Socio-economic Changes in North Korea: The Rise of the Informal Sector and the Change of Hierarchy (in Korean)
Seoul National University New Unification Studies – 1
New Books on Unification Studies at SNU 1
Authors: Lee Seung-hoon, Hong Doo-seung
Book Introduction
Because there is so little publicly disclosed data released from North Korea, it has been difficult to trust the validity of research about North Korea in recent years. However, information about North Korean society has recently increased significantly compared to the past,. This is due to the recent increase in the number of people traveling between the two Koreas, as well as frequent exchanges through various channels.
Above all, large numbers of North Korean defectors vividly convey the images of North Korean society hidden in the shadow behind the ‘Iron Curtain’ on the Korean Peninsula. This book is based on an analysis of socioeconomic changes in North Korea, which was by using various documents as supplementary materials. The study was done in collaboration between the two, and was written in terms of the economic and social sectors for convenience. From the planning stage of the study to interviews with North Korean defectors and organizing data, Lee Seung-hoon (economics) and Hong Doo-seung (social studies) conducted the program together. The writing was performed by Lee Seung-hoon in Chapter 1, and by Hong Doo-seung in Chapter 2.
The research in this book was funded by the Seoul National University Unification Research Fund. The authors express their sincere gratitude to the university authorities for supporting their work. They are also thankful to the National Intelligence Service (NIS), which helped select North Korean defectors to be interviewed.
From the Authors: Thank you to everyone involved in this project. I would also like to thank Jeong Heon-il, an economics professor at Seoul National University, and Sung Ji-young, a Ph.D. student at the business school, for their hard work with the research funds. We must also thank the defectors for their interviews.
