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School of Culture History and Language · ANU College of Asia and the Pacific
North Korea is widely regarded as one of the world's most enigmatic countries, and as a significant security threat in the Northeast Asian region. The Australian and global media depict it as a country of missiles, phalanxes of marching soldiers, all-powerful leaders, and bizarre political ideologies. This course goes beyond the media images to explore the political history, culture and everyday life of North Korea. Drawing upon unparalleled expertise in history, politics, cultural studies and gender politics at the ANU, this course will evaluate key events in North East Asian history to more fully account for the current social and political crisis in North Korea. We will investigate pivotal events of the Cold War in Northeast Asia and consider issues such as changing lifestyles, environmental challenges, the rise of the informal market and migration to and from North Korea, and will end with some reflections on possible futures. As well as conventional sources the course will also make use of North Korean music, literature, and film to give further insight into the country's past, present, and future.
Participation
Learning outcomes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Book review (1,250 words)
Learning outcomes 2, 3, 4
Research essay (2,000 words)
Learning outcomes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Class presentation
Learning outcomes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Final exam
Learning outcomes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
This course requires a total of 130 hours of work on the following activities: Students will be expected to read some course materials posted on Canvas prior to the start of the course.
Andre Schmid, "A Melting Border: Surviving on the Margin Between China and North Korea," Literary Review of Canada, January 2015. https://reviewcanada.ca/magazine/2015/01/a-melting-border/ Andre Schmid, "'My Turn to Speak': Criticism Culture and the Multiple Uses of Class in Postwar North Korea," International Journal of Korean History 21, vol. 2 (2016): 121–153. Donald Clark, "The Missionary Presence in Northern Korea before WWII: Human Investment, Social Significance, and Historical Legacy," in Sun Joo Kim (ed.), The Northern Region of Korea: History, Identity, and Culture, pp. 234–253. Seattle, WA: University of Washington Press, 2011. Dae-Sook Suh, Kim Il Sung: The North Korean Leader. New York: Columbia University Press, 1988, chapters one and two. Kyung Moon Hwang, "From the Dirt to Heaven: Northern Koreans in the Choson and Early Modern Eras," Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies 62, vol. 1 (June 2002): 135–78. Ruth Barraclough, "Red Love and Betrayal in the Making of North Korea: Comrade Ho Jong-suk," History Workshop Journal 77, vol. 1 (Spring 2014): 86–102. Tessa Morris-Suzuki, "Freedom and Homecoming: Narratives of Migration in the Repatriation of Zainichi Koreans to North Korea," in Sonia Ryang and John Lie (eds.), Diaspora without a Homeland: Being Korean in Japan, pp. 39–61. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 2009. Preliminary Reading Hyun-ok Park, The Capitalist Unconscious: from Korean Unification to Transnational Korea. Heonik Kwon and Byung-Ho Chung, North Korea: Beyond Charismatic Politics. Sandra Fahy, Marching Through Suffering: Loss and Survival in North Korea. Sunjoo Kim (ed), The Northern Region of Korea: History, Identity and Culture. Suzy Kim, Everyday Life in the North Korean Revolution 1945-50.