DAILY LIFE IN NORTH KOREA

This is a research paper that looks at the daily life in North Korea. Starting with the Japanese Occupation in 1910, I will be addressing some of the little-known hardships during that time like forced conscription, strict policies on what crops were allowed to be grown and tenancy laws. Following that, I will talk about the major post occupation reforms, such as literacy campaigns and land reforms. The Korean War will only be looked at briefly as the bombing campaigns were a daily fear during that time. After the Korean War, I will discuss the modernization and reconstruction of the North with focus on more social changes than economic ones, such the influx of peasants into large cities. Lastly, I will be discussing life in the contemporary era, specifically by way of firsthand accounts of the era from North Korean defectors. The defectors talk about their experiences with the North Korean education system, and what it was like living through the famine of the 1990s. Additionally, I will be looking at life (Pre-Covid-19) in the North, and some of the more current practices that occurred before the pandemic. At the end I will address North Korea’s constant claim that they have had no coronavirus cases