Nina Špitálníková

journalist, author, and specialist in Korean studies

Nina Špitálníková is a journalist, author, and specialist in Korean studies. Her work has long focused on the themes of totalitarianism, propaganda, and human rights. While earning a degree in Korean studies from the Faculty of Arts of Charles University, she completed two study visits in Pyongyang. Her book Between Two Kims (Mezi dvěma Kimy, 2016) provides a personal account of daily life under a totalitarian regime. Her second book, Testimonies of Life in the DPRK (Svědectví o životě v KLDR, 2020), captures the stories of North Korean refugees through personal interviews. The book was nominated for a Magnesia Litera award, was translated into several languages, and became recommended reading for secondary school students. The author further developed this theme in her novel North Star (Severka, 2023). She is currently preparing a sequel to Testimonies of Life in the DPRK as well as a children’s book about totalitarianism titled Tota lítá (which translates literally as “Tota flies” but is also a play on the Czech word for totalitarianism).