Fri, 13 November 2015
Legally, South Korea does not recognize the existence of its northern neighbor. Yet North Korea remains a pervasive feature of South Korean politics both domestically and internationally. The discourse Seoul holds on Pyongyang, however, is far from homogeneous and inconsistencies abound: in a single speech it is not uncommon for North Koreans to be described both as brothers and as enemies. To make sense of this conundrum, we met with Dr. Sarah (A.) Son who studied South Korea’s narrative on North Korea to talk about her research and the practical implications of this narrative: South Korea’s handling of North Korean defectors. Dr. Son is Research Fellow at the Academy of Korean Studies and a contributor to NK News since 2012. Prior to her current position, she was a Research Fellow at the Asiatic Research Institute at Korea University in Seoul, with a focus on identity and inter-Korean relations. Dr. Son earned a Bachelor in International Relations (Hons) from Bond University in Australia, where she was awarded the John Hardy medal for Most Outstanding Humanities and Social Sciences Graduate, and an MA in International Law and International Economics from the School of Oriental and African Studies in London (SOAS). She completed her PhD at SOAS as well, where she researched national identity and policy as related to the Korean unification and the issue of North Korean defector resettlement in South Korea. |
Fri, 6 November 2015
South Korea’s culture scene is booming and Seoul is steadily establishing itself as a regional and increasingly global hotspot for design, fashion and music. Our guest for this episode, Tom Bueschemann, is a household name in the Korean creative scene. Originally from Germany and now based in Korea, he is the co-founder and CEO of Platoon, a creative network that brings together designers, artists, movie directors, photographers and other creative minds. In Korea, Platoon is arguably best known for its Kunsthalle, an art space in Seoul’s Gangnam neighborhood that has become a social and cultural landmark. It provides a platform for hip crowds, young artists and changemakers from all horizons, while hosting communication events for some of the world’s major brands. Tom kindly agreed to talk to us about Seoul’s artistic and cultural ecosystem, and how he and his business partners decided to set up shop in Korea almost a decade ago. |
Fri, 30 October 2015
The newest “textbook controversy” currently shaking up South Korean politics is a stark reminder that defining history, and writing about history, is neither neutral nor a-political. The Korean government is currently drawing heavy criticism for its attempt to unify all teaching materials into a single, state-commissioned textbook. The move triggered nationwide protests, including over 15,000 educators across the country and a petition signed by over 300 professors from the nation’s top universities. To provide context and shed light on these “history wars” between Japan and Korea, and within Korea itself, we decided to take a step back from today’s controversies and had the privilege of interviewing Professor Henry H. Em. He recently published The Great Enterprise: Sovereignty and Historiography in Modern Korea (Duke University Press, 2013) in which (In his most recent book) he explains how Meiji Japan methodically surveyed Korea’s history in order to find aspects of its past that would justify Imperial control over Korea. Professor Em also shows how postcolonial South Korea then promoted a national counter-narrative of its own, with the goal of attaining equal standing among sovereign nations in the new world order. Henry H. Em is Associate Professor of Korean Studies at the Underwood International College of Yonsei University. He was previously Fulbright Senior Scholar to Korea, Visiting Professor at Korea University and the School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences in Paris (EHESS), as well as Associate Professor at NYU. Professor Em earned his B.A. and M.A. in East Asian Studies as well as his Ph.D. in History from the University of Chicago. |
Thu, 22 October 2015
News correspondents are the eyes and ears of the outside world on the Korean peninsula. We wanted to know more about their work and were lucky to interview Elise Hu, who recently established National Public Radio (NPR)’s bureau in Seoul and now serves as NPR’s International Correspondent for Japan and the Korean Peninsula. We talked about NPR’s rationale for choosing Seoul as its new permanent regional bureau, journalism as practiced in the United States and South Korea, and some of her most memorable stories here in Seoul. Elise Hu joined NPR in 2011 as the coordinator of StateImpact Network, a state government reporting project by NPR member stations. Before joining NPR, she was one of the founding reporters of the Texas Tribune, a nonprofit digital news startup, and worked as state political reporter for local networks in Texas and South Carolina. She also reported from Asia for the Taipei Times. Elise Hu is the recipient of several distinctions, including a Gannett Foundation Award for Innovation in Watchdog Journalism. She has taught at Georgetown University and Northwestern University and also advises the John S. and James L. Knight foundation, a private, nonprofit foundation dedicated to the promotion of quality journalism and media innovation. Elise Hu graduated with honors from the University of Missouri-Columbia’s School of Journalism. |
Thu, 15 October 2015
In 2000, then President Kim Dae-jung became the first Korean to receive a Nobel Prize, for his life’s work dedicated to democracy and, to quote the Nobel Committee: “peace and reconciliation with North Korea in particular." The award was granted shortly after the first North-South Korean summit in June of the same year, and in recognition of the merits of the Sunshine Policy in general. Yet fifteen years later, Kim Dae-jung’s legacy remains controversial: not only is the success of the policy debatable, but some have also criticized the costs he was willing to pay in the name of reconciliation. An outspoken critic of Kim Dae-jung’s approach to North Korea is journalist and author Donald Kirk, who published in 2010 a b iography of the late president with a focus on his political career and the Sunshine Policy entitled: Korea Betrayed: Kim Dae Jung and Sunshine. In this episode we spoke with him about Kim’s priorities when dealing with North Korea and his lifelong quest for the Nobel Peace Prize. Donald Kirk is a veteran journalist and correspondent in the Asia-Pacific. He has reported from many of the conflicts and hotspots in the region since 1965 and covered the Vietnam, Gulf and Iraq wars. He has also extensively reported on Korean affairs, including the assassination of President Park Chung-hee in 1979, the Gwangju Uprising in 1980, the nuclear crisis of 1994 and the 2000 Inter-Korean Summit. He is the author of several publications, among them an unauthorized biography of Chung Ju-yung, the founder of Hyundai. Donald Kirk is a graduate of Princeton University and the University of Chicago. He has received numerous awards, including the Overseas Press Club of America Award, the George Polk Award for foreign reporting and the Chicago Tribune’s Edward Scott Beck award. He was also a Ford fellow at Columbia University, a Fulbright Scholar in India during the sixties and in the Philippines during the nineties, and the recipient of a National Endowment for the Humanities grant at MIT among many others. |
Fri, 9 October 2015
The Korean War is commonly remembered as fought by the North and South Korean armies, as well as American and Chinese troops. Little memory remains of the bravery and sacrifice of British soldiers in the Korean theater, despite a human cost which far exceeded that of all others wars fought by Britain since the Second World War. Upon the attack on South Korea in the summer of 1950, British troops stationed in Hong Kong were hastily sent to support their American allies and defend what little territory remained under Southern control. These men, who formed the 27th Infantry Brigade and 41 Commando, knew little if anything about Korea prior to their deployment, yet they undertook some of the war’s most critical missions. Our guest for this episode, author and journalist Andrew Salmon, wrote two books documenting the deployment of British forces during the war. Scorched Earth, Black Snow covers the 27th Brigade and 41 Commando in the second half of 1950, from hasty preparations in Hong Kong to desperate battles in the Korean winter. To The Last Round, set in 1951, follows Britain’s 29th Infantry Brigade and sheds light on one of its battalions, the Glosters, who fought an entire Chinese army to the very last cartridge near the Imjin River, despite being surrounded and utterly outnumbered. In this interview, we talked about the significance of the Korean War for Britain, the importance of preserving the memory of these men and their sacrifice, and what the author tried to convey with his book. Andrew Salmon covers the Korean peninsula for Forbes, The Washington Times, the Daily Telegraph and the South China Morning Post. He is also a frequent contributor to major South Korean outlets. In addition to his books on the Korean war, he also wrote Modern Korea: All that Matters, an introductory book on modern Korean history, and is now interested in researching the history of Seoul. Mr. Salmon holds a BA in History and Literature from the University of Kent at Canterbury and an MA in Asian Studies from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London. |
Thu, 1 October 2015
High-speed internet, smartphones and mobile services are ubiquitous in South Korea. Not only does this make the country a technological frontrunner, it also shapes the everyday lives of its people. What are the unique characteristics of mobile technology and culture in South Korea ? Especially, how do children and the elderly interact with it? And what developments might we see in the future? In this episode, we talk to Damien Spry who conducts research on South Korea’s mobile phone culture. Damien Spry is Assistant Professor for Media and Communication at Hanyang University in Seoul. His research focusses on new media forms, mobile and social technology, and how the youth as well as the elderly interact with it. Professor Spry has published numerous texts in journals, books and newspapers. He received his BA from the University of Adelaide, his MA from the University of Technology in Sydney and his PhD from the University of Sydney. |
Thu, 24 September 2015
As of July 2015, South Korea’s central bank owned foreign exchange reserves worth over 370 billion US dollars -- an astounding amount. This so-called “war chest” is a direct result of South Korea’s painful experience during the Asian Crisis in 1997-1998. Confronted with massive capital flight as foreign investors demanded repayment for the loans they had granted Korean firms -- which were mostly denominated in U.S. dollars -- the Korean central bank quite literally ran out of foreign currency. In effect, the Korean private sector could not get hold of enough U.S. dollars and other major foreign currencies to pay back their cross-border debts. This situation led to a severe financial crisis, which left South Korea no choice but to petition the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for help. The Asian Crisis took a severe toll on Korea: corporate bankruptcy rates skyrocketed and over two million people lost their jobs. To prevent future economic downturns from leading into another foreign exchange crisis, the Korean central bank has been building up massive foreign currency reserves ever since. While this is arguably a rational policy, is it necessarily an optimal strategy in today’s world? Our guest for this episode, Youngwon Cho, argues that South Korea’s foreign exchange “hoarding” also implies significant opportunity costs and that a significant share of this “war chest” would be best allocated elsewhere. South Korea’s attempt to invest its massive reserves has yielded so far mixed results. Youngwon Cho is Associate Professor at St. Francis Xavier University in Canada and Visiting Scholar at Korea University’s Asiatic Research Institute in Seoul. He is a specialist in financial globalization and emerging markets, as well as in the regional security complex in East Asia. Professor Cho has published in several academic journals, including the Journal of Contemporary Asia, Pacific Focus, and the Journal of East Asian Affairs. He was also a recipient of the SAGE Prize in International Scholarship for best article on international affairs for his paper entitled Method to the Madness of Chairman Kim: The Instrumental Reality of North Korea’s Pursuit of Nuclear Weapons, published in International Journal. Professor Cho received his B.A. (Hons) from Carleton University and earned his M.A. and PhD from Queen’s. |
Tue, 15 September 2015
The Sunshine Policy – the idea that South Korea should approach North Korea through dialogue, cooperation and reconciliation – has been highly contentious ever since its inception in the late 1990s. Its initiator, former President Kim Dae Jung, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for reaching out to Pyongyang; at the same time, however, critics have branded the Sunshine Policy as [a naive attempt to appease a dangerous dictatorship] naive appeasement with a dangerous dictatorship. Even today the dispute about the right foreign policy approach towards North Korea splits the South Korean political discourse. One of the leading experts on the Sunshine Policy is Chung-In Moon. For this episode we spoke to him about the history of this policy, whether or not it failed, the philosophical underpinnings of the Sunshine Policy’s supporters and opponents, and his opinions about how South Korea and the international community should approach North Korea. Chung-In Moon is Professor of Political Science at Yonsei University and Editor-in-Chief of Global Asia. He is also Executive Director of the Kim Dae-jung Presidential Library and Museum, and previously served as Dean of Yonsei’s Graduate School of International Studies. Professor Moon is currently a member of the Presidential Committee on Unification Preparation of the Park Geun-Hye administration. Previously, under former President Roh Moo-hyun, Professor Moon also served as Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Northeast Asian Cooperation Initiative and was Ambassador for International Security Affairs on behalf of the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. |
Wed, 9 September 2015
The late 19th century in Korea was a period of political and social turmoil. Japanese interference culminates in the assassination of Queen Min and King Kojong later seeking refuge in the Russian legation. At the same time, Korea is confronted with vast scale civil strife as Koreans hostile to the growing influence of foreign nations foment riots and angry mobs roam the streets of Seoul. This is the Korea the Sills witnessed between early 1894 and the later months of 1896. John Sill, who had been sent to Seoul as Ambassador of the United States, and his wife, Sally Sill, wrote a steady stream of letters to their children and acquaintances who had remained in America. The Sills’ correspondence is a remarkable account of the lives of Westerners in Korea; the tensions between Western influence and traditional values; Japan’s gradual power grab on the Peninsula; and of the dying days of the Joseon dynasty. Our guest for this episode is Robert D. Neff, who transcribed the Sills’ letters and undertook meticulous research to contextualize them for the general public and scholars alike. The result of his hard work is a fascinating book: Letters from Joseon: 19th Century Korea Through the Eyes of an American Ambassador’s Wife, a detailed account of life and politics during a critical period of late Joseon, as seen by the Sills. Robert D. Neff is a freelance writer and historical researcher specializing in Korean history during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He has authored and co-authored several books, including The Lives of Westerners in Joseon Korea and Korea Through Western Eyes. His writings have appeared in various publications, including Christian Science Monitor, Asia Times, 10 Magazine, Korea Times and the Korea Herald. Robert Neff’s current research focuses on Western gold mining concessions in northern Korea (1883-1939). |