I studied in North Korea for a month. The isolation shocked me the most.

Mon, 08/19/2024 - 05:00

A man in his early twenties stands next to several flags and in front of a large monument at an intersection in Pyongyang. — Todor Merdjanov at an intersection in Pyongyang.
Courtesy of Todor Merdjanov

Todor Merdjanov recounts his month studying at Kim Il Sung University in North Korea.
He attended intensive language classes by university professors while also exploring Pyongyang and further afield.
Merdjanov later studied in South Korea, noting similarities and reflecting on his time in the North.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Todor Merdjanov, 33, a Bulgarian university student who spent a month in September 2013 attending Korean language classes at Kim Il Sung University in Pyongyang, North Korea.