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Exploring North Korea Today

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Exploring North Korea Today

Use the information on this worksheet to investigate North Korea. Some information about the country is difficult to verify independently, so distinguish reported facts from conclusions. Write in complete sentences where needed.

Place and connections

North Korea occupies the northern part of the Korean Peninsula. It borders China, Russia and South Korea. Its coastline meets the Yellow Sea and the Sea of Japan, also called the East Sea in Korea. Pyongyang is the capital, located in the western part of central North Korea.

1.According to the passage, name North Korea’s capital and state whether it is in the northern, central or southern part of the country.

2.How many countries share a land border with North Korea?

3.A ship leaves North Korea’s western coast. Which sea does it enter first? Give one reason why a coastline can matter to a country’s connections with other places.

Government and information

North Korea’s official name is the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). It is governed by the Workers’ Party of Korea, with highly centralised, authoritarian rule. Kim Jong Un is the country’s leader. Leadership has remained within the Kim family across generations, although the constitution describes formal state offices and does not set out a simple hereditary succession rule. Access to global internet is highly restricted for most people; a domestic computer network is available to some users. State media and controls on outside information shape what information many people can access.

4.Write the full English name represented by the abbreviation DPRK.

5.Which description best matches the information in the passage?

A multiparty democracy where power regularly changes hands through open elections
A highly centralised authoritarian state led by the Workers’ Party of Korea
A constitutional monarchy led by a king
A country without a national government

6.Who is North Korea’s leader? Explain why it is more accurate to say leadership has remained within one family than to say the constitution explicitly guarantees hereditary succession.

7.Give two ways the government can shape or restrict the information available to many people in North Korea.

Economy and critical thinking

North Korea’s economy is strongly shaped by government direction. People also rely on markets, including informal and local trading. The country faces challenges such as limited access to international trade, economic sanctions, natural hazards and food insecurity. The effects are not the same for everyone. Reliable, current statistics can be difficult to obtain, so researchers often qualify their conclusions.

8.Choose two challenges named in the passage. For each one, explain one possible effect on people’s everyday lives.

9.A social media post says, “Every person in North Korea has exactly the same access to food and information.” Is this a well-supported claim based on the passage? Explain your judgement and identify one reason information about the country can be difficult to verify.

10.Write one respectful, open-ended question you would ask a young person living in North Korea about daily life. Explain why their answer could add a perspective that written descriptions of geography or government cannot provide.