LISTEN: Swedish Exchange Student Studying in North Korea

With Erik Danielsson
In conversation with Susan A. Thornton
November 2024

Susan Thornton, Director of the NCAFP’s program on Asia-Pacific security, sits down with Erik Danielsson, MA candidate at the Swedish Defence University, to discuss his experience as a Swedish exchange student studying at Kim Il Sung University in Pyongyang, North Korea. He goes into details about what his day-to-day was like, giving listeners an exclusive look into what life is like for an exchange student studying in North Korea.

Read more about our Next-Generation Korean Peninsula Specialists Program here.

Nils (Erik) Danielsson is a MA candidate in Defense Systems Science and assistant at the Swedish Defence University. He has previously been a Research Fellow at the Democracy and New Policy Center researching Mongolian diplomatic, military, and economic policies as well as published a book chapter on Swedish-Mongolian relations. He has previously worked on Korean Peninsula security issues at the Center for Strategic and International Studies Korea Chair, Institute for Security and Development Policy Korea Centre and conducted armament and disarmament research at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

Mr. Danielsson holds a Masters in Asian Studies concentrating in Politics and Security from Georgetown University’s Walsh School of Foreign Service, a Bachelor of Arts degree in Asian Languages and Cultures with a focus Korea from Stockholm University and a Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science focusing on Crisis Management and Security from the Swedish Defence University. He has also attended Kim Il Sung University as the first Swedish exchange student and traveled to the DPRK on several occasions.

He has published on book chapters and articles on the Perception of Genghis Khan in DPRK Historiography, Swedish-Mongolian foreign relations, the North Korean Cruise Missile Program, DPRK conceptualization of security and Food in Pyongyang. His main research interests are disaster risk reduction in the DPRK, DPRK military capability development, air and missile defense, CCP espionage, DPRK-Mongolian bilateral relations, Swedish-Mongolian bilateral relations and the security environment on the Korean peninsula.