I recently graduated from the University of Bristol with First Class Honours in History. I chose to study modern Asian history with a special focus on North Korea, which has been an interest of mine since I first watched the 2004 documentary, ‘A State of Mind’, when I was 14 years old. Throughout my education I have steadily learned more about North Korean history and culture, which culminated in my undergraduate dissertation, ‘The origins of Juche under Kim Il Sung: exploring shifts in North Korean ideology through domestic propaganda’. My work analysed changes in visual motifs and imagery in North Korean propaganda art to determine whether they signified changes in state-led ideology.

As North Korea is a notoriously secretive state (often nicknamed the ‘Hermit Kingdom’), I view it as a challenge to historians and observers to look for innovative sources. As such, I am always looking for new books and scholarly works on the topic, and I like to keep up with current affairs on the Korean peninsula. I plan to start a Master’s degree in North Korean Studies in autumn 2023.

Throughout my degree I also chose to study modern Chinese history in depth from the 1800s to 1950s, as well as global history, covering decolonisation and global development in Asia and Africa and race in South Africa and the US. In 2021 I took part in a Virtual Exchange program with EDU Africa with a group of South African students, which focused on art and activism in South Africa. These are all areas which I enjoy learning more about; I believe that reading and writing history is incredibly important in order to understand the modern world.

As well as academic writing, I am also an aspiring TV screenwriter and I am currently working on a spec script for a short film. I have always enjoyed creative writing, so I am experimenting with writing dialogue and creating an engaging story structure. I thoroughly enjoy reading screenplays of different films and TV series, and I am especially interested in the importance of music in conjunction with film.

In my free time I like to practise Ashtanga yoga, play volleyball in a local team, and play with my cats.