Life behind a mosquito net: foreign student experiences of North Korea’s backstage

Q2 Social Sciences

Asian anthropology Pub Date : 2023-04-03 DOI:10.1080/1683478X.2023.2192026

Alek Sigley

引用次数: 0

Abstract

Abstract North Korea-based foreign students enjoy unique circumstances as long-term foreign residents of Pyongyang. In contrast to short-term outside visitors such as international tourists, they partake in freedoms and privileges that the xenophobic North Korean state seldom grants to foreigners, such as the ability to walk the streets of Pyongyang unaccompanied. They also interact extensively with local Koreans such as the North Korean students who live alongside them in the dormitory, and their teachers at university. However, like other classes of foreigners in North Korea, they too are monitored and presented a propaganda front. Drawing upon interviews with foreigners who studied at Kim Il Sung University, this article utilizes Goffman’s dramaturgical framework to tease out ways in which the closer proximity and longer exposure to North Koreans that North Korea-based foreign students enjoy affords them opportunities to witness dramaturgical failure, thereby affording them glimpses into the North Korean backstage.

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蚊帐后的生活:外国学生对朝鲜后台的体验

在朝鲜的留学生作为长期居住在平壤的外国人，享有特殊的待遇。与国际游客等短期外来游客相比，他们享有排外的朝鲜政府很少给予外国人的自由和特权，比如可以在无人陪伴的情况下在平壤街头行走。他们还与与他们一起住在宿舍的朝鲜学生和他们的大学老师等当地韩国人进行广泛的互动。然而，就像在朝鲜的其他阶层的外国人一样，他们也受到监视，并成为宣传阵地。通过对在金日成大学(Kim Il Sung University)学习的外国人的采访，本文利用戈夫曼的戏剧框架梳理出，在朝鲜学习的外国学生与朝鲜人的距离更近、接触时间更长，为他们提供了见证戏剧失败的机会，从而使他们得以一瞥朝鲜的后台。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Asian anthropology Social Sciences-Anthropology

CiteScore

1.60

自引率

0.00%

发文量

期刊介绍： Asian Anthropology seeks to bring interesting and exciting new anthropological research on Asia to a global audience. Until recently, anthropologists writing on a range of Asian topics in English but seeking a global audience have had to depend largely on Western-based journals to publish their works. Given the increasing number of indigenous anthropologists and anthropologists based in Asia, as well as the increasing interest in Asia among anthropologists everywhere, it is important to have an anthropology journal that is refereed on a global basis but that is editorially Asian-based. Asian Anthropology is editorially based in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Japan, but welcomes contributions from anthropologists and anthropology-related scholars throughout the world with an interest in Asia, especially East Asia as well as Southeast and South Asia. While the language of the journal is English, we also seek original works translated into English, which will facilitate greater participation and scholarly exchange. The journal will provide a forum for anthropologists working on Asia, in the broadest sense of the term "Asia". We seek your general support through submissions, subscriptions, and comments.