North Korea

North Korea is ethnically homogeneous, almost entirely Korean, sharing language and heritage with the South from which it has been divided since 1945.

Organized religion is effectively banned; the state promotes a personality cult around the Kim family and the official Juche ideology in its place.

Society

North Korea claims high literacy, but its people live under one of the world's most repressive systems, with tightly controlled information, restricted movement, and periodic shortages of food and basics.