An Actor-Centered Institutionalistic Approach to the Formation Process of the North Korean Labor Market

This study analyzes the formation process of the North Korean labor market based on actor-centered institutionalism. In North Korea, residents' labor force was subordinated to the state, resulting in the absence of a labor market. Around the 1990s, however, great transformation in world history marked by the end of the Cold War and domestic natural disasters served as significant turning points for North Korea. Such an economic crisis, a situational hardship, has led to changes in the belief system of North Korean residents and served as a starting point for the formation of a labor market. North Korea’s labor market has been shaped through the practical influence of North Korean residents who took proactive and independent actions, as well as through the ractification of various economic policy attempts by the North Korean authorities. The main actors in the formation process of the North Korean labor market are the 'North Korean residents' and the 'North Korean authorities.' North Korean residents had a substantial influence on the formation of the labor market through their active trade of their labor force. The North Korean authorities tolerated marketization since they were unable to meet the residents' needs for food and daily necessities while simultaneously establishing new policies as a way to overcome the economic crisis. However, as time passed, the authorities recognized the seriousness of the influx of capitalist elements and consequently implemented repressive polices. Nevertheless, North Korean residents justified trading their labor force and devised sustainable commercial strategies. Therefore, this study aims to analyze policies shaped through the strategic interactions of actors within the institutional conditions surrounding policy-making from the perspective of actor-centered institutionalism. From this perspective, North Korea’s labor market is, on a macro level, a historical product, and on a micro level, the outcome of policies formed through the strategic actions and interactions of North Korean residents and authorities.