Founder, North Korean International Observatory | North Korea Specialist | Researcher | Speaker
Etienne Daoust is a Quebec-based North Korea specialist and the founder of the North Korean International Observatory (NKIO). His work combines academic research, first-hand experience, media analysis, and public speaking to provide a broader understanding of North Korea and its evolving relationship with the outside world.
He has travelled to North Korea on four separate occasions, spending more than 36 days in the country and visiting different regions, cities, and special economic zones. This first-hand experience has provided him with an uncommon perspective on North Korean society beyond the country’s political leadership and official institutions.
Etienne holds a Master’s degree in Science, Technology and Society from the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM). His master’s research examined how new technologies have transformed North Korean society, with a particular focus on the ways technological developments and changing information flows have challenged the traditional isolation of the country.
His expertise has led to regular appearances as a North Korea expert in Canadian media, particularly in Quebec, including television, radio, and online media. He has also contributed to medias in France. His interventions have covered North Korean society, technological change, inter-Korean relations, international developments, and the broader evolution of the country.
In addition to his media work, Etienne is a conference speaker, sharing his experience and research on North Korea with academic, professional, and public audiences. He has also participated in workshops and discussions in South Korea, providing opportunities to engage with researchers and specialists from the region and to broaden his understanding of the Korean Peninsula from multiple perspectives.
His approach to North Korea combines field experience, academic research, technological and societal analysis, and media expertise. Rather than limiting the study of North Korea to military and geopolitical questions, his work also examines the country as a society undergoing gradual and complex transformation.
As the founder of NKIO, Etienne is particularly interested in bringing together different perspectives on North Korea—including academic, governmental, media, South Korean, and North Korean perspectives—in order to encourage a more comprehensive and nuanced understanding of the country.
(more to come)