The Koreas share a border, a culture and a language. But 70 years after they were separated, North and South are about as divided as divided gets. With alm
PYEONGCHANG, SOUTH KOREA – The Koreas share a border, a culture and a language. But 70 years after they were separated, North and South are about as divided as divided gets.
With almost any kind of contact blocked, barred or banned by law, the gap between them has grown to the point where they almost seem like strangers in many ways. And while the Pyeongchang Olympics have brought North Korean athletes, musicians, martial artists, singers and cheering squads into the South, tight security means it’s still almost impossible for either side to interact.
So, embedded in a crowd of excited South Korean Olympic fans waiting to get into a united Korea women’s ice hockey match, The Associated Press posed a question:
If you had the chance, what would you ask a North Korean?
Lee So-mi, a 28-year-old jobseeker, said she was curious about life in North Korea.
But when asked what she would say if the chance to communicate ever actually arose, she giggled and struggled to come up with ideas. She wondered about what life would be like in a society where she imagines there is little personal freedom.
But she couldn’t imagine asking a North Korean directly about it.
Her question:
“If you are a (North Korean) woman in your late 20s… Oh, how do I say this? Marriage, life? Jobs? I want to ask about those things, like whether life is good for them.”
But, she added quickly, “You really can’t ask them so straightforwardly.”
When asked how she might delicately phrase such a question, she burst into laughter and said, “I don’t know! It’s too hard!
Office worker Kim Jae-in, 54, said he doesn’t think North Korea is bad because — nukes and all — it’s doing what it’s doing “just to survive.
