Songbun is the system of ascribed, often unchangeable status within the social hierarchy of North Korea. One’s songbun is based on the political, social, and economic statii status of one’s ancestors, stretching back at least three generations. One’s songbun is difficult to shift upwards, —but one’s songbunit can easily be negatively impacted by a relative’s rogue speech or behavior. Songbun determines the opportunities and responsibilities one can take on in terms of education and work, what kinds of rations one receives, and whether a person is eligible to join the Workers’ Party.
Get the entire Nothing to Envy LitChart as a printable PDF.
Songbun Term Timeline in Nothing to Envy
The timeline below shows where the term Songbun appears in Nothing to Envy. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 2
...from the government and even from ordinary society, using background checks and the concept of songbun, a kind of feudal social hierarchy, to keep potential “hostile[s]” such as former South Korean...
(full context)
...horizons limited. Mi-ran grew up ignorant of her father’s past and of her own lowly songbun. She found her father’s lack of relatives odd and his refusal to talk about his...
(full context)
...marry individuals from other Japanese Korean families, and they occupied a low position with poor songbun.
(full context)
...rather than South Korea—and he knew that he was their only hope for elevating their songbun and being forgiven for their “bourgeois Japanese past.” By getting into a good college and...
(full context)
Chapter 5
...good university in Pyongyang, which was an enormous achievement for a young man without good songbun who lived far from a major city. Jun-sang was proud and optimistic, and he’d found...
(full context)
