Best Of: North Korea: What future do Koreans want, and do they agree?

2025-10-02

While Strength&Solidarity is on a break we’re taking the chance to re-up some favourite episodes.Back in December we featured an episode about North Korea – but with a twist. Beyond the ritual condemnations of egregious practices under Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un, it’s rare to get a close-up view of what the people who escape from North Korea think and feel about their lives and the future they want. Hanna Song, Executive Director of the Database Center for North Korean Human Rights, reflects on what she has learned – a more nuanced and complex picture than is usually painted...

While Strength&Solidarity is on a break we’re taking the chance to re-up some favourite episodes.

Back in December we featured an episode about North Korea – but with a twist. Beyond the ritual condemnations of egregious practices under Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un, it’s rare to get a close-up view of what the people who escape from North Korea think and feel about their lives and the future they want. Hanna Song, Executive Director of the Database Center for North Korean Human Rights, reflects on what she has learned – a more nuanced and complex picture than is usually painted.

And in the Coda, a Zimbabwean human rights lawyer relies on soccer to keep things cordial. Music by Oliver Mtukudzi.

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Quick Links

Click here to read the Episode 48 Transcript.
Hanna Song bio: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hanna-song-25055a114/
Database Center for North Korean Human Rights (NKDB): https://en.nkdb.org/
NKDB: 2024 White Paper on North Korean Human Rights: https://en.nkdb.org/activitynews/?idx=125777386&bmode=view
UN: Report of the commission of inquiry on human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea: https://www.ohchr.org/en/hr-bodies/hrc/co-idprk/reportofthe-commissionof-inquiry-dprk

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