In North Korea, every boy enters the military at 17, if he is physically able, and serves for 10 years. “So in companies and universities, it’s mainly women,” Jihyun explains. “We have lots more experience than men, because a man has only joined the military, but we are [working in the] economy, in agriculture, everywhere.” When the men come back from service, however, they are still put in positions of power over women workers. “North Korea never accepts our skills, our education,” Jihyun says. “And when we marry, we resign our job and become a housewife.” During the famine, men continued to work for no money and no food. But women were offered another way to financially support their family…

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