For most of us, North Korea is an enigma. It is perhaps the most isolated country in the world, and yet has dominated headline news recently on whether it will indeed launch a ‘thermo-nuclear war’ with South Korea and the US. The issues of North Korea’s new leadership, nuclear tests and assassinations of its defectors overseas have also been by widely discussed by analysts and the man-on-the-street alike. But how is daily life inside North Korea truly like?
As part of the ‘Making A Difference’ I2Hub festival, the SIIA is hosting a session on ‘Travel With A Difference’ with Dr Parag Khanna, Senior Research Fellow at the SIIA. Dr Khanna will discuss his experiences and impressions as a visitor in North Korea last year, strolling the broad avenues of the capital Pyongyang with its revolutionary monuments and fountains, meeting friendly locals who all smile, wave, take pictures and shake hands, but also encountering the realities of poverty and malnourishment outside the cities. Dr Khanna will offer a rare glimpse into life in the hermit state, at a time when the world’s attention is focused on the Korean peninsula again.
- How do North Koreans see foreigners, and what do they think about the outside world?
- What are the biggest misconceptions that outsiders have about North Korea?
- Has there been any change in North Korea? What lies ahead for the country?
Venue: SIIA office, The Atrium@Orchard
Date/Time: 29 June 2013, Saturday, 9.30am – 11.30am
Speaker:
Parag Khanna, Director, Hybrid Reality Institute and Senior Research Fellow, SIIA
