Suffering and Smiling: Everyday Life in North Korea

Suffering and Smiling: Daily Life in North Korea, is a field report, rather than a theoretical account, of North Korean culture based on two decades of the author’s personal observation and contact with people, both within North Korea and abroad. Understanding the cultural and historical context of ＂suffering＂ and ＂smiling＂ is crucial to understanding the ongoing nuclear arms conundrum surrounding the Korean Peninsula.

Suffering and smiling coexist in the everyday lives of North Koreans. The Arduous March of partisans led by Kim Il-Sung in the struggle against Imperial Japan was seen as a symbol of great suffering in the nation. Then, the widespread famine of the 1990s in North Korea was referred to as the Arduous March (gonan ui haengun). Throughout this period of national suffering, signs commanding the nation to smile could be seen across the country, their slogan reading: March with a smile though the roads are rough!

The North Korea of today is fast changing, unbeknownst to the outside world. To understand and anticipate such changes, one must understand the norms and values that shape the behaviors of the people who make up North Korea. The concept of suffering and smiling can help us understand contemporary North Korean society and culture.

Byung-Ho Chung is professor of cultural anthropology and director of the Institute for Globalization and Multicultural Studies at Hanyang University, South Korea. He has visited North Korea as well as China’s borders with North Korea on numerous occasions for humanitarian purposes. He also has conducted research into issues and concerns relating to the educational and social integration of North Korean refugees in South Korea. He is the co-author of North Korea: Beyond Charismatic Politics, R&L, 2012.