A Day In The Life Of A North Korean Soldier

This video was made possible thanks to everyone on the Simple History Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/simplehistory North Korea has one of the largest militaries in the world, but what is life really like for those forced to serve? In this video, we follow Park Jeong, an 18-year-old conscript, through harsh training, strict indoctrination, poor rations, and outdated weapons, revealing the hidden reality of service in the Korean People’s Army. Check out our other Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPdc6bs3I8s6Y4QE_3g3MZw Discord server: https://discord.gg/JZsPQXHeYC Become a Simple History member: https://www.youtube.com/simplehistory/join Copyright: DO NOT translate and re-upload our content on Youtube or other social media. SIMPLE HISTORY MERCHANDISE Get the Simple History books on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Daniel-Turner-%60/e/B00H5TYLAE/ T-Shirts https://teespring.com/stores/simple-history-official-merch Simple history gives you the facts, simple! See the book collection here: Amazon USA http://www.amazon.com/Daniel-Turner/e/B00H5TYLAE/ Amazon UK http://www.amazon.co.uk/Daniel-Turner/e/B00H5TYLAE/ https://www.facebook.com/Simple-History-549437675141192/ https://twitter.com/SimpleHistoryYT Further Reading: Sang-Hun, Choe. “What to Know About North Korea’s Military Capabilities.” TheNewYorkTimes.com. October 24, 2024. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/24/world/asia/north-korea-military-capability.html “What are North Korea’s Military Capabilities and How Powerful Are They?” Reuters.com. October 25, 2024. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/north-koreas-military-is-one-worlds-largest-how-powerful-is-it-2024-10-25/ “North Korea’s Military Capabilities.” Council on Foreign Relations. June 28, 2022. https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/north-korea-nuclear-weapons-missile-tests-military-capabilities “North Korean defector: After returning from Russia, North Korean soldiers will join the party or university.” iROZHLAS.cz. March 26, 2025. https://www.irozhlas.cz/zpravy-svet/uprchlik-z-kldr-po-navratu-z-ruska-se-severokorejsti-vojaci-dostanou-do-strany_2503261142_jva “North Korea Military Power.” Defense Intelligence Agency. 2021. https://www.dia.mil/Portals/110/Documents/News/NKMP.pdf Jieun, Kim. “North Korean military raises enlistment age limit from 23 to 25.” Radio Free Asia. December 24, 2024. https://www.rfa.org/english/korea/2024/12/24/north-korea-enlistment-age-increase/ “North Korea Military.” North-Korea-Travel.com. https://www.north-korea-travel.com/north-korea-military.html Tooth, John-Paul. “North Korea’s Military: How Does it Actually Stack Up?” Forcesnews.com. September 5, 2017. https://www.forcesnews.com/news/north-koreas-military-how-does-it-actually-stack Schroeder, Matt. “North Korean Small Arms and Light Weapons Recognition Guide.” Small Arms Survey. https://www.smallarmssurvey.org/sites/default/files/resources/North-Korean-Small-Arms-and-Light-Weapons_Recognition-Guide_EN.pdf “Type 88 Assault Rifle.” Guns.fandom.com. https://guns.fandom.com/wiki/Type_88_assault_rifle Beyer, Oliver. “An overview of camouflage patterns used by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.” Armament Research Services. April 5, 2017. https://armamentresearch.com/an-overview-of-camouflage-patterns-used-by-the-democratic-peoples-republic-of-korea/ Lee, Myungchul “North Korean soldiers face punishment for calling South Korea by its official name.” Radio Free Asia. November 18, 2021. https://www.rfa.org/english/news/korea/hanguk-11182021214931.html Credit: Simple History Creator: Daniel Turner (B.A. (Hons) in History, University College London) Video Directors: Anthony Barrett, Denis Blinov Script: Robert De Graaf Script Review: Denis Blinov Narrator: Chris Kane (https://vocalforge.com) Artists: ShyShelly, Arya Ahumada Lydisma Animators: Kuldip Bheda, Krunal, Mani Kumar, Bharghavi Editor: Alec Urbany, Artem Dobrohodov Brand Partnerships: Justin St-Laurent Senior Production Manager: Umar Ijaz Simple History Channel Manager: James Dowse