Analysis, through the press, of language policies and lexical and spelling discrepancies between the South and North Korean language

In this study we intend to analyse the main differences between the South Korean language and the North Korean language through the North Korean press, or starting from the analysis of articles in the Rodong sinmun (Workers' Journal). We have selected the articles published in April and May 2021 on the uriminzokkiri.com platform, using the press as the subject of our study because it allows us to examine the language currently in use. Even if it is a party newspaper particularly loaded with socialist rhetoric, it allows us to have a confirmation of the vocabulary and spelling currently used in North Korean publishing and, consequently, of the major differences with the vocabulary of the southern spelling. In the light of this preliminary analysis, we will try to consider the political and social repercussions that these differences could possibly trigger both in the hypothesis of a reunification scenario, and with respect to the interaction of North Korean refugees. Their number currently exceeds 35,000 and the flow, although significantly lower, has not stopped even after the restrictions due to Covid-19. This community represents a test bed of enormous value to verify the interaction of the two linguistic groups and to have a confirmation of how the differences between the two Korean languages, which apparently may seem marginal, can actually significantly affect the communication process.