Sports and Leisure in North Korea (in Korean)
Seoul National University Unification Studies Series – 26
Authors: Na Yeong-il, Heon Ju, Ahn Ji-ho, Shin Young-jin, Jin Hyeon-ju, Seong Je-hun
Book Introduction
How do North Koreans spend their leisure time?
This year marks the 70th anniversary of the division of the two Koreas. There is a proverb in our language: “십년이면 강산도 변한다”, meaning “in ten years, even the rivers and mountains can change”. Seventy years is a long period, during which not only the rivers and mountains but also members of society can be replaced up to three generations. This means that South and North Koreans are forming different social cultures, and the scope of their mutual understanding is getting smaller. Physical education and leisure are closely linked to our lifestyle and culture, and this is also the case for North Koreans. Unlike us, physical education and leisure are closely linked to political and social activities in the socialist North. Currently, North Korea’s living culture is flowing in a different direction from the social culture of the socialist regime in the past after the Arduous March of the 1990s. In this book, the meaning of sports and leisure in socialist countries are compared with that of sports and leisure in North Korean society to understand the cultural lifestyles of North Koreans.
