ISDP Forum: North Korean Women as Economic Agents (and Mothers) in the Sino-North Korean Borderlands

Monday 2 March 2020 / 16:00 - 17:30 / Registration with coffee and pastry starts at 15:30.

Stockholm Aulan, Department of Asian, Middle Eastern and Turkish Studies, Stockholm University. Kräfriket 4A, 11419 Stockholm. Click here for a map

RSVP Register here

Over the past decade, there has been a dramatic shift in the role of North Korean women, from traditional mothers to breadwinners. Economic collapse, famine, and the so-called “Arduous March” have had unintended consequences for North Korean women, forcing them to become more active economic agents. Many North Korean women started working in the black market (jangmadang), and became extremely mobile, seeking economic opportunities in new cities, new regions, and even across national borders. The Chinese borderland in particular has become a significant destination for North Korean women. How should we understand the migratory dynamics at play? What opportunities and challenges do North Korean women face over the border in China? What are the consequences for the families they leave behind?

Dr. Kim Sung Kyung is Assistant Professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul.  She is editor-in-chief of the Review of North Korean Studies, a Korean Citation Index Journal (KCI) issued by the Korean Research Foundation. She is also a member of the Peace and Prosperity Division in the Presidential Commission on Policy-Planning and a board member in the Ministry of Unification. She received her PhD in sociology at the University of Essex, UK.

This ISDP Korea Forum is organized in cooperation with Korean Studies at Stockholm University.