Photos and video by Jean H. Lee from North Korea's Masikryong ski resort in Kangwon, Province, taken in January 2014. South Korean skiers are slated to train in North Korea as part of the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics.
Read MoreKEI: Soap Operas and Socialism
Romance, humor, tension — everyone loves a good sitcom, even North Koreans. But in North Korea, TV dramas are more than mere entertainment. They play a crucial political role by serving as a key messenger of party and government policy. They aim to shape social and cultural mores in North Korean society. And in the Kim Jong-un era, they act as an advertisement for the “good life” promised to the political elite.
Read More
CNN: Pyeongchang and the South Korea ski culture →
South Korea is mountainous but doesn't have the stunning, jagged peaks of the Alps or volcanoes blanketed in 15 meters of snow like Hokkaido. It doesn't have the rollicking, raucous mid-mountain huts of Austria where skiers pass around bottles of schnapps, or log-cabin lodges with crackling fires where skiers sip glasses of vin chaud or gluehwein. What South Korea lacks in tradition it makes up for in efficiency: small, modern resorts with fast lifts and good snowmaking. And the region does have a ski culture all its own: soju, BBQ and plenty of time soaking in spas known asjjimjilbang.
Read MoreNew York Times Rio 2016: Gymnast's Selfie Goes Viral, but Her Bio is Sparse →
In a selfie that has spread quickly online, the North Korean gymnast Hong Un-jong smiles brightly as a South Korean competitor at the Rio Olympics, Lee Eun-ju, 17, holds up her smartphone and snaps a picture of them hugging.
Read More
Video footage by Jean H. Lee shot at Masikryong ski resort in January 2014.
CNN: World's most exotic luxury ski resort? Hitting the slopes at Masik, North Korea →
Video and photos from Masikryong ski resort, shot in January 2014 just weeks after the resorts' opening.
Read MoreAP: North Korea's Rooney Loves His Cars, Clothes and Rap →
He plays like Rooney but behaves a little like Beckham. He loves his cars, his rap music and his clothes, and changes hairstyles more often than you can say "Kim Jong Il."North Korea striker Jong Tae Se is not your average North Korean.
Read MoreAP: NKorea's An wants revenge for '66 loss to Portugal
North Korea's An Yong Hak knows exactly what he wants from his team's upcoming World Cup match with Portugal. "Revenge. We'll try to get revenge for 1966," the lanky midfielder said with a grin, speaking to reporters before a training session Thursday at Makhulong Stadium in the township of Tembisa.
Read More
AP: At World Cup, North Korean team goes under cover →
A week after arriving for the World Cup, the North Korean team remains largely hidden from public view, sequestered behind the tightly guarded gates of a remote hotel in northern Johannesburg that seems to rise like a fortress from the South African veld.
No chance of a casual South African braai - barbecue - with fellow hotel guests: All meals, prepared by a cook flown in from Pyongyang, are closed to outsiders. And no chance for the players to stray from the group.
Read MoreAP: For the 2 Koreas, Joint Appearance at World Cup Turns Sour →
With both North and South Korea in the World Cup for the first time, many on this war-divided peninsula were hoping that sports could cross the border and unite people. But the sinking of a South Korean warship in March has shattered the mood and heightened tensions between the two nations, turning the World Cup into a missed opportunity less than a month before the games start.
Read More
Download all episodes of The Lazarus Heist, watch Lazarus Heist animations, read our feature story about the hackers and view visualizations of the podcast episodes on Lazarus Heist homepage on the BBC World Service website!