Digital Collections and Databases

The Asian Division’s North Korean collection includes several projects that make unique and important materials digitally available to a diverse international community. Please note that some sources, such as the Biographies of Soviet Korean Leaders and the North Korean Serials Digital Collection, are freely available online. Some materials can only be accessed onsite at the Library of Congress. Please contact reference staff through Ask a Librarian with any questions.

Digital Collections

Biographies of Soviet Korean Leaders
This collection features biographies of 80 Soviet-Korean (Koryo Saram) leaders who were sent to North Korea by the Soviet Communist Party in the mid-1940s to help establish and administer the North Korean government and North Korean institutions. Most remained there until the late 1950s and early 1960s, when they were purged by Kim Il-sŏng. These materials shed light on the role played by Soviet Koreans in the creation of the North Korean state.
North Korean Serials Digital Collection
The North Korean Serials Digital Collection provides free access to one of the most significant holdings of North Korean serial publications in the world. The collection is updated regularly as more titles and issues are digitized.

Special Databases for North Korean Materials

These freely available databases created by the Library of Congress offer user-friendly ways to search and find North Korean resources within certain parameters.

North Korean Serials: Article-level indexing for the North Korean serials
The North Korean Serials Database is the online article index database that provides a researcher access to specific articles and topics of interest included in the North Korean serials collection. The lack of available bibliographic index resources in the world describing the contents of the North Korean serial titles make it difficult to respond to requests for information published in these North Korea resources. This database provides an in-depth and authoritative guide on what resources are available. It facilitates research by allowing users to search for articles by author, article title, keyword, publisher, and so on. Also, it is browsable by Article by Title, Authors, Subject, or Serial title.
Korean Bibliography
This bibliography includes approximately 4,800 records of books about Korea published in English up to 1995 and held by the Library of Congress. The topical term index was created based on the books' contents to provide an easy-to-use database of English-language works for a wide range of users around the world. The bibliography is searchable by keyword, author, title, or subject and can browsed by a topical term index.

Digital Publications

These books are readable online or available for download as PDFs with embedded full text and also downloadable in different formats.

Choguk ŭi t'ongil tongnip kwa minjuhwa rŭl wihayŏ. 1 / 조국 의 통일 독립 과 민주화 를 위하여. by Il-sŏng Kim
Call Number: DS934.K5 A52
Published/Created: [P'yŏngyang] : Kungnip Inmin Ch'ulp'ansa, 1949
This digitized publication can be viewed using the Library's online page-turner, or downloaded as a complete PDF.
Ch'uryŏsŏ yŏkkŭn Miguk Kukhoe Tosŏgwan sojang Pukkoe charyo mongnokchip / 추려서 엮은 미국 국회 도서관 소장 북괴 자료 목록집 by Key Paik Yang
Call Number: Z3321 .Y35
Published/Created: [Seoul] : Kukt'o T'ongirwŏn, [1970?]
An annotated bibliography of selected books on North Korea at the Library of Congress.
This digitized publication can be viewed using the Library's online page-turner, or downloaded as a complete PDF.
Union list of North Korean serials and newspapers in five U.S. libraries by Key P. Yang
Call Number: Z6958.K6 U97 1995 PN5420.2
Published/Created: 1995
This list Includes NK materials which are available in the LC, and Columbia University, Harvard Univ, Univ. of Calif., Berkeley, and Univ of Washington, Seattle.
This digitized publication can be viewed via the Internet Archive.

Access to Rights Restricted Digital Materials

Stacks is the primary system for access to rights restricted digital materials in the permanent collections of the Library of Congress. In contrast, (a) public domain and other unrestricted digitized content is broadly available via the Library’s public website; and (b) subscription databases and other licensed content is primarily available via the Electronic Resources Online Catalog (EROC).

Materials in Stacks are described and managed through other metadata systems, primarily the Library of Congress Online Catalog.

Library of Congress Stacks (on-site access only)
Only designated workstations in some of the Library's public reading rooms have access to Stacks. For assistance please use our Ask a Librarian service.

Access to these North Korean titles on Stacks is available on dedicated computer terminals in the Asian Reading Room and the Main Reading Room.

Ch'ongnyŏn by P'yŏngyang-si : Ch'ŏngnyŏnsa
Call Number: AP95.K6 C4635
Published/Created: 1946
One online resource : illustrations
Links available onsite via Stacks: https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.gdc/stacksnewspaper.2019211514
Ch'ŏngnyŏn chŏnwi by [P'yŏngyang-si] : [Chosŏn Sahoejuŭi Nodong Ch'ŏngnyŏn Tongmaeng Chungang Wiwŏnhoe]
Call Number: AP95.K6 C4635
Published/Created: 1996-2001
Electronic documents ; PDF files
Links available onsite via Stacks:
https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.gdc/stacksnewspaper.2019211522
Minju ch'ongnyŏn by P'yŏngyang-si : Minju Ch'ŏngnyŏnsa
Call Number: AP95.K6 C4635
Published/Created: 1946-1964
Electronic documents ; PDF files
Links available onsite via Stacks:
https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.gdc/stacksnewspaper.2019211515
Nodong ch'ŏngnyŏn by [P'yŏngyang-si] : [Chosŏn Sahoejuŭi Nodong Ch'ŏngnyŏn Tongmaeng Chungang Wiwŏnhoe]
Call Number: AP95.K6 C4635
Published/Created: 1964-1996
Electronic documents ; PDF files
Links available onsite via Stacks:
https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.gdc/stacksnewspaper.2019211519
Nodong sinmun by P'yŏngyang : Nodong Sinmunsa
Call Number: Newspaper
Published/Created: 2007-2008
One online resource : illustrations
Links available onsite via Stacks: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.gdc/stacksnewspaper.2020211827
P'yŏngyang sinmun by P'yŏngyang-si : Pyŏngyang Sinmunsa
Published/Created: 1957-2000
Electronic documents : illustrations ; PDF files
Links available onsite via Stacks: https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.gdc/stacksnewspaper.2020211948

Blog Posts on the North Korean Collection

The following blog posts about the North Korean collection have appeared on the the Library's 4 Corners of the World:

Forced Migration: Biographies of the Soviet Koreans Who Helped to Establish the North Korean State (January 22, 2021)
Now Online: North Korean Serials Digital Collection at the Library of Congress (May 21, 2020)
Science Fiction Literature from North Korea (April 6, 2020)
New Online: Database Expands Access to North Korean Serials (August 21, 2018)
Korean War Propaganda Leaflet Collection at the Library of Congress (September 26, 2017)

North Korean Collection: Asian Collections at the Library of Congress

Asian Studies: Ask a Librarian

Digital Collections and Databases