The North, The South, and The Coffee #048

Feb 17, 2023

02:36:43

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Episode notes

Jacco Zwetsloot has been the host of the NK News Podcast since 2018. He has interviewed a wide range of guests about their knowledge of and experience in North Korea, from celebrity defectors to high-ranking U.S. government officials. Jacco has a Master of Arts from Leiden University, for which he wrote a thesis on North Korean graphic novels.

This is a conversation in two parts - both of which are fascinating. The first sees Jacco recount details of his three trips to the capital of North Korea, Pyongyang. These bring to life the reality of travelling in and out of a country determined to control the flow of internal and external information. He provides keen insights into the reality of this system and the practices carried out. The second half sees us talk about South Korea - a country Jacco has called home for many years. Of particular interest is the conversation about movies and culture. He finishes our chat by suggesting unification of the peninsula is something that will happen - though when and by what means he remains unsure.

NK News Podcast: https://www.nknews.org/category/north-korea-news-podcast/latest

Jacco on Twitter: https://twitter.com/JaccoZed

Discussion Outline

0:00 Explaining North Korea

32:57 The People of North Korea

46:49 NK News Podcast

1:05:18 NK News

1:14:07 South Korea

1:32:54 Korean Movies, Music, and Books

1:55:08 The Foreign Community

2:09:34 Advice for Young People

2:18:20 Unification