Ostalgie: Korea Guide

This English guide is meant to introduce Ostalgie players to North Korea and includes specific strategies for playing as DPRK and obtaining DPRK-related achievements.

North Korea in 1989

North Korea is a reclusive and isolated country that has been under communist rule since its creation in 1948. The country has a complex history, marked by a devastating war in the 1950s that left it heavily damaged and led to the division of the Korean peninsula. North Korea still embraces a Soviet-style government with a single-party system led by the Korean Workers' Party and its leader, Kim Il-sung. The government maintains a tight grip on all aspects of life, controlling the media, education, and the economy.

North Korea depends on aid from the Soviet Union and China. The country struggles with chronic food shortages and relies heavily on the import of oil and other resources. The government prioritizes the development of heavy industry and military infrastructure over consumer goods and agriculture, leading to a lack of basic necessities for its citizens.

North Korea's foreign relations are defined by its antagonistic relationship with South Korea, which is supported by the United States and its allies. The two countries remain technically at war following the armistice that ended the Korean War, and North Korea regularly makes threats and engages in provocations against its southern neighbor. North Korea also has a close relationship with the Soviet Union, which provides it with economic and military aid, and with China, which serves as a key trading partner.

Achievements

There are three achievements specific to North Korea in Ostalgie. These are ranked from easiest to hardest:

One and Indivisible
Unite Korea under a single authority
To get this, you have to unite North Korea and South Korea. Simply make it to the end of 1991 with high NATO threat and no nukes. Make choices that anger the international community, let the USSR collapse, and keep China non-socialist. You will get an ending where the US invades and reunites Korea as a single country. (As far as I know, even playing with O Jin-u as leader, with nukes, and a socialist China does not make it possible to conquer South Korea in-game, although event text does imply it is inevitable.)

The Extinct Sun
If you let the standard of living drop to around 20-25 while liberalizing party rule or the economy, Kim Il-sung will die and you will get this achievement. Stop work at the farms in the economy section and the standard of living will fall on its own.

Realize the Century Long Dream
Create the Korean Confederation
Choose not to pursue nuclear weapons or to provoke South Korea. In 1989, rehabilitate both O Kuk-ryol and Kim Yong-chun to decrease the power of O Jin-u. Make it so Kim Il-sung dies (see above) and he will be replaced by Kim Jong-il. There will be a military coup event which you can either ignore (which leads to game over) or you can send Kim Yong-chun to suppress it. Liberalize the country and make it reformist or liberal. Abolish the Kim Il-sung personality cult. In 1991, there will be an event about a political crisis in South Korea. Support the socialists in coalition with democrats and you should get this achievement.

Korea and China are Brothers Forever!
Get protection from China
Choose nuclear weapons and provoke South Korea when given the choice. Do not welcome back either O Kuk-ryol or Kim Yong-chun. Let the standard of living fall while liberalizing the economy and Kim Il-sung will die. Replace him with O Jin-u. Replace the Kim Il-sung personality cult with O Jin-u's cult. In 1991, you will get an event requiring 10 money and 10 agents to eliminate Deng Xiaoping and install the conservatives in China (you can do this in 1991 before the event fires through the map, but you need the SOIA level of intelligence science for this, while the event does not). Even if NATO threat is high and the USSR collapses, socialist China will protect you from US invasion and you get this achievement.

Politics

North Korea starts out a left conservative (i.e. traditional socialist) country on the cusp of becoming authoritarian. Nationalism is high and will grow even more if the player acquires nukes (which is usually essential to avoid a NATO invasion ending unless North Korea liberalizes). North Korea is probably the easiest country to obtain the "Achieve a successful left nationalism" achievement with besides Romania.

Also like Romania, North Korea is a closed society so Westalgia is not really a concern unless the player liberalizes. Due to the need for money, it is suggested to stop work on the country's security service building. Westalgia can be controlled by giving speeches about internal cohesion and an outside enemy. Giving speeches about peace in the world helps with diplo reputation and lowering NATO threat if those become concerns for the player, particularly if liberalizing.

For information on North Korea's leaders and ministers and their hidden stats, see this guide: Minister Effects by rehab

Thanks to the nationalistic elements of Juche and the personality cults surrounding them, Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il receive bonuses to patriotism, popular support, and party unity. O Jin-u, in contrast, boosts agent production while severely damaging popular support and party unity. Kim Yong-chun only suffers from negative party unity along with nationalism. The player should use ministers to balance leaders who lower the support of the people; while some ministers increase party unity, the player can always use Swiss bank accounts (by clicking on Switzerland on the map) to repeatedly spend 8 money to dramatically increase party unity. There is no way to increase popular support with a click of the button, especially over and over again (as long as you can afford it).

Pak Pong-ju is a great interior minister if only because increases money and you need a lot of it as North Korea. Jang Song-thaek is useful if you are trying to increase research (i.e. nukes) while Yon Hyong-muk is only good if you are trying to lower NATO threat and lower your diplo rating.

If going socialist/authoritarian, Choe Kwang is great for his bonus to agent production. The only reason to take Kim Ki-nam instead is to offset the damage O Jin-su does to popular support. Kim Yong-ju plays a similar role to Kim Yong-chun in terms of balancing out bonuses/negatives if you are going the liberal route.

Economy

North Korea starts out very dependent on foreign aid so it is necessary to continue to industrialize. A basic but profitable strategy is to spam factories and then spam farms. This approach nets you essential money in the short-term and increases the standard of living in the long-term. If the player takes the approach of letting the standard of living fall so that Kim Il-sung dies, it will also (gradually) undo the damage. If the player can afford to build research institutes, the final agricultural science combined with multiple farms will mean North Korea will be swimming in genetically-modified crops, with pineapples the size of fire hydrants.

If going the O Jin-u or Kim Yong-chun routes, the player will want to save lots of money for the destruction of the Kim family personality cult. Party unity and popular support will gradually stabilize but the player will need to deposit money into Swiss bank accounts to keep the party happy. If the player is developing nuclear weapons, they will also need money to get the blueprints for nuclear weapons in July 1990. Additionally, if the player wants to survive as O Jin-u with the protection of China, it is necessary to have 10 money in early 1991 to eliminate Deng Xiaoping. There are some other North Korea-specific events that cost money (such as producing more "Squirrel and Hedgehog"[en.wikipedia.org] cartoons and finishing the construction of the Ryugyong Hotel[en.wikipedia.org]) that will help boost party unity and popular support but aren't strictly necessary. Whether the player wants to save the USSR and Eastern Bloc nations or foster revolutions in Africa, Latin America, and Asia, the player will need money... and agents.

O Jin-u and Choe Kwang are useful for their agent bonuses which can substitute for foreign intel centers and army bases if the player is short on cash. However, if money isn't as much of an issue, those buildings are good to have for rescuing the socialist camp or building a new one. Research institutes are also nice to have for the sciences they unlock but not essential. In addition to the agricultural strategy mentioned above, industrialization just makes your economy suck less.

Buildings that increase popular support or lower Westalgia aren't really required at all. The people adore Dear Leader, and if you replace him, there are ministers who can help with that. Westalgia can be kept tolerable through leader/minister effects and "internal cohesion" speeches. Your money is better spent elsewhere.

Foreign Policy

North Korea has a major decision to make: whether or not to pursue nuclear weapons. Without them, it's pretty much an assurance the US will pursue "regime change" at some point if North Korea has no friends on the UN Security Council. To get the blueprints, North Korea can use its links to Romania to obtain them for around 8 money in 1990. To do this, you need to take the option to pursue links with Romania when the nuclear event first fires in 1989, and this requires agents. If the option isn't available for you, try not researching a science before the event fires. Just make sure Ceaușescu doesn't fall before the 1990 event.

If you don't take the Romania choice or Ceaușescu falls, you can bribe the Congress Party in India to give you the blueprints for around 10-15 money in the 1990 event. Otherwise, you have to do what every other country has to do: buy blueprints from Israel for 25 money.

A liberalizing North Korea can thus spend a lot of money on other things if it doesn't build nukes. However, if it does build nukes and decides on the "peaceful atom" option, the player will receive 20 agents along with lower diplo reputation and lower NATO threat.

North Korea can rescue the USSR and Eastern Bloc in the typical way by sending agents and money to those countries. While supporting hardliners will strengthen the stability of the socialist camp, it will also upset party unity because are you are "scaring" the party you will seek purges of your own. However, events that keep socialist countries from becoming liberal (blue in color) make the party happy. Given how hard money can be to come by, a good strategy may be on helping the USSR. If the conservative "Soyuz" faction is strong enough, the USSR will intervene on its own if the Eastern Bloc minors liberalize, so focusing on the USSR is the most cost-effective approach.

Alternatively, North Korea can let European communism fall. Instead, focus on the Third World. Some countries can be turned red or green via event (China, Japan, Vietnam, Myanmar) while others can be through the map (Libya, Algeria, Ethiopia, Somalia, Nepal). Turning countries socialist takes a lot of money and agents, more than shoring up the existing ones, so make sure to build army camps and foreign intel HQs. Having Choe Kwang as a minister also gives you an agent bonus.