Opening a door for change in North Korea

As a Korean American, the author always felt disconnected from the nation of North Korea. Growing up in a Christian household, they believed that North Korea was a bleak landscape devoid of culture and community, a dystopian totalitarian state with no personality. However, in 2023, this perspective began to change when the author decided to take an internship at the Korean Church Coalition.

This position required the intern to write an essay on North Korea and deliver a speech at either the National Press Club or the Capitol in Washington, D.C. This opportunity sparked the author's curiosity about North Korean culture, society, and the people themselves.

The intern's research led them to discover a video about the Pyongyang University of Science and Technology (PUST). While brief, this video provided a glimpse into the daily life of North Korea that challenged the author's initial assumptions. Instead of the isolated, downtrodden society they had anticipated, the university emerged as a unique institution that embraced outsiders, fostered a sense of community among its members, and facilitated mutual growth.

The professors and teachers at PUST were American citizens, sponsored by evangelical organizations, which further highlighted the university's unconventional nature. This revelation opened up the author's mind to the possibility of change within North Korea, dispelling the notion of a monolithic, unchanging society and revealing a more nuanced reality.