North Korea’s Folklore, Not Politics | Ep. 373
Folklore has always been more than campfire tales and bedtime myths; it is the shared memory of a people, the map of their longings, and the mirror of their fears. When we look at North Korea through that lens, the view changes. Politics fades, and the human thread appears. In our conversation with David Solomon of Mythical Creatures Around the World, we explore why storytelling is a better bridge than outrage. He argues that a country’s folklore should be approached with respect, curiosity, and care, especially when the nation is controversial. This approach does not excuse governments. It simply honors people, their beliefs, and the universal pull of the unknown. The goal is to connect across borders, not to erase them, and to use myth as common ground where empathy can take root.
One of the most striking examples is the legend of a lake monster said to dwell in Heaven Lake, the volcanic crater straddling the border of China and North Korea. The story echoes Loch Ness without copying it, blending local landscapes with a universal human fascination: what lives beyond our sight, and what it says about us. Folklore often hides at the edges of maps, in highlands, coasts, and borderlands. David points out that North Korean myths also inherit centuries of Korean culture before division, so a creature claimed today by one side often belongs to both. That matters. It challenges the habit of sorting culture into neat, nationalist containers. The myth predates the politics, and its meaning deepens when we remember how long stories outlive boundary lines.
If mermaids are more your speed, the Seya, or blue sea dragons, ripple through North Korean maritime lore. They hint at a love story of sea and shore and at the awe seafarers feel when water seems alive. These tales are not escapism; they are vessels for values like loyalty, courage, and care for the community. David also notes reports of a shared UFO sighting that drew interest on both sides of the Korean peninsula. Whether you believe in lights in the sky is almost beside the point. The episode shows how mystery can spark unity, if only briefly, where news cycles usually spotlight conflict. The larger lesson is simple: if we can gather around a wonder, we can at least listen to each other.
Skeptics sometimes say that Americans do not have folklore. That claim collapses the moment we look around. Bigfoot shadows the forests of the Pacific Northwest. The Goatman haunts Texas bridges. Chesapeake Bay has its own Nessie-like legend. Area 51 and Roswell shape modern myth just as much as medieval bestiaries did. Our country’s stories are layered by migration, faith, and friction. The same tale travels from Southern California to Florida with new names but the same bones. This flow is not theft. It is the natural movement of culture. When people move, stories move. When stories move, they adapt and survive.
Representation sits at the heart of this work. David stresses that honoring culture means meeting people in their language, customs, and rhythms. He draws a line: celebrate people, critique systems with care, and avoid turning art into a hammer. Diversity done right includes without belittling, adds without erasing. He shares missteps he has seen in media where elevating one group came at another’s expense. In his view, the long game is different: build a canon where many can recognize themselves without anyone needing to disappear. That ethic applies whether the setting is Pyongyang, Compton, Dallas, or Goa. Place matters, but dignity travels.
There is also a spiritual current that runs through these stories. David frames his calling as a Christian writer not as a sermon but as a practice of love: tell the truth, give hope, and refuse vengeance. Survivors know how heavy silence can be, and how healing starts when someone listens. Myth, at its best, listens first. It lets people enter through symbols they trust and reveals shared humanity without lecturing. That is why his work reaches homeschoolers, families, and curious readers who want more than hot takes. It is also why some push back. Culture work has always drawn critics. But growth comes from the courage to tell the hard tales with tenderness.
Focusing on folklore lets us hold two realities at once: the harm that politics can cause and the beauty that people create anyway. It gives us tools to teach children inclusion without asking them to carry the weight of geopolitics. It lets neighbors swap stories without needing to agree on everything. Most importantly, it keeps the door open. Borders can harden hearts. Stories soften them. From Heaven Lake to the blue sea dragons, from Norse echoes in New England to Russian threads along the West Coast, our world is stitched by myth. If we trace those seams with care, we may find that wonder makes better neighbors than fear.
Chapter Markers
0:00 Welcome And Global Audience Shoutouts
1:59 Introducing David Solomon And The Controversy
2:32 Why Write About North Korea’s Folklore
5:19 The Lake Monster At Heaven Lake
6:41 Folklore Beyond Politics And Borders
9:36 U.S. Folklore Examples And Immigrant Stories
12:06 Representation, Faith, And Cultural Respect
15:23 Uniting Through Myth Instead Of Division
18:12 North Korea In Global Culture And Olympics
21:10 Interwoven Histories: Russia, Norse, And America
24:20 Goa, Africa, And Speaking People’s Language
26:55 Upcoming North Korea Tales: Sea Dragons And UFOs
28:58 Choose Change Over Vengeance
31:26 Hope, Hollywood, And Telling Hard Stories
35:12 Healing, Survival, And Creating For The Next Generation
38:00 Shared Mission: Inclusion Over Taboo
42:30 Gratitude, Growth, And Bold Calls To Create
#NorthKorea #Folklore #CulturalHeritage #Mythology #Storytelling #KoreanTraditions #LegendsOfNorthKorea #FolkTales #CulturalExploration #NorthKoreanCulture #HistoricalNarratives #FolkloreStories #TalesFromThePast #NorthernMyths #TraditionAndCulture #justiceforsurvivors #VoicesforVoices #VoicesforVoicesPodcast #JustinAlanHayes #JustinHayes #help3billion #TikTok #Instagram #truth #Jesusaire #VoiceForChange #HealingTogether #VoicesForVoices373
North Korea’s Folklore, Not Politics | Ep. 373
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#NorthKorea #Folklore #CulturalHeritage #Mythology #Storytelling #KoreanTraditions #LegendsOfNorthKorea #FolkTales #CulturalExploration #NorthKoreanCulture #HistoricalNarratives #FolkloreStories #TalesFromThePast #NorthernMyths #TraditionAndCulture #justiceforsurvivors #VoicesforVoices #VoicesforVoicesPodcast #JustinAlanHayes #JustinHayes #help3billion #TikTok #Instagram #truth #Jesusaire #VoiceForChange #HealingTogether #VoicesForVoices373