When we read the international headlines about North Korea, they're rarely optimistic--phrases like "failed economy," "food shortages," "nuclear weapons," "provocative behavior," and "international sanctions" do little to conjure up positive images of what might be going on in the country.
Since North Korea made its plea back in the mid-1990s for international assistance to help feed its people, the keyholes in which we look through to see what's going on inside the DPRK have widened. This comes as a result of the work of various international and non-governmental organizations who have developed relationships with the North, mainly as donors of humanitarian and development assistance; the South Korean government's engagement policy of the last ten years; the expanding body of economic data provided by countries who engage in business with the North; and the North Korean government's own increasing--through still limited--interaction with Western countries. While these keyholes are still relatively few, one can see the visible signs of economic and, most importantly, societal transformation going on within the country's borders.
This book sets out to show that dynamic, encouraging change is taking place in North Korea. While Pyongyang's behavior is at times perplexing and its intentions often difficult to discern, North Korean society itself is experiencing a post-cold war transition toward a market economy--a transition that has been described as cautious, piecemeal, and not without its limitations and challenges, but nevertheless irreversible. Looking carefully at the micro-level changes allows one to see the subtle yet dynamic transformation unfolding. The authors of this book examine these micro-level changes--from the introduction of special laws and economic adjustment measures to the emergence of farmers' markets, the growing autonomy of enterprises, and training of officials in the West--to reveal dynamics within the DPRK that hopefully will move the country toward a better future.
This book is a by-product of collective research conducted by IFES' research fellows and faculty members of the University of North Korean Studies, Seoul. I am grateful to Dr. Dae-kyu Yoon, IFES's former director, whose initiative got this English monograph project off the ground. I am also grateful to Jae-Kyu Park, President of Kyungnam University, whose continuing support of the Institute's activities gave the project its wings.
Su Hoon Lee
Director, Institute for Far Eastern Studies
Kyungnam University
--- 「Foreword」