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Stunning photos reveal what childhood in North Korea is really like

Chris Weller

2016-06-15T21:20:00Z

kids north korea

Childhood is a precious time in human life, so it can be jarring to see kids working in fields or blindly supporting violent dictators.

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But if you're one of the 5.3 million children under the age of 14 in North Korea, that's the reality of growing up.

Kids learn to love the country's brutal history, from its founder, Kim Il Sung, all the way to its present ruler, Kim Jong Un. They may learn popular art forms like music and illustration, but it's often in the pursuit of promoting the country's political will.

Here's what it's like to grow up in the most secretive country on Earth.

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From an early age, kids living outside the capital city of Pyongyang are made to work on North Korean farms. Forced labor accounts for a large portion of the country's economic output.

kids north korea

Some reports have stated that workers who don't comply can be sent to concentration camps as punishment.

kids north korea

Source: Human Rights Watch

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In less developed regions, the trek to school can be fraught with construction projects and dangerous terrain. School buses, when villages have them, are often repurposed dump trucks.

kids north korea

Source: earth nutshell

For those without parents, life in North Korean orphanages can be especially brutal. Even the children who get adopted risk rejection later in life if their parents can't support themselves.

kids north korea

Source: CNN

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Meanwhile, families that have a bit more money can afford to provide small luxuries, like traditional North Korean clothes.

kids north korea

But money doesn't make a family free from political obligations. Many still worship the country's leaders and make regular trips to the national monuments that honor them, children in tow.

kids north korea

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Earlier this June, Kim Jong Un organized a performance titled, "We Are the Happiest in the World" — a celebration of the 70th anniversary of the Korean Children's Union.

kids north korea

Indoctrination starts even earlier, however — sometimes in kindergarten. Young kids learn anti-American messages and use toy rifles and grenades to attack cartoon images of soldiers.

kids north korea

Source: Washington Post

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On International Children's Day, a mock military parade in the capital city of Pyongyang features kids dressed up as members of the North Korean army.

kids north korea

The conditions inside schools aren't always sanitary. One kindergarten is located inside the Kim Jong Suk Pyongyang textile mill.

kids north korea

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But such is the nature of inequality in North Korea. Families that don't live in poverty can give their kids a better chance at fun, joy-filled upbringings.

kids north korea

For instance, some of the most high-achieving children train at the Mangyongdae Children's Palace, a facility that provides lessons in foreign languages, computing skills, and sports.

kids north korea

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Some have described Mangyongdae as supremely strange. One visitor to an art class never saw the kids actually touch pen to paper, despite the professional-level illustrations presented before them.

kids north korea

Source: Abandoned Kansai

Run by the Korean Youth Corps, Mangyongdae reportedly accommodates up to 5,400 children at a time in its massive concrete building.

kids north korea

Source: Abandoned Kansai

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Their performances are grandiose extensions of the North Korean cult of personality. Themes of honor and greatness are pervasive throughout.

kids north korea

During a performance for foreign journalists in May, for instance, many of the choral, dance, and acrobatic routines had heavy political undertones.

kids north korea

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Nevertheless, given the intense levels of coercion and fear-mongering that come with adulthood, the innocence that comes with childhood means those years may be North Koreans' only time to live care-free.

kids north korea

The children aren't old enough to understand the propaganda they're being fed or know how deplorable their living conditions are.

kids north korea

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It only lasts a short while, but childhood may be the time when North Koreans have the most in common with the rest of the world.

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North Korea Children Kids

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