It's hard to know what exactly is going on in North Korea, but it is possible to get glimpses. Seasoned North Korea observer Jean Lee has looked at the evolution of television soap operas in the era of Kim Jong-Un. What gave her the idea?
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Washington Post: What you can learn from watching North Korean soap operas →
North Korean state media is often known for its bombast and fiery rhetoric. But spend some time watching North Korea’s televised dramas and soap operas, and you may be surprised to see that the country acknowledges some of its weaknesses, too.
Read MoreKorean Kontext: What Can North Korean Soap Operas Tell Us About Kim Jong-un’s Priorities? →
A group of women gossiping about the new neighbor. A feisty middle schooler using a homemade drone to prank his classmates. A young military officer seeking information from his past. These themes could be from any American TV show. But they are, in fact, storylines from a new wave of soap operas produced by the North Korean state.
Former AP journalist Jean Lee, now a Global Fellow at The Wilson Center, analyzed four of these North Korean soaps for a new research paper commissioned by KEI. In this episode of Korean Kontext, she discusses some of her observations, including a shift from emphasizing military service to emphasizing family ties and a focus on youth and the next generation of North Koreans - themes which may indicate some of Kim Jong-un's main domestic priorities
Read MoreGlobal News: How North Korea is using TV sitcoms as state propaganda →
This is the new face of propaganda in North Korea, says Jean Lee, a global fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. It’s softer and more subtle than the nightly news broadcasts, and more entertaining too, she said. “[North Koreans] are much more inclined to pay attention because they’re enjoying it.”
Read MoreKEI: Press Release | Soap Operas and Socialism: Dissecting Kim Jong-un’s Evolving Policy Priorities through TV Dramas in North Korea →
The Korea Economic Institute of America published today a new analysis by Jean Lee, a journalist and veteran North Korea watcher who opened the AP’s Pyongyang bureau, focused on how North Korean soap operas can shed light on Kim Jong Un’s policy priorities. For her study, Lee analyzed four North Korean TV dramas that aired from 2013 to 2016. She used the dramas to tease out details of what these dramas can tell us about North Korean thinking, and what the regime wants the general populace to focus on in their daily lives. Things like clothing choices, apartment decorations, and career choices that are seen in the dramas shed light on how Kim Jong Un sets domestic priorities in North Korea.
Read MoreCNBC: How Kim Jong Un is using TV dramas to change North Korea →
In new research, Jean H. Lee described how Kim Jong Un's administration is creating made-for-TV dramas concentrated on youth and technology to appeal to the next generation of North Koreans.
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Zocalo: Our Caricatured Views of North Korea Are Dangerous →
Jean H. Lee is a journalist and former Pyongyang Bureau Chief for the Associated Press. Both her parents were born in South Korea and immigrated as students to the United States in the 1960s. Before moderating a Zócalo/UCLA panel discussion titled “Is War With North Korea Inevitable?” at the National Center for the Preservation of Democracy in downtown Los Angeles, she spoke in the green room about supermarket shopping in Pyongyang and whether North Koreans have horns.
Read More'Wild card' Trump heads into North Korea's line of sight →
In the South Korean capital Seoul, Trump will find people who have lived with that reality for decades.
"It's crucial for Trump to show that he's willing to defend and protect South Korea because there's a lot of questions and concerns on the part of South Koreans about his commitment to that alliance, and that has fed fears here in South Korea that they may be abandoned," said Jean Lee, a global fellow at the Wilson Center and former Pyongyang bureau chief for The Associated Press.
Read MoreWilson Center: Trump’s Asia Visit and North Korea Fever →
All eyes will be on President Trump as he heads to Asia next week, with seething tensions over North Korea topping his diplomatic agenda. Global Fellow Jean H. Lee says that while Pyongyang’s neighbors are accustomed to anxiety about the nuclear threat, the temperature – and the stakes – are only continuing to rise: “It’s not the first time that we’ve had this fever. That said, we need this fever to subside.” Differences between the U.S. president and his South Korean counterpart, the Kim regime’s strategy, and China’s current calculations are also discussed in the latest edition of Wilson Center NOW.
Read MoreNew York Times: Kim Jong-un Called Trump a ‘Dotard.’ What Does That Even Mean? →
Jean H. Lee, a former Pyongyang bureau chief for The Associated Press, said on Twitter that she had visited the offices of KCNA, the North Korean state news service, and found the agency using very old Korean-English dictionaries for their translations.
Read MoreWNYC The Brian Lehrer Show: North Korea Continues to Test Bombs →
After North Korea's latest nuclear test over the weekend, the largest yet, Jean Lee, global fellow, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, and former Associated Press Pyongyang Bureau Chief, talks about President Trump's bellicose response, how that affects the U.S. relationship to longtime ally South Korea, and what else to expect from the North. However, Trump's response and the Trump administration response are different. "The mixed messages are going to help North Korea," explains Lee, who is stationed in Seoul, South Korea currently. And she says that "as a proud American," she is worried, "that [Trump] will lead us into a military conflict that will destroy this region."
Read MoreJohn Batchelor Show: Where in the world is Kim Han Sol? →
Where in the world is Kim Han Sol? Jean Lee @newsjean Wilson Center speaks to @gordongchang on the John Batchelor Show about the assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's half-brother that has sent the slain man's son into hiding.
Read MorePBS NewsHour: How South Koreans are responding to pressure on North Korea from Trump →
South Korea conducted more military drills Tuesday, the latest to deter North Korea after its nuclear test on Sunday. But there are growing concerns about U.S.-South Korea relations, as President Trump pushes South Korea to get tougher, threatening a trade deal and potentially driving a wedge between the two allies. William Brangham reports on the tensions rising with the Korean peninsula.
Read MoreCNN: N. Korea believed to be moving intercontinental missile, Seoul lawmaker says, by Taehoon Lee and Josh Berlinger →
"This is not the time for these two countries to be showing these cracks. North Korea is going to exploit that," said Jean Lee, a North Korea expert and global fellow at the Wilson Center.
CNN: U.S., South Korea to deploy military assets, Sept. 4, 2017 →
BBC NewsHour: Missile Launch a 'prelude' says North Korea, Aug. 30, 2017 →
A day after North Korea fired a missile over Japan, Kim Jong-un hints at further action describing the launch as "a meaningful prelude to containing Guam". We try to assess the North's strategic thinking.
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Foreign Policy: Should You Go to North Korea While You Still Can? By Eric Fish →
“North Korea goes out of its way to make it hard for foreigners and locals to cross paths,” said Jean H. Lee, a global fellow at the Wilson Center who opened the Associated Press’s Pyongyang bureau in 2012 and frequently reported from inside the country. “That said, there are moments when tours do intersect with ordinary North Koreans. Though very brief, those interactions are valuable.”
BBC Radio 4 Today on Aug. 29, 2017 →
North Korea fired a missile early on Tuesday that flew over northern Japan before crashing into the sea off the coast of Hokkaido. Jean Lee is the former bureau chief for the Associated Press in North Korea.
Read MoreBBC Radio Scotland: Good Morning Scotland on Aug. 29, 2017 →
The nation's morning news programme, presented by Gary Robertson and Hayley Millar with travel every 15 minutes, weather every half hour, business updates and sports reports.
Read MoreCNN International: S. Korean Court to Rule in Samsung Corruption Case →
.@newsjean of @TheWilsonCenter @CouncilKA @NCNKorea talks #SouthKorea #Samsung case
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