Sisyphus the North Korea Watcher

Is every North Korea Watcher pushing a cursed boulder up a hill for eternity?

Every North Korea Watcher sooner or later questions what they do.

There’s the relentless routine of reading write-ups on North Korea, scanning academic dribble for insight, and dissecting the latest KCNA image. They see highly respected and feted North Korea Watchers rehashing the same crap year after year, and they know that their own ideas will never be heard beyond two graduate students and a dyslexic professor who ended up in the wrong room at an academic conference. Then, they see governments follow the same feckless policies that failed the first time, the second time, and more than likely this time too. This inevitably gives way to deeper existential questions.

The situation prompts a quiet rebellion: Why am I doing this? What is the purpose of North Korea Watching?

North Korea Watching is an absurd phenomenon! Luckily enough, philosophy provides some answers to the absurdism of North Korea watching - and there is no better corollary to North Korea watching than the tale of Sisyphus.

Sisyphus, the king of Ephyra (later known as Corinth) tricked Death and outwitted the gods on multiple occasions. When finally caught, he was forced to push a massive boulder up a hill, only for it to roll back down just before reaching the top—repeating this futile task for eternity. The 20th century French philosopher Albert Camus explored this tale in The Myth of Sisyphus.

For Camus, the punishment of Sisyphus symbolized the human struggle for meaning in a meaningless universe. Camus argued that when one accepts the clash between our desire for meaning and the universe's indifference - we can take three possible paths. Interestingly, when we accept the absurdity of North Korea watching - we can equally take three possible paths.

The first option is to physically escape - in the plainest term, to commit suicide. In the face of the absurd—the lack of inherent meaning in life—some may feel that life is not worth living. Camus recognizes suicide as a response to the realization that the universe is indifferent and that human existence lacks a higher purpose.

Camus rejects the option as a "false solution." For Camus, suicide is not a legitimate response to the absurd; it only serves to end the very condition that allows for revolt and freedom. It’s a refusal to confront life’s paradox and robs us of the chance to live fully and authentically. For Camus, suicide denies life and cuts off the possibility of finding personal meaning in a meaningless world. Instead of facing the absurd, it tries to escape it altogether.

In The Myth of Sisyphus, Albert Camus considers the first response to the absurd: physical suicide, the ultimate rejection of a world devoid of inherent meaning.

For the North Korea Watcher, leaving the field is its intellectual equivalent—the abandonment of the task, the dissolution of the self into irrelevance. The act is both liberation and negation, a final refusal to engage in the endless, senseless struggle of deciphering the undecipherable. Yet, unlike Camus' condemned man who clings to the fight, the North Korea Watcher accepts a different form of oblivion: to let the field exist without their gaze. It is not triumph, nor even escape, but a quiet vanishing—an acknowledgment that some walls will never be scaled, some truths never grasped, and that stepping beyond the field is the only way to sever the absurd knot.

Many leave the field due to the relentless emotional toll and frustration of deciphering an opaque regime. It must be recognized that many enter the field haphazardly: a government assignment everyone else avoided; the circumstance of being a foreigner in Korea or a Korean in a foreign land; an easy option for overseas work to pay off a student loan; a youthful fascination with ideology, uniforms, and undying commitment; or the recognition that there’s an opportunity in a largely empty space.

There’s a point in time in most North Korea Watchers’ lives when they are presented with an option to leave the field. Most leave just as haphazardly as they entered with an opportunity to pursue broader, more stable roles in government, journalism, or academia. An escape from the repetition. One moment, they’re on social media giving insight into Kim Jong-un’s eating habits and health, the next they’re working on international investment at an intergovernmental organization, reporting local news back home, or teaching in their own field - often as far away from North Korea as their physical location.

Leaving the field is of course a more attractive option than the equivalent put forward by Camus - but its still hard. Most North Korea Watchers step away, but keep one foot in the muddy pool. When the North Korea s*&t hits the fan, they’re more than happy to jump back in. The great bonus - you can be years outside of the field, and not much will have changed.

The second option is philosophical suicide. This form of "suicide" is less literal and more intellectual. It occurs when one abandons rational inquiry and embraces false meaning—whether through religion, ideology, or other systems of belief that offer comforting but ultimately unfounded explanations for existence.

Camus describes this as philosophical suicide because it involves giving up the pursuit of truth and surrendering to a fabricated answer. Examples often given are the turn to religion offering eternal life as a solution to the absurd; or the pursuit of political ideologies that promise utopia and final answers to human struggles.

However, Camus argues this kind of intellectual escape is tempting but dishonest. While it provides temporary comfort, it ultimately sacrifices freedom and the opportunity to live authentically in the face of absurdity.

For the North Korea Watcher, philosophical suicide manifests itself in the adoption of simplistic narratives or unquestioning allegiance to ideologies.

Simplistic narratives can take multiple forms: democracy, human rights, transnational justice, religion, realism, liberalism, commerce, or Marxism. Analysts find comfort in accepting predefined conclusions—whether through political ideologies, propaganda, profit, or overly optimistic projections—rather than confronting the nuanced and uncomfortable complexities of the regime.

An example would be retiring to a think-tank with a pre-defined set of ideological assumptions regarding foreign policy, security, and America’s place in the world. Think Cato Institute’s individual liberty, free markets, and peace manifesto. Using libertarian values sets in place a simple structure with a utopian vision that structures how to think and react, how to criticize and comment, and even how to devise novel and alternative policy solutions. It’s structured, clearly defined, and convincing. It presents a clear solution, and your only task is to convince others to see the light. The challenge, of course, comes in fitting the nuance of North Korea into the ideological frame - the square peg into the round hole.

Embracing such “meaningful explanations” provides a temporary sense of certainty but ultimately stifles the pursuit of truth. Narratives that gloss over North Korea’s absurdities prevent genuine understanding and compromise the intellectual integrity needed to grasp the true nature of the situation. This intellectual abdication mirrors the existential surrender Camus warned against—trading authentic inquiry for a comforting illusion.

The third and most courageous option, according to Camus, is to embrace the absurd without seeking escape or false meaning. This response involves full acceptance of life’s absurdity and choosing to live with defiant joy.

Camus describes this as a state of revolt—not a physical rebellion, but a metaphysical one. It is an ongoing refusal to be defeated by the lack of meaning. Rather than surrendering to nihilism or false hope, the absurd hero continues to live passionately, creating meaning through their experiences, actions, and choices. By rejecting external meaning, one gains complete freedom to define their own purpose and values.

For the North Korea Watcher, embracing the absurd without seeking escape or false meaning involves recognizing that what you do may change nothing. The North Korea Watcher remains an impotent onlooker—perhaps unable to affect change or unearth any genuine truth. The constant chase for significance amid a tapestry of curated performances ultimately proves fruitless; each step deeper into the North Korea Watching world emphasizes the opacity and impossibility of securing deeper insight. Think of the North Korea Watchers who when introduced as an “expert” respond by saying that no one is really an expert - they recognize and accept the absurdity.

For Camus, rather than despair, Sisyphus accepts his fate, finds peace in his struggle, and even learns to take joy in it. In The Myth of Sisyphus, Camus reimagined Sisyphus as a hero who found freedom and purpose in the act of endlessly pushing the stone, embracing the struggle without hope for escape. Because happiness is found in the defiance, not in the result, Camus concludes that we must "imagine Sisyphus happy".

This happiness can be seen in some North Korea Watchers. Look around at long time North Korea Watchers. Few are rich, few are well-known outside their own crowd, and few are successful beyond their niche. A long time ago, they channelled their energies inward - toward forging authentic meaning through their own experiences, actions, and choices. Some turn to cynicism, writing intermittent sarcastic and sometimes caustic diatribes on the field. Some turn to comedy, pulling out laughter in the absurdity of KCNA reporting and imagery. While others turn to creative expression, delving into art, photography, poetry, creative writing, or even cabaret (not always related to North Korea).

Many North Korea Watchers do find peace in their struggle to discern the meaning of what they do, and even take joy in it. If we accept the approach of Camus, happiness is found in that defiance, not necessarily in the result. Just as Camus imagines Sisyphus to be happy, we have to imagine the North Korea Watcher happy.