Gender in Oblivion: Women in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea)

This article discusses the gender and women in North Korea. Not much is known about North Korea, let alone its gender relations. Based on published literature as well as on partial ethnographic data, the article looks into the status of women in the country, which is similar in many senses to that of women in the former Soviet-influenced socialist states, but is distinguished in an important area, that is, the relationship to the leader. The article suggests that whereas the category "mother" exists in North Korea, the category "women" is hardly recognized, thereby effacing the notion of gender altogether from the surface of the state politics.