We’re going going, back back, to NoKo NoKo

Gan Bae, dear readers!

We at The North Korea Blog are heading back to the DPRK next week for round two of some world-class totalitarian theatre. Empty highways, wet shooting ranges and disturbingly intimate conversations with locals are calling us back to the hermit kingdom.

Besides, this is the year that North Korea becomes a “strong and prosperous nation.” We couldn’t miss that, could we?

And how different it is this time around, just six months after our first trip.

Kim Jong Il is dead.

Kim Jong Un has assumed power.

And his second big display (after all those missile tests) is the 100th anniversary of Kim Il Sung’s birth. Translation: A panoply of dancing, drinking and celebrating; a fascinating tableau of state-mandated reverence masquerading as joy; a veritable shit show of North Korean nationalism.

In the coming weeks you’ll see lots of new content on this site: new images, podcasts and media from North Korea, along with new articles on the state of the dictatorship.

I’m excited to imagine what might happen this time around. Will locals let slip their secret routines? Will we hear more dick jokes from NoKo’s stand-up scene? Will Jordan Harbinger teach DPRK citizens how to pick up women? Will we record another clandestine talk show from our hotel room?

Check back soon. In the meantime, lots of love from your friends at The North Korea Blog!