North Koreaborn Youtubers Offer Peek Into Lives In Homeland

Video clips uploaded on Jang’s 2-year-old channel showed him saying that ordinary North Koreans usually raise dogs, rabbits, pigs, and chickens, but to either eat or sell to markets.

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Wearing a fedora, Jang Myung-jin shouts “Hello, comrades!” as he starts his YouTube broadcast, titled “A North Korean man, Tango.” Then, he talks about whether North Koreans raise pet dogs, what type of profanity they use and whether there are any transgender people in the country.

The 32-year-old Jang is among a handful of young North Korean refugees in South Korea who have launched YouTube channels that offer a rare glimpse into the everyday lives of people in North Korea, one of the world’s most secretive and repressive countries.

While mainstream outside media reports on North Korea focuses on heavy subjects like the North’s nuclear program or its internal power hierarchy, these young YouTubers feed a growing demand for softer news related to daily life in their former home country.

Their rise comes amid increased public attention to North Korea, whose young leader, Kim Jong Un, has made global headlines with a provocative run of weapons tests and high-stakes nuclear diplomacy with President Donald Trump.

“There are people who yearn for real scenes showing how people in North Korea live. There is a niche market for that,” said Jeon Young-sun, a research professor at Seoul’s Konkuk University. “Simply speaking, some people are curious about what beer North Koreans drink and what cookies they eat.”

Jang uses his Samsung smartphone to film himself at his small Seoul apartment, and sometimes invites fellow North Korean refugees as guests and has friends shoot him when he ventures out. He often appears with his trademark dark fedora, but sometimes with a colorful wig, a false mustache or even a Kim Jong Unmask.