{"id":66216,"date":"2026-02-04T07:16:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-03T22:16:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/?p=66216"},"modified":"2026-04-07T13:37:12","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T04:37:12","slug":"red-neckties-create-classroom-hierarchy-as-n-korean-parents-bribe-for-first-batch-admission","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/red-neckties-create-classroom-hierarchy-as-n-korean-parents-bribe-for-first-batch-admission\/","title":{"rendered":"Red neckties create classroom hierarchy as N. Korean parents bribe for first-batch admission"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Parents at some elementary schools in North Hamgyong province are unhappy about the selection of the first batch of students to join the Korean Children’s Union in a ceremony on the birthday of Kim Jong Il on Feb. 16.<\/p>\n

Homeroom teachers informed students about whether they had been recommended for union admission in mid-January. That set off a debate about fairness that eventually led to arguments between parents and homeroom teachers.<\/p>\n

A source in the province told Daily NK recently that parents and homeroom teachers had quarreled about recommendations for the first batch of union admission at an elementary school in the Chongam district of Chongjin at the end of January.<\/p>\n

One parent showed up at school in person to complain to the homeroom teacher that their child was not on the recommended list despite being a good student with perfect attendance. But the homeroom teacher retorted that recommendations were based on the school’s guidelines and the homeroom teacher’s judgment.<\/p>\n

The enraged parent marched straight to the principal and demanded that their child be reassigned to a different class, creating quite a disturbance at the school.<\/p>\n

Red neckties create classroom hierarchy<\/strong><\/h4>\n

All North Korean children are required to join the Korean Children’s Union when they enter second grade (at age seven). But rather than all being admitted at once, students are divided into three batches, with admission ceremonies falling on three major holidays: Kim Jong Il’s birthday (Feb. 16), Kim Il Sung’s birthday (April 15), and the anniversary of the union’s establishment (June 6).<\/p>\n

These ceremonies are typically held as part of a union rally, with newly admitted students saying their vows and then being given the union’s distinctive red neckties and badges.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately for some students, the timing of union admission has become a de facto form of classroom ranking. Officially, admission recommendations are based on students’ grades and exemplary behavior at school. But in reality, the source said, parents often influence the recommendation process.<\/p>\n

“Students admitted in the first ceremony (on Feb. 16) think of themselves as the best because they’re the first to wear the red neckties. But the students admitted in the third and last ceremony reportedly feel embarrassed and struggle to hold their heads up around their classmates,” the source said.<\/p>\n

“An invisible hierarchy forms in the classroom based on the timing of union admission. Those with neckties are regarded as top students, while those without are seen as being behind,” the source added.<\/p>\n

As a result, the source said, every year parents pay visits to their homeroom teachers and school administrators to arrange for their children to be included in the first batch of admissions, with bribes often changing hands in the process.<\/p>\n

Before being admitted to the union, students are reportedly expected to memorize the children’s union membership oath, members’ rights and obligations, and poetry and songs composed by North Korea’s supreme leaders.<\/p>\n

Students who have been recommended at the class level can still be dropped from the list if they are not approved by the school’s union committee.<\/p>\n

“Parents are pushing their kids to learn everything by heart to ensure they aren’t disqualified during the committee’s review. Homeroom teachers made their recommendations between Feb. 1 and 3, and the admission list will be finalized following the union committee’s review on Feb. 6 or 7,” the source said.<\/p>\n

Read in Korean<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n\n \n
\n A Note to Readers<\/span>\n
<\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n \n

Reporting from inside North Korea<\/p>\n\n \n

\n Daily NK operates networks of sources inside North Korea who document events in real-time and transmit information through secure channels. Unlike reporting based on state media, satellite imagery, or defector accounts from years past, our journalism comes directly from people currently living under the regime. We verify reports through multiple independent sources and cross-reference details before publication.\n <\/p>\n\n

\n Our sources remain anonymous because contact with foreign media is treated as a capital offense in North Korea — discovery means imprisonment or execution. This network-based approach allows Daily NK to report on developments other outlets cannot access: market trends, policy implementation, public sentiment, and daily realities that never appear in official narratives.\n <\/p>\n\n

\n Maintaining these secure communication channels and protecting source identities requires specialized protocols and constant vigilance. Daily NK serves as a bridge between North Koreans and the outside world, documenting what’s happening inside one of the world’s most closed societies.\n <\/p>\n\n \n

\n How We Report<\/a>\n Subscribe to Our Weekly Briefing<\/a>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Parents at some elementary schools in North Hamgyong province are unhappy about the selection of the first batch of students to join the Korean Children’s Union in a ceremony on the birthday of Kim Jong Il on Feb. 16. Homeroom teachers informed students about whether they had been recommended for union admission in mid-January. That […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":259,"featured_media":58326,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[67,1360],"tags":[273,703,729,750,769,773,776,1189],"class_list":["post-66216","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","category-society","tag-corruption","tag-education","tag-students","tag-kim-il-sung","tag-kim-jong-il","tag-north-hamgyong-province","tag-chongjin","tag-children"],"yoast_head":"\nRed neckties create classroom hierarchy as N. Korean parents bribe for first-batch admission - North Korea News \u2014 Daily NK | Latest DPRK Updates 2026<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/red-neckties-create-classroom-hierarchy-as-n-korean-parents-bribe-for-first-batch-admission\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Red neckties create classroom hierarchy as N. Korean parents bribe for first-batch admission\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Parents at some elementary schools in North Hamgyong province are unhappy about the selection of the first batch of students to join the Korean Children’s Union in a ceremony on the birthday of Kim Jong Il on Feb. 16. Homeroom teachers informed students about whether they had been recommended for union admission in mid-January. That […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/red-neckties-create-classroom-hierarchy-as-n-korean-parents-bribe-for-first-batch-admission\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"North Korea News \u2014 Daily NK | Latest DPRK Updates 2026\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-02-03T22:16:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-07T04:37:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/02\/Children_of_North_Korea.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Eun Seol\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Eun Seol\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/red-neckties-create-classroom-hierarchy-as-n-korean-parents-bribe-for-first-batch-admission\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/red-neckties-create-classroom-hierarchy-as-n-korean-parents-bribe-for-first-batch-admission\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Eun Seol\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e4bfafdaf27e9f609b2d373ede23cac4\"},\"headline\":\"Red neckties create classroom hierarchy as N. Korean parents bribe for first-batch admission\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-03T22:16:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-07T04:37:12+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/red-neckties-create-classroom-hierarchy-as-n-korean-parents-bribe-for-first-batch-admission\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":577,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/red-neckties-create-classroom-hierarchy-as-n-korean-parents-bribe-for-first-batch-admission\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2024\\\/02\\\/Children_of_North_Korea.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"corruption\",\"education\",\"students\",\"kim il sung\",\"kim jong il\",\"north hamgyong province\",\"chongjin\",\"children\"],\"articleSection\":[\"News\",\"Society\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/red-neckties-create-classroom-hierarchy-as-n-korean-parents-bribe-for-first-batch-admission\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/red-neckties-create-classroom-hierarchy-as-n-korean-parents-bribe-for-first-batch-admission\\\/\",\"name\":\"Red neckties create classroom hierarchy as N. Korean parents bribe for first-batch admission - North Korea News \u2014 Daily NK | Latest DPRK Updates 2026\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/red-neckties-create-classroom-hierarchy-as-n-korean-parents-bribe-for-first-batch-admission\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/red-neckties-create-classroom-hierarchy-as-n-korean-parents-bribe-for-first-batch-admission\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2024\\\/02\\\/Children_of_North_Korea.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-03T22:16:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-07T04:37:12+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/red-neckties-create-classroom-hierarchy-as-n-korean-parents-bribe-for-first-batch-admission\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/red-neckties-create-classroom-hierarchy-as-n-korean-parents-bribe-for-first-batch-admission\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/red-neckties-create-classroom-hierarchy-as-n-korean-parents-bribe-for-first-batch-admission\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2024\\\/02\\\/Children_of_North_Korea.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2024\\\/02\\\/Children_of_North_Korea.jpg\",\"width\":800,\"height\":600,\"caption\":\"A photo taken in August 2012 of children in North Korea. (Nicor, Wikimedia Commons)\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/red-neckties-create-classroom-hierarchy-as-n-korean-parents-bribe-for-first-batch-admission\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Red neckties create classroom hierarchy as N. Korean parents bribe for first-batch admission\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/\",\"name\":\"North Korea News \u2014 Daily NK | Latest DPRK Updates 2026\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Daily NK English\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/top_logo@1x.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/top_logo@1x.png\",\"width\":272,\"height\":90,\"caption\":\"Daily NK English\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"description\":\"An independent online news organization based in Seoul, South Korea, reporting on internal North Korean affairs through a network of in-country sources and defector journalists. Part of the Unification Media Group (UMG) consortium.\",\"email\":\"dailynkenglish@uni-media.net\",\"telephone\":\"82-2-732-6998\",\"legalName\":\"DailyNK\",\"foundingDate\":\"2004-12-01\",\"numberOfEmployees\":{\"@type\":\"QuantitativeValue\",\"minValue\":\"1\",\"maxValue\":\"10\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e4bfafdaf27e9f609b2d373ede23cac4\",\"name\":\"Eun Seol\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2020\\\/05\\\/images-1-e1589857625251-150x119.png\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2020\\\/05\\\/images-1-e1589857625251-150x119.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2020\\\/05\\\/images-1-e1589857625251-150x119.png\",\"caption\":\"Eun Seol\"},\"description\":\"Eun Seol completed her doctoral coursework at the University of North Korean Studies and focuses on education and cultural issues in North Korea. Questions about her articles can be directed to dailynkenglish(at)uni-media.net.\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/author\\\/eunseolenglish\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Red neckties create classroom hierarchy as N. Korean parents bribe for first-batch admission - North Korea News \u2014 Daily NK | Latest DPRK Updates 2026","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/red-neckties-create-classroom-hierarchy-as-n-korean-parents-bribe-for-first-batch-admission\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Red neckties create classroom hierarchy as N. Korean parents bribe for first-batch admission","og_description":"Parents at some elementary schools in North Hamgyong province are unhappy about the selection of the first batch of students to join the Korean Children’s Union in a ceremony on the birthday of Kim Jong Il on Feb. 16. Homeroom teachers informed students about whether they had been recommended for union admission in mid-January. That […]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/red-neckties-create-classroom-hierarchy-as-n-korean-parents-bribe-for-first-batch-admission\/","og_site_name":"North Korea News \u2014 Daily NK | Latest DPRK Updates 2026","article_published_time":"2026-02-03T22:16:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-04-07T04:37:12+00:00","og_image":[{"width":800,"height":600,"url":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/02\/Children_of_North_Korea.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Eun Seol","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Eun Seol","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/red-neckties-create-classroom-hierarchy-as-n-korean-parents-bribe-for-first-batch-admission\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/red-neckties-create-classroom-hierarchy-as-n-korean-parents-bribe-for-first-batch-admission\/"},"author":{"name":"Eun Seol","@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/#\/schema\/person\/e4bfafdaf27e9f609b2d373ede23cac4"},"headline":"Red neckties create classroom hierarchy as N. Korean parents bribe for first-batch admission","datePublished":"2026-02-03T22:16:00+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-07T04:37:12+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/red-neckties-create-classroom-hierarchy-as-n-korean-parents-bribe-for-first-batch-admission\/"},"wordCount":577,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/red-neckties-create-classroom-hierarchy-as-n-korean-parents-bribe-for-first-batch-admission\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/02\/Children_of_North_Korea.jpg","keywords":["corruption","education","students","kim il sung","kim jong il","north hamgyong province","chongjin","children"],"articleSection":["News","Society"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/red-neckties-create-classroom-hierarchy-as-n-korean-parents-bribe-for-first-batch-admission\/","url":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/red-neckties-create-classroom-hierarchy-as-n-korean-parents-bribe-for-first-batch-admission\/","name":"Red neckties create classroom hierarchy as N. Korean parents bribe for first-batch admission - North Korea News \u2014 Daily NK | Latest DPRK Updates 2026","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/red-neckties-create-classroom-hierarchy-as-n-korean-parents-bribe-for-first-batch-admission\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/red-neckties-create-classroom-hierarchy-as-n-korean-parents-bribe-for-first-batch-admission\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/02\/Children_of_North_Korea.jpg","datePublished":"2026-02-03T22:16:00+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-07T04:37:12+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/red-neckties-create-classroom-hierarchy-as-n-korean-parents-bribe-for-first-batch-admission\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/red-neckties-create-classroom-hierarchy-as-n-korean-parents-bribe-for-first-batch-admission\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/red-neckties-create-classroom-hierarchy-as-n-korean-parents-bribe-for-first-batch-admission\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/02\/Children_of_North_Korea.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/02\/Children_of_North_Korea.jpg","width":800,"height":600,"caption":"A photo taken in August 2012 of children in North Korea. (Nicor, Wikimedia Commons)"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/red-neckties-create-classroom-hierarchy-as-n-korean-parents-bribe-for-first-batch-admission\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Red neckties create classroom hierarchy as N. Korean parents bribe for first-batch admission"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/","name":"North Korea News \u2014 Daily NK | Latest DPRK Updates 2026","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/#organization","name":"Daily NK English","url":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/top_logo@1x.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/top_logo@1x.png","width":272,"height":90,"caption":"Daily NK English"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"description":"An independent online news organization based in Seoul, South Korea, reporting on internal North Korean affairs through a network of in-country sources and defector journalists. Part of the Unification Media Group (UMG) consortium.","email":"dailynkenglish@uni-media.net","telephone":"82-2-732-6998","legalName":"DailyNK","foundingDate":"2004-12-01","numberOfEmployees":{"@type":"QuantitativeValue","minValue":"1","maxValue":"10"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/#\/schema\/person\/e4bfafdaf27e9f609b2d373ede23cac4","name":"Eun Seol","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/05\/images-1-e1589857625251-150x119.png","url":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/05\/images-1-e1589857625251-150x119.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/05\/images-1-e1589857625251-150x119.png","caption":"Eun Seol"},"description":"Eun Seol completed her doctoral coursework at the University of North Korean Studies and focuses on education and cultural issues in North Korea. Questions about her articles can be directed to dailynkenglish(at)uni-media.net.","url":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/author\/eunseolenglish\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66216","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/259"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=66216"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66216\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":66217,"href":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66216\/revisions\/66217"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/58326"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=66216"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=66216"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=66216"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}