Paper short abstract:

This study scrutinizes the gap between North Korea's human rights discourse and reality, notably in women's rights, comparing official narratives from Choson Nyeosong magazine with North Korean women's perspectives. It assesses disparities in urban and rural areas, aiming to understand how human rights norms are understood and disseminated within the country.

Paper long abstract:

What are the gaps between the human rights discourse and the reality in North Korea? How does the country understand human rights? How does this understanding differ from the international norms agreed upon by the global community, and how are these norms disseminated among the public within the country? How do North Korean women perceive the human rights they experience in their context? Additionally, what differences exist between urban and rural areas?

North Korea stands out as a country with a significant disparity between official discourse and reality, as evidenced in numerous human rights reports. Women's rights are a notable example, with a large gap between the socialist ideal and women's lives on the ground. Notwithstanding the North Korean government's assertion of advocating women's rights via institutionalized laws tracing their genesis to the nation's inception in 1946, an array of human rights reports conspicuously underscore a profound incongruity between the sanctioned discourse and the tangible realities experienced by women. This research embarks upon a methodical scrutiny of the officially proffered narrative pertaining to women's rights, as enunciated within Choson Nyeosong, the monthly institutional magazine affiliated with the DPRK Women's Association. Simultaneously, it delves into the nuanced perspectives articulated by North Korean women themselves. By engaging in a parallel analysis of these dual strata of discourse, the present study endeavours to meticulously elucidate and evaluate the intricate and multifaceted interplay characterizing their relationship.

The study unfolds in two stages: first, analysing the public discourse on women's rights in North Korean institutions by examining the official texts of Choson Nyeosong magazine through topic modelling; second, investigating North Korean women's perceptions and experiences of women's rights in different regions - Pyongyang and Yanggang Province.