Lesson 13. Miscellaneous.

`Reading and discussing`

10 Best Jobs in North Korea. What’s it Like To Work in a Communist Utopia?

North Korea: the land of Kim Jong Un, nuclear weapons, military parades, and endless lists of bizzare facts. But have you ever considered what do people do everyday? In other words, what are people’s jobs in North Korea?

Here is a list of what seems like the only 10 viable jobs in North Korea.

1. Military

Military Parades happen regularly to celebrate the country’s various holidays.

If you join the army, you’ll have one of the most highly regarded jobs in North Korea. It’s estimated the government spends around 30% of the country’s budget on military despite its ongoing difficulties to fund healthcare or rural development.

You’ll have a chance to become part of the largest military in the world, with 7.7 million servicemen and servicewomen. There are 47.8 active duty military members for every 1000 citizens, which is ten times higher than the US.

Beware, you’ll have to undergo a demanding training, which is mandatory for all men and women in North Korea. Every man has to serve a ten-year term when he turns 18 years old.

These are some of the military jobs in North Korea:

Cyber Warfare specialist. Your job would include hacking South Korean banks, governmental organizations as well as the president’s office.
Member of the submarine fleet, serving on one of the 75 submarines (the US has only 70 submarines).
Missile launch officer. Be ready to deal with Kim Jong Un’s temper tantrums.
Special forces. You would take part in activities such as digging tunnels to South Korea.

A military parade in the country’s capital Pyongyang, showing off weapon technology.

2. Traffic security officers

More than 300 women direct traffic in the streets of Pyongyang.

One of the most coveted jobs in North Korea involves working as a human traffic light in the streets of Pyongyang.

If you want to become one of Pyongyang’s 300 “traffic ladies”, officially known as traffic security officers, you’ll have to meet the following requirements:

Single,
Under 26 years old,
Attractive looks,
Undergo demanding training where you’ll master elegant moves and improve your endurance.

Job description:

Direct traffic with the use of orange halters and a whistle,
Act in place of traffic lights,
Represent the nation’s capital,
Pose for tourist photos,
Collaborate with a team of 400 male colleagues stationed at roundabouts.

The legendary North Korean traffic lady wearing the winter version of the well-known blue uniform.

3. Farmer

As a farmer in North Korea, you’ll have access to limited number of machinery. Most of the work is done by hand.

If you’re not a fan of busy city life, get a job in the rural parts of North Korea and enjoy the misery of staying outdoors all day.

The monthly income is $1-$2 a month. However, you’ll be able to enjoy the recently introduced benefit of keeping a share of your crops before handing over the majority of it to the state.

Your tasks will include:

Feeding the hungry nation,
Giving a substantial share of your crops to the state,
Tending to cows, pigs, and goats,

4. Music teacher

Unofficial sources say, there’s at least 1.2 accordions per capita in North Korea.

As a music teacher, you’ll never lack work in North Korea, especially when it comes to accordions.

During the 1990s, all teachers had to learn the accordion. Many say this requirement remains to this day.

Accordions are often called “the people’s instrument”.

Keep in mind that as a music teacher you’d be required to make your students truly master their instrument. For a reference of the students’ abilities, here’s a video of North Korean children mastering the guitar. Creepy or cute?

5. Tour Guide

One of your responsibilities as a tour guide would be bringing all tourist to bow to the dear leaders’ monument at the Mansu Hill.

Being a tour guide is one of the jobs in North Korea that require most responsibility.

Over the past few years, tourism has been on the rise in North Korea. It’s estimated, that every year, around 6,000 Western tourists visit the secretive country.

Still, tourists aren’t allowed to explore the country on their own. They’re forced to rely on a tour guide.

As a tour guide, you’d essentially be the keyholder. It’d be your responsibility to watch every move the foreign visitors make and show them the country in the best possible light.

You’d have the following responsibilities:

Ensuring tourists don’t take any photos of the military or pictures reflecting poverty,
Sticking to the designated routes,
Making sure no tourists leave their hotel unescorted,
Admire the dear leaders and all their accomplishments during the tours,
Ensure that tourists bow to the statues and the bodies of former leaders Kim Il Sung ad Kim Jong Il.

6. Tailor

Vynalon is the main material used by tailors across North Korea. This uncomfortable material is considered the national fibre of North Korea.

If you’re looking for a job in the fashion industry, get ready to get busy.

Between 2016 and 2017, North Korea exported $166.82 million worth of men’s waterproof jackets alone.

If you were to design clothes for casual wear in North Korea, you’d have to follow these job guidelines:

Eliminate any influence of Western fashion such as short skirts, design brands, bright colors, or indecent patterns.
Your main material will be vynalon. A stiff, synthetic fiber created in North Korea in the 1950’s. This material is used for both uniforms and casual clothes.
Remember, no denim is allowed, as jeans represent the capitalist USA.

Uniforms are everywhere. From young pioneers, through students, to military servicemen and servicewomen. As a tailor you’d never be short of job opportunitites.

7. Hairdresser

As a hairdresser in North Korea, your creativity would be somewhat limited. You would be required to have a perfect knowledge of the 28 state-approved hairstyles.

Allegedly, only 18 hairstyles for women and 10 for men are allowed in North Korea.

Here’s a few basic rules you’d have to learn before the interview:

Single ladies are allowed to keep their hair longer, while married women must cut their hair short.

As for men, they have to keep their hair no longer than 2 inches. Older men, however, can get away with 3 inches.

As a hairdresser, don’t even think about copying the leader’s look. Kim Jong Un has put a trademark on his side-shaved swept-back style.

8. Sculptor

Overall, this is a boring job. You’ll have a multiple options as to what statues to create. Kim Il Sung, Kim Jong Il or Kim Jong Un.

On the other hand, you would never run out of job opportunities. There’s 34,000 statues of Kim Il Sung, the country’s founder, making it one for every 750 citizens.

If you want your artworks to be treated with respect, then becoming a sculptor in North Korea might be the perfect job for you! Everyone who passes the leaders’ monuments has to bow three times to the statues.

On top of that, when a tourist wants to take a photo of these statues, they have to fit the entirety of the statue in the picture. Otherwise, you risk punishment for accidentally cropping of Kim Jong Il’s feet from your photo.

9. Academia

As a university lecturer, you’d not only have to play the accordion...

Current job openings:

Lecturer of North Korean patriotism at the western-funded Pyongyang University of Science and Technology;
Accordion teacher at the Hamhŭng University of Education;
Lecturer in Surveillance Technologies at the Huichon University of Telecommunications;
Conductor at the National Accordion Ensemble at the Pyongyang University of Music and Dance.

If you’re looking to dive into academic research in North Korea, get ready for the following restrictions:

You’ll have to make do with limited resources.
No international research teams. North Korean academics will be your only colleagues.
Academic articles (both humanities and sciences) have to include at least one quote from a member of the Kim family.

10. Kim’s PR

If you’re looking for a truly creative job in North Korea, or perhaps have some previous experience with PR, marketing, or even fiction writing, this might well be your dream job!

Your job would be to constantly work to improve Kim’s personal brand and support the strong standing of the past and present leaders of the country. As a PR officer, you have to present the Kim dynasty as almighty superhumans.

Your tasks, should you get the job, would include:

Cover up for Kim Jong Un’s failing results from his school years in Switzerland. He is known to have been particularly bad at maths and sciences.
Disclaim any rumors about Kim Jong Un’s plastic surgery that he allegedly got to resemble his grandfather Kim Il Sung.
Inform the world about Kim Jong Il’s unprecedented achievements: “Amazing news! Kim Jong Il learns to walk when 3 weeks old and uttered his first words just 8 weeks after being born”.
Work on texts for schools, such as “Kim Jong Un’s Revolutionary Activities”, which teaches kids essential life facts, such as the leader’s victory at a yachting race at the age of 9.

Discussion questions:

How different are North and South Korea from each other and from other Asian countries?
What do you know about the Korean War?
Why isn’t North Korea as rich and as advanced as South Korea?
What do you think North Korea will be like 50 years from now?
Does your country have good relations with the two Koreas?
What do you think about North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Il?
What would you like to ask a North Korean person about North and South Korea?

`Homework`

Task 1. Watch the video and make a short report on the Korean lady`s story. Also, answer the questions written below.

https://www.ted.com/talks/hyeonseo_lee_my_escape_from_north_korea

What happened to Miss Lee when she was 7 years old?
Why did Korean people suffer in the mid-1990`s?
Why do so many North Koreans migrate to China and nearby countries?
How did Miss Lee get freedom for her family?
If you had a chance, would you help Miss Lee and her family? Why?

Reading and discussing