North Korea — books & literature

The story of North Korea

The land now called North Korea sits within the ancient Korean cultural sphere that historians trace to Gojoseon, Korea's earliest recorded kingdom, and to Goguryeo (circa 37 BCE-668 CE), a powerful state whose territory spanned much of present-day North Korea and Manchuria. Centuries later Korea was unified under a single crown, most enduringly by the Joseon dynasty from 1392, which used Korea's ancient name Choson and created the Hangul writing system in the 15th century. Japan annexed the peninsula in 1910, ending five centuries of Joseon rule; liberation in 1945 came with an unplanned partition at the 38th parallel, the Soviet Union administering the north and the United States the south. On 9 September 1948 the Democratic People's Republic of Korea was proclaimed under Kim Il Sung, and the devastating Korean War (1950-1953) ended in an armistice rather than a peace treaty, leaving the peninsula divided to this day. Guided by the Juche ideology of self-reliance, North Korea developed as a centralized, single-party state led successively by three generations of the Kim family. Its culture still draws on the deep well of pre-division Korean tradition , language, cuisine, and court heritage , even as decades of separation have shaped a distinct national life in Pyongyang and beyond.

Timeline — key moments

1. circa 37 BCE

   Traditional founding date of Goguryeo, a kingdom spanning much of northern Korea and Manchuria.

2. 668

   Goguryeo falls to the allied forces of Silla and Tang China.

3. 1392

   The Joseon dynasty unifies Korea under a single crown.

4. 1443

   King Sejong the Great oversees the creation of the Hangul writing system.

5. 1910

   Japan formally annexes Korea, ending Joseon rule.

6. 1945

   Japan surrenders; Korea is liberated and divided at the 38th parallel between Soviet and US zones.

7. 1948

   The Democratic People's Republic of Korea is proclaimed on 9 September under Kim Il Sung.

8. 1950-1953

   The Korean War devastates the peninsula and ends in an armistice, not a peace treaty.

9. 1994

   Kim Il Sung dies; his son Kim Jong Il succeeds him as leader.

10. 2011

    Kim Jong Il dies; his son Kim Jong Un becomes Supreme Leader.

Top 10 things to know about North Korea

1. North Korea's official name is the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).
2. It is one of the world's few remaining single-party socialist states, guided by the Juche ideology of self-reliance.
3. The Kim family has led the country across three generations since its founding in 1948.
4. Pyongyang is the capital and by far the largest city.
5. North and South Korea remain technically at war , the 1953 armistice was a ceasefire, never a peace treaty.
6. The Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) is one of the most heavily fortified borders in the world.
7. North Korea maintains one of the largest standing militaries in the world relative to its population.
8. The state uses its own Juche calendar, counting years from founder Kim Il Sung's 1912 birth.
9. North Korea has conducted multiple nuclear weapons tests since 2006.
10. Korean traditional culture , Hangul script, hanbok, and shared cuisine , predates the division and is common heritage with South Korea.

Famous people from North Korea

Say it in North Korea's language

Did you know?

• ★North Korea runs on its own Juche calendar, which starts counting from 1912, the birth year of founder Kim Il Sung.
• ★North Korea calls the country "Choson" (조선), the same name used for ancient and pre-division Korea, while South Korea uses "Hanguk".
• ★North Korea's Arirang-style Mass Games, when staged, have featured tens of thousands of performers in coordinated gymnastic and card-stunt displays.

North Korea culture

• Pyongyang raengmyeon (cold buckwheat noodles) is a signature dish closely associated with the capital.
• Mass Games combine gymnastics, dance, and card-stunt displays performed by huge coordinated crowds.
• Chosonot, the northern form of traditional Korean dress, is worn for holidays and state celebrations.
• Public cultural life centers on state-produced revolutionary opera, traditional music, and dance performances.

Why read North Korea's books

North Korean literature is closely guided by the state and centers on socialist themes, but it grows from the same older Korean literary root , court chronicles, folk tales, and vernacular fiction , shared with the wider Korean canon before the peninsula divided.