While we would quibble with some minor points in this Christian Science Monitor article about our Women in Business program, we think the article makes the good point that North Korea is not as isolated as we think. Some quotes from the article:
“The idea behind all of this,” says Geoffrey See, the founder of the program, “is that we would like to see North Korea integrate with the rest of the world.”
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It’s also rare that North Koreans, even the elite few that are selected by the government to live in the model city of Pyongyang, are free to leave North Korea – let alone to visit a model economic hub such as Singapore.
Since See founded the group in 2008, workshops in North Korea have grown in frequency. So have overseas programs. In July, 10 young professionals – all women – traveled to Singapore to meet with peers and discuss management and business issues.
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The culture gap was evident in more than working electricity, food, and the humming economy in Singapore. One woman had particular trouble grasping the concept of a women’s business network. “Is it approved by the government?” she asked in English, struck by the notion that entrepreneurs and managers would associate among themselves without government oversight.
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Another North Korean, who made sure as many people in the room as possible got her business card, explained at great length North Korea’s attractive investment climate and investor protections. Left unsaid are the practical obstacles in trying to do business in a country where basic communications tools such as the Internet and international phone lines are unavailable to most people, and where there are widespread reports of bribery and corruption...
Today the group and its volunteer trainers make monthly trips to North Korea to organize or hold events, and expect to train some 200 North Koreans this year – double the number trained under the program from 2010, according to the group’s 2012 annual report...