 나누는

영화토크에 여러분을 초대합니다!

 

 

일정 

2020년 9월 17일(목), 저녁 7-9시 30분

 

 

장소

남북통합문화센터 1층 대강당

(지하철 5호선, 마곡역 1번 출구 도보 5분)

 

 

진행방식

북한영화 <내 고향의 처녀들> 상영

사전질문 토크

질의응답

 

 

참여자

20명

* 생활 속 거리두기로 인해 모집 인원의 제한이 있습니다.

** 9월 코로나19의 확산 상황에 따라 온라인 프로그램으로 변경될 수 있습니다.

 

 

초대 손님 및 사회

김윤희, 서울대 사회학과 박사 수료

윤세라, 동국대 북한학과 박사 수료

 

 

신청 방법

남북통합문화센터 홈페이지 가입 후 신청

(본 프로그램은 피스모모가 진행하는 남북통합문화센터 소통문화 사업으로 준비되어,

 프로그램 신청을 기존의 구글시트가 아닌 남북통합문화센터 홈페이지 신청방식을 따르고 있습니다.

 이에 프로그램 신청을 위한 홈페이지 가입 등의 절차로 인해 번거로움을 드린 점 양해 부탁 드립니다.)

 

 

문의

피스모모 대외협력팀 / 남북통합문화센터 소통지원팀

shinyhan.momo@gmail.com

02-2085-7338

 

+ 본 프로그램은 통일부 남북통합문화센터 소통문화 사업으로 함께 준비되었습니다.

North Korea's Progress on Poultry Farms | 38 North: Informed Analysis of North Korea

North Korea's Progress on Poultry Farms | 38 North: Informed Analysis of North Korea
https://www.38north.org/2021/10/north-koreas-progress-on-poultry-farms/?fbclid=IwAR0dcLE4Xqw2Oz2RTbwChGVoPlIQbgEWdnWMeSASDPBXNEkWoYG1I55ZoFE
North Korea’s Progress on Poultry Farms
BY: MARTYN WILLIAMS
OCTOBER 8, 2021
DOMESTIC AFFAIRS, SATELLITE IMAGERY

Commercial satellite imagery shows construction of the Kwangchon Chicken Farm—a large chicken farm south of Pyongyang—remains incomplete, more than a year after Kim Jong Un visited the site. However, the project continues to attract senior leadership visits and state media reports have hinted that completion is on the horizon.

The farm is situated about 20 kilometers south of Pyongyang just off the Pyongyang to Kaesong Motorway, next door to the large Korean People’s Army (KPA) Tree Nursery 122.

Figure 1. Aerial image of the Kwangchon Chicken Farm broadcast on Korean Central Television on July 23, 2020.(Source: KCTV via Martyn Williams)

First signs of construction appeared at the site in May 2019 when farmland was leveled for the project. However, the nature and progress of the work was not revealed by state media until July 2020 when Kim Jong Un visited the site.

Figure 2. Kim Jong Un is shown visiting the Kwangchon Chicken Farm in images broadcast on Korean Central Television on July 23, 2020.(Source: KCTV via Martyn Williams)

During his visit, Kim said other “modernized” chicken farms in the country were actually 20 years out of date and the new Kwangchon farm would be a new model farm for the country.

It would, state media reported, “produce thousands of tons of delicious and quality meat and tens of millions of tasty and quality eggs every year.”

In the United States, the average farm chicken lays about 300 eggs per year thanks to modern feed and disease prevention, according to the Egg Farmers of America. Should North Korea be able to match that production level, it would require several tens of thousands of chickens to reach the stated egg production goals.

Figure 3. A chicken shed under construction is shown on Korean Central Television on July 23, 2020.(Source: KCTV via Martyn Williams)

The walls of the chicken sheds that will house these animals were already far along in their construction when Kim visited. State media images showed him walking alongside the roofless sheds as he inspected the farm.

Today, all the sheds have roofs and much of the construction appears to have been completed at the site, although the interior state of each building is unknown.

Figure 4. Overview of Kwangchon Chicken Farm.Image © 2021 Planet Labs, Inc. cc-by-nc-sa 4.0. For media licensing options, please contact thirtyeightnorth@gmail.com.

While we cannot see inside the buildings, images from other chicken farms in North Korea indicate the country uses battery farming—rows of cages used to house egg-laying hens.

Figure 5. Close up of the 927 Chicken Farm using battery farming broadcast on Korean Central Television on September 6, 2021.(Source: KCTV via Martyn Williams)

Choe Ryong Hae made his second reported visit of 2021 to the farm in late June and state media reported that construction had yet to be completed.

Like other recent North Korean construction projects, state media revealed challenges have arisen. Choe reviewed “deviations” in the supply of equipment and material for the farm, a report given without going into further details.

However, the report also mentioned “preparations for afforestation and greening and inauguration of the farm” being discussed at the meeting. The planting of trees and other shrubbery is usually one of the final steps seen before projects are finished in North Korea, so the farm could be near completion.

In addition to the farm itself, the project has also involved the construction of nearby houses and apartments for workers at the farm and those that supply it with animal feed. State media reported that the houses were for around 1,000-2,000 families. Move-in ceremonies were held in late December 2020.

The new homes replaced many older homes that were already in the area before construction began.

Figure 6. Overview of Kwangchon Chicken Farm and housing.Image © 2021 Planet Labs, Inc. cc-by-nc-sa 4.0. For media licensing options, please contact thirtyeightnorth@gmail.com.

North Korea has almost 30 chicken farms across the country. Their size varies but the new Kwangchon farm will be one of the largest.

State media has also recently reported on work at both the Kusong and Sinuiju chicken farms. In both cases, the work is focused on improving the feed supplied to the farms.

“The Sinuiju Chicken Farm remodeled its combined feed processing ground and newly established a fermented feed production line and a feed additive production line,” state media reported on August 25. “The Kusong Chicken Farm also set up fermented feed and feed additive production lines and built a ground for breeding Hermetia illucens to be used as feed for chickens.”

Satellite imagery of both locations does not reveal any major construction work.

Figure 7. Overview of Sinuiju Chicken Farm.Image © 2021 Planet Labs, Inc. cc-by-nc-sa 4.0. For media licensing options, please contact thirtyeightnorth@gmail.com.

Figure 8. Overview of Kusong Chicken Farm.Image © 2021 Planet Labs, Inc. cc-by-nc-sa 4.0. For media licensing options, please contact thirtyeightnorth@gmail.com.
CHICKENS
DOMESTIC AFFAIRS
ECONOMY
KCTV
MARTYN WILLIAMS
NORTH KOREAN AGRICULTURE
PLANET
PLANET LABS
SATELLITE IMAGERY

Russia-North Korea relations hit a high point and then fell into a deadlock | NK News

Russia-North Korea relations hit a high point and then fell into a deadlock | NK News

Russia-North Korea relations hit a high point and then fell into a deadlock
Russian companies won't significantly invest because North Korea can't give them what they don't already have
Andrei Lankov November 12, 2020

SHARE
Image: Kremlin


Less than two years ago, North Korea’s relationship with Russia reached a perceived “high point,” with Kim Jong Un meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin in Vladivostok. But right now, relations are stalled — and that doesn’t look like it’ll change anytime soon.

For two or three decades now, there has been constant talk of Russia building railways spanning from South Korea to Europe, as well as gaining access to North Korea’s rich deposits of rare earth minerals. But cooperation between the two countries never takes off because, frankly speaking, North Korea can’t offer Russia much of anything that Moscow doesn’t already have.

Still, there may come a day when Russia reassesses the importance of the Korean Peninsula – and if this happens, these projects could become a reality.A North Korean mining area | Image: NK News

RUSSIAN DREAMS

In 2014, many international media organizations began to project that a major geopolitical shift was on the horizon. Russia, which had remained almost invisible in North Korea-related affairs since the early 1990s, was making a comeback. Maybe Russia would soon even replace China as North Korea’s major trading partner, sponsor and protector.

In general, 2014 and early 2015 was a time of frantic diplomatic activity, grandiose statements and big promises. Russian delegations were visiting Pyongyang at a rate not seen since the Soviet era.

A 2014 statement by Alexander Galushka, the Russian minister for the Development of the Far East, sparked the most attention.

He claimed that, by 2020, the amount of trade between Russia and North Korea would reach $1 billion. For some 15 years before then, the two countries’ trade had stagnated at $0.1 billion and was showing no signs of growth.

Admittedly, official statistics should be taken with a large grain of salt. Since the late 1990s, many Russian companies have preferred to trade with North Korea indirectly through China – comprising an estimated 70% to 80% of Russia’s total exports to the DPRK.

But even taking into account these unreported transactions, the stated goal of increasing trade by tenfold was highly ambitious.Railroad tracks in Wonsan, North Korea | Image: NK News

RAILWAY FROM KOREA TO EUROPE

Reports emerged of large-scale Russian investment. For example, the Mostovik Group, a large Russian construction company, was supposedly about to launch its “Pobeda” (victory) project. The Mostavik Group would acquire mining rights to North Korea’s mineral resources, especially the massive deposits of rare earth minerals believed to be in the country. So far, it looks like that project was short-lived and fizzled out.

In exchange, the company was going to heavily invest in the redevelopment of North Korea’s outdated railway system – it was reported that this would amount to billions, with some even claiming that investment would reach $25 billion.

Anticipation grew for natural gas pipelines and new railway links that would connect Busan in South Korea all the way to Hamburg in Germany. This would reduce the time it took to move a container between these two port cities from the current 25 days to 10 days or less, at the same or even a cheaper cost.

Yet, despite the optimism, the official volume of trade between Russia and North Korea actually went down, sinking to a paltry $48 million in 2019. While this figure doesn’t reflect smuggling and trade via third countries, all available evidence suggests that unofficial trade also more or less declined along with official trade.

The railway link project met an unfortunate fate. There was another North-South railway linking ceremony held in Oct. 2018 during yet another wave of unfounded optimism about inter-Korean “reconciliation,” and a Russian railways delegation predictably attended. Few cared to remember that the first ceremony had been held all the way back in 2002. Predictably, no trains carrying real freight have traveled across the border between the two Koreas following the pompous celebrations in 2018.North Korean leader Kim Jong Un with Russian President Vladimir Putin | Image: Kremlin

A MARGINAL PLAYER

The Russian and North Korean economies are simply not compatible. Russia does not need North Korean coal and minerals when it can get them from Siberia. It does not need North Korean seafood, even if it is selling well in China. The only thing Russia has any interest in is the North Korean labor force, sent to Russia to work at logging camps, construction sites and the like.

Russia won’t build the railways and pipelines because they are prohibitively risky and expensive. Russian investors would suffer a significant blow if these projects were halted as a result of inter-Korean relations souring again – which is highly likely.

Russia simply expresses theoretical commitment, but is waiting for better times to make its real first move. This could be decades.

History tells us that economic activity between Russia/the Soviet Union and North Korea only happens when the former is willing to subsidize Russian companies. North Korea is, frankly, unable to genuinely attract Russian investment.

However, the Russian government will only make such subsidies when they believe, rightly or wrongly, that it has important strategic interests on the Korean Peninsula.

These days, while Russia would like to increase its influence in Korean affairs, North East Asia is a secondary, or even tertiary concern.

Perhaps the Russian government and companies seriously underestimated the difficulties of dealing with North Korea in 2014 and 2015. These difficulties became apparent in no time, and they made a wise decision by running away before they were burdened with large losses.

2017’s U.N. sanctions delivered another blow to Russian ambitions. But, in reality, the “Russian boom” in North Korea had fizzled out well before the new sanctions were in place.

This doesn’t mean Russia is destined to remain an outsider in North Korea affairs forever. If the country does decide to reenter the political games surrounding the DPRK, some of the projects discussed in 2014 and 2015 may even become a reality.

Nevertheless, at the moment, Russia remains a rather marginal player when it comes to North Korea.

Edited by James Fretwell

A peek behind the curtain: inside North Korea – in pictures | Art and design | The Guardian

A peek behind the curtain: inside North Korea – in pictures | Art and design | The Guardian



curtain: inside North Korea – in pictures ‘Splashes of colour’ ... The country can be viewed as the Kim dynasty’s playground. All photographs: Ted Lau

Hong Kong native Ted Lau’s new book tries to understand everyday life in the ‘dystopian utopia’ of a totalitarian country shrouded in mystery

Wed 6 Oct 2021 

I started this series to satisfy my curiosity about North Korea. Once I landed at the airport, everything seemed fresh and interesting, almost surreal. Then after a few days the surreal becomes normal and believable. 

Between Doors: In the DPRK by Ted Lau is published by Daylight



The title of this book, Between Doors, is about the idea that a government’s grand promises to its people only hold up if you don’t look beyond the veneer. I felt an immense sadness that North Koreans are not the masters of their fate



Arirang Mass Games is the largest performance of theatre, artistry, gymnastics and propaganda stories in the world. 100,000 young, strong and agile North Koreans are carefully selected to spend eight months in intensive practice sessions. The themes are largely based on struggles against the Japanese, the division of Korea, the benevolence of the leaders and the advantages of socialism
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For North Koreans, what one can achieve is predetermined by the state. There is no understanding of freedom, and I believe there is great cruelty in depriving people of that
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The city of Pyongyang has two amusement parks. This is one of the few places where foreigners can mingle with residents and you can see North Koreans shriek, laugh and rejoice
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North Korea is completely shut off from the outside world. This is the biggest social experiment of its kind on the planet
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Contrary to popular belief, tourism is encouraged in North Korea, depending on the passport one holds. As outsiders, we realised we would never know what people’s lives were really like, but things started making more sense after a day or two
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Pyongyang was completely rebuilt post-1953, after being flattened by US bombing during the Korean War. While the east side of the city is packed with colourful Soviet-style concrete apartment blocks, the west side is filled with grand buildings, stadiums and newer developments. The two are separated by the Taedong river
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You can dream if you dare to, and you can try as you might, but no matter what you do, there is no freedom in the sense we understand it
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Prior to the Korean War, architecture in the city was rather grey. But under orders of Kim Jong Il, the country was splashed with minty greens, lemon yellows, sky blues, and neon and baby pinks
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In this dystopian utopia, there isn’t a trace of consumerist and capitalist culture, only the dissemination of ideas. This is evident on the bus stops and billboards that are painted with monuments, propagandist slogans or inspirational quotes for the betterment of the working society
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What I offer you here is my perspective of North Korea. This is a beautiful land, with a beautiful people. We all have the same basic needs and the same want for happiness and comfort. It is an immensely interesting place and how it develops from here is anyone’s guess
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Between Doors: In the DPRK Hardcover – November 30, 2021
by Ted Lau (Photographer), Yu-Ting Cheng (Foreword), & 1 more

Hardcover
from AUD 63.29
1 New from AUD 63.29

Print length 96 pages

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Editorial Reviews

About the Author
Hong Kong artist Ted Lau was born in 1989. Ted is an award-winning fine art photographer. Growing up in Hong Kong, Ted started taking photographs when he was 11. Being brought up in a city where the East meets West, his works have a strong influence from both spheres of the world. He later studied in London, where the western aesthetic made a further impact on him and his artistic perspective.

Yu-Ting Cheng is a fine artist based in Taipei, Taiwan.

Zahra Amiruddin is an internationally recognized free-lance writer and photographer.


Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Daylight Books (November 30, 2021)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 96 pages

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