Gender in Transition: The Case of North Korea

SummaryThis paper uses survey data to examine the experience of women in North Korea’s economic transition. Women have been shed from state-affiliated employment and thrust into a market environment characterized by weak institutions and corruption. More than one-third of men indicate that criminality and corruption is the best way to make money, and 95% of female traders report paying bribes. The increasingly male-dominated state preys on the increasingly female-dominated market. Energies are directed toward survival and this population appears to lack the tools to act collectively to improve their status.

► This paper uses a refugee survey to examine the status of North Korean women. ► Women have been shed from public employ and thrust into a weakly regulated market. ► The increasingly male-dominated state preys on the increasingly female-dominated market. ► Women’s energies are directed toward survival, and lack the tools to improve their status.