A glimpse into academic and research libraries in North Korea: Collaboration to bridge societies

Abstract

While many library researchers and practitioners, especially those who are interested in international collaboration, have sought to find ways to engage with the North Korean library system, it has not been fruitful due to the dearth of information as well as political restrictions. The recent détente in the Korean peninsula raises hope that we may now have unprecedented opportunities to learn and understand the country since the Korean War ended in 1953. Obtaining any information on North Korea is still difficult. We need to depend on the information released by the North Korean government and personal records of visitors in various forms. Confirming and validating any research results on the country remains extremely challenging, and this leads to the lack of meaningful scholarly discussion and literature on libraries in North Korea.