‘Subversive’ Books Circulate Among Students

A series of books considered subversivein North Korea have recently been
circulating in black markets, with people renting them out at a fixed
price, the Daily NK has learned. The books are only lent to those whose
identities can be verified and the main clientele–university students–rent
out the books for 3,000 KPW an hour, according to a local source.

A black market for foreign novels has long
existed in the markets, but it
s only recently that
we have seen the emergence of
subversive books,’” a source based in South Pyongan Province told the Daily NK on
Friday.
Most of them are from Japan and include
detailed descriptions of espionage operations.

Most North Koreans refer to anti-state
books that are not endorsed by the government as
bad books, she went on to explain. The majority of publications in the North are for propaganda
purposes; in the black market, globally renowned classics on politics and
economics, unavailable in libraries, are circulated.

The people who first established a black
market for books used to be mainly writers, journalists, and teachers, but now, they’re university students,
the source explained. Most books are translated and printed by students studying foreign
languages.”

These students
are largely the children of Party cadres, who use their parents
influence to get traders to bring in foreign literature. After procuring the titles, students make copies of these translations to sell on the black market using copying facilities located in public institutions.

All computers and printers in North Korea
must be registered with the State Security Department [SSD]–a practice that
exists to prevent the distribution of any anti-state propaganda leaflets or
materials.  The SSD controls factories and other Party organizations possessing any type of printing device. Photographers with access rights to copiers and printers for images are also under strict surveillance from law enforcement agencies.

Because of this risk, the number of books
circulated is small, also explaining why instead of selling them, a rental system has unfolded.

In order to evade surveillance from the SSD, students use indistinct titles such as Daily Review or those from North Korean novels on the covers. The original title is only known to the student who translated the book, which is why among most students they are referred to simply as Japanese books, the source said.

“‘Japanese books’ are rented out for about
3,000 KPW an hour,
the source said. In the market, regular North Korean books charge 1,000 KPW  per day and foreign classics are 3,000 KPW,” noting the significantly higher asking price of books published overseas over those printed locally. 

College students are used to the culture
of watching over each other, so they enjoy detective stories to try to
understand the social fabric of the North– where you can’t even trust your own
friends,
she elaborated. A lot of
the ‘Japanese novels’ are crime stories investigating cases involving serial
killers.

Elements of the works resonate with most who enjoy reading them, Looking at the rocky relationship between
individuals and power, and having to live through complicated times with wisdom
and hidden solutions feels so real,
the source said, citing opinions of many students. Its like it shows how you have to struggle
to survive in a capitalist society, so it
s
interesting,
others have said.

In this case, personal connections trump money for reading privileges, “‘Japanese novels’ that deal with social relations and
issues of morality are considered provocative, so it
s
more about being able to verify who the borrower is than whether they have
money to pay,
she concluded.