North Korea today is no longer what it was under Kim Il-sung or Kim Jong-il. Since the severe economic crisis of the mid-1990s, markets have replaced rations as the main source of income for North Koreans. After state efforts to curb the growth of markets through currency reform failed in 2009, marketization became an irreversible trend. With more than 500 markets in active operation, North Korea may as well be called a market society. Markets are more than a simple physical space. Wealth is created around them. A new class of people and a new way of thinking are emerging around them. And at the center of these markets are women. Women are active participants in markets, not only as consumers, but also as producers, distributors, and money masters(donju, red capitalists). ‘Feminization of markets’ may be a keyword for describing North Korea today.

 Under the title “Women, Marketization, and Culture,” this international symposium will address the changes North Korean society is going through, what they mean, and what possibilities they hold for the future. The first session examines the past two decades of economic policy changes and marketization trends in an attempt to shed light on whether marketization could lead to the birth of a civil society. The second session focuses on the changes brought by marketization to women’s lives. The third session provides a look at popular arts, such as stand-up comedy and band music, and their cultural and political significance in North Korean society. The fourth session examines the socioeconomic and cultural significance of two concepts that are quickly becoming mainstream among North Korean women: beauty and sexuality. The fifth session provides an outlook for the future of North Korean society based on the Eastern European experience and discusses the challenges that North Korea may face on its way to becoming a civilized socialist state.