Courtesy of Thomas Evans

Shortly after the Korean election in 2017, I received a gift set from President Moon Jae-in. It arrived in a special case with the symbols of the Blue House and the presidency all over it. It was a set of commemorative glasses and some high-end soju, the latter of which was enjoyed with some meat and cheese. I’m not sure I had done anything to deserve such a present. Indeed, the cynical observer might suggest that it was a way for the administration to try and get foreign journalists and media figures onside for their domestic and international policies, one of which focused very heavily on North Korea and engagement with Pyongyang.

The courting of the Baekdu leadership by the Democratic Party was fantastic in terms of press coverage and image making. However, it sadly failed to achieve anything in terms of lasting change or progress. We’re still not allowed to phone or send letters to those north of the border. Contact is a crime.

It’s frustrating how the left in South Korea will bend over backwards to not offend North Korea while the right will do all in their power to never accommodate them. Both sides of the political spectrum "other" the Pyongyang leadership for their own domestic support and goals. They both refuse to see any complexity or ambiguity in the North. There is either humanity or inhumanity but never both at the same time.

Last April, I stepped over the line into North Korea with my brother-in-law as part of a special tour to the JSA. With Covid shutting down the country for a while, that’s as close as many of us have gotten recently. So I never expected I would receive my second present from a Korean leader recently, but that’s exactly what happened.

Is this real?

Last week, I came home from the pub to find rubbish strewn all over my house. Because it was late and I was rather inebriated, I didn't quite understand what I was looking at. It's rather........

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