[Alyssa Yff]

One more piece, one thing that I have really enjoyed about Crash Landing on You is how it illustrates the North Korean soldiers.  In the first few episodes, you see their youth, inexperience and lack of confidence in action as they try to find Se-Ri.  You get the feel that this is not a super well organized system, but just a system built on the use of fear and intimidation.  That may be similar to the comedy from 2005 that Dr. Jung Kim referenced, Dongmakgol.  I think Crash Landing on You highlights some of the same themes of chance encounters and an army that is lacking experience (and possibly purpose?).  I have not seen Dongmakgol, so I am just going off the trailer.  But I did see some similarities to Crash Landing on You.

[Alyssa Yff]

How is North Korea seen by Outsiders?

As I watched the video lecture and read the various postings, I came to a few big ideas regarding how North Korea is seen by the outside world.  In the film clips, that Dr. Jung-Kim posted, I clearly saw the image of North Korea as isolated and repressed.  In the initial film footage from the United States documentaries we see defectors from North Korea and how they have struggled through this experience.  The documentary, I am Sun Mu, seems to really illustrate the conflicting feelings of a defector living in South Korea (I believe?).  His paintings are done in a pop culture style but have some really intense colors and feelings embedded in them.  I have not seen this film, but it seems like it is really illustrating the repression of the North Korean regime on this artist - and how he is dealing with his identity as a North Korean defector.  Likewise, the Frontline Episode on North Korea also seems to illustrate a culture that is isolated from the outside world as they stress that we are getting a glimpse into this secret state and repressed by their military.  I have seen this frontline documentary and I thought it was very well done, but definitely instills a distrust and fear of North Korea to the American audience.  I also felt like a few of the other films mentioned by Dr. Jung-Kim had similar messaging.  The essay "Nothing to Envy" hit on many of the same themes of islolation and repression of the North Korean regime, as well as this idea put out by Frontline that the North Korean people have to be "bought in" to the regime to stay in power.  The book seems to illustrate the lives of defectors and their experiences in prison or dealing with arrest and interrogation in North Korea.  It definitely highlights the struggles of the North Korean people under the regime and the control of the regime.  However, I am not sure if Barbara Demrick had interviewed the defectors and retold their stories and if this is through an American lens.  

In terms of the depctions by the South Korean films, I had a harder time identifying a common theme.  The clip of Shiri in the lecture seemed to be action packed and showed a great deal of fighting.  However, i felt that the other films showed loss between the two sides and distrust.  The movie about the two brothers really illusrated Loss and the hope of unity.  But, it didn't seem that the JSA or Shiri films necessarily showed this, or at least in the clips/trailers.  I am curious how others in class interpreted these films or if anyone has seen them.  

Finally, I would echo what Tom, Kimberly and Meghann had stated above that we need to not view the North Koreans by their government, but through their people.  I think a few of the texts really helped illustrate that view this week.  Again, the Demick chapter had many examples of the people of North Korea and their experiences under the regime.  I would even state that the Frontline episode and the two documentaries on the defectors illustrate the struggle in North Korean with a more nuanced view.  Here we have people in North Korea that are deeply unhappy and looking for an escape.  We also see how the regime tries to maintain control over their people to ensure survival.  

My big takeaway from the readings and films is that North Korea is a very complex state and there is a great deal of ambiguity. As Dr. Jung Kim stated  It is really hard for outsiders to get a feel for what is actually going on.  As outsiders we often have to guess or fill in the gaps because their is a lack of information coming out of North Korea.   We see the experiences through these films, essays and news sources as all telling unique but very human stories of life in a "Communist Monarchy."  

[Alyssa Yff]

Yes! You are definitely right!  Anime really plays to these stereotypes.  Thanks Meghann!

[Alyssa Yff]

Just a random connection, there is a British-Japanese singer/songwriter, named Rina Sawayama, who has been really challenging stereotypes of Asian women and pushing back on discrimination and micro-aggressions faced by the Asian community.  She lives in Great Britain and was educated at Cambridge, but I think she serves as a new voice and potential role model:

https://www.npr.org/2020/04/21/836119651/rina-sawayama-embraces-the-pain-on-her-beautifully-messy-debut

[Alyssa Yff]

Hi Tom,

Thanks for your post! I liked your discussion of the demographic transition model and how this is a concern in South Korea.  This made me think about Japan and how they have addressed these issues?  I do not have the answer, but I think it would be really interesting to see if Japan has addressed any of their gender disparities to help with economic growth and integrate women into their economy.  Do you know anything about this?  

I also really enjoyed your comment that men need to be allies to women - THANK YOU!  South Korea and the United States both have a ways to go in terms of legislation to protect women from discrimination and harassment.  I mentioned the book "Beauty Myth" by Naomi Wolff above.  It is a great read and very helpful when we consider these issues.

[Alyssa Yff]

What are society and culture like in South Korea today?

Like Julie stated above, this is a HUGE topic and I also will focus on a few topics that I found particularly interesting.  Many of the articles spoke to South Korea's society and gender roles, which I found very interesting.  Like Laura mentioned above, the lecture and the articles really illustrated the contradictions within South Korean society regarding gender expectations and the corresponding inequalities that exist.  It also tied into their current successes and future economic progress.

Dr. Jung-Kim's lecture spoke about the economic progress South Korea has made since 1997 focusing on electronics, automobiles and building a capitalist economy.  The South Koreans have been very successful and have really come a long way economically.  They are definitely a success story and their path to economic growth has been interesting.  However, the position seems precarious if they do not pursue more policies that integrate women into the workforce and prioritize greater geder equality.  The Diplomat article stressed how gender inequalities could actually hurt South Korea's economic progress and that it is in the best interest of the nation to actually reduce these inequalities.  The statistics presented in this article were quite startling and really highlighted the extent of patriarchy and how embeded it is within South Korean society.  The article stated that South Korea ranked last in the Economists "Glass Ceiling Index"  and they spoke to how discrimination runs rampant within the hiring process.  What I found really interesting is how these "old fashioned" expectations and roles imposed on women in Korean culture are actually hindering economic progress.  The article stated that the IMF has published data to support that integrating women in the the Korean workforce will help increase their GDP.  I also liked that this article examined South Korean against other East and Southeast Asian nations.  It really helped provide additional context to South Korean gender expectations and society.  It did make me wonder if this also holds true in Japan?  We see the opening of the article speaking to Japanese gender inequalities - but it didn't mention problems of economic growth.  However, I do think that Japan is also facing real demographic challenges with their aging population - so I would assume its pretty similar?  

Continuing on the topic of gender and society, I really enjoyed reading the article comparing BTS and Blackpink.  The article speaks to the talent of both Korean Pop groups - each of them have members that are incredibly talented musically.  However, inequalities exist between these two groups and highlight some of the bigger gender issues within Korean society.  BTS has enjoyed incredible success and has had millions of dollars in sales, while Blackpink has done well but their sales are not even close to BTS.  Likewise, the boys in the group have successfully redefined "masculinity" globally and have in many ways challenged the convetional definition of masulinity.  These so called "flower boys" exhibit characteristics that are new and unique to the pop world: nice and romantic.  However, the women in Blackpink have not had the same success in challenging gender roles and stereotypes - rather they have been strengthened.  The story becomes even more complex as the Asian Times article examined how Korean boy bands have challenged the conventional definition of masculinity and "reshaped korean culture," while their behaviors have been hypocritical.  This was seen in both the article and the lecture with the Burning Sun scandal.  

Likewise, I found the gender expectations surrounding korean women to be fascinating and a very different story from the male experience.  The beauty industry and the expectations placed on South Korean women feels very extreme and detrimental.  The idea that many South Korean women pursue plastic surgery and the double eyelid surgery illustrates this quest for perfection.  The advertisements for plastic surgery in the subway system was really interesting.  It almost sounds predatory as they had to banned in the subways. As Laura mentioned above, the idea that beauty is so closely tied to success in Korean society.  However, I still think that much of this occurs in the United States as well.  I loved seeing the "Escape the Corset" movement and the exhibit by Jeon Bora (I would actually like to see more of her exhibit).  I am glad there is a movement to push against this societal pressure and illustrate the natural beauty of Korean women.  I hope this movement continues to build momentum and that we see a larger cultural shift for women in South Korea. 

 

[Alyssa Yff]

Hi Laura!  I agree! Your first sentence summarizes this lecture and readings very well.  I was also fascinated by the number of contradictions in Korean Culture.  I was really interested in the dichotomy between the patriarchy within South Korean society and how some women are really pushing against the societal values on beauty.  Have you ever read Naomi Wolff's "Beauty Myth" there is an excellent chapter on East Asia and these beauty expectations on women as an ever present system of oppression on women.  However, i think that these expectations and values have evolved since Wolff's book, where we are now seeing "flower boys" and a push for men to also pursue a more perfect complexion and physique.  It was a very interesting! Thank you for your post.

[Alyssa Yff]

Hey All!

After our discussion, I was still curious about Kim Jong Un's policies (economic and military) and stumbled upon this article.  I found it helpful as it discussed his current policies and how he is moving away from some of the military-first policies of Kim Jong Il.  Specifically it speaks about Kim Jong Un's economic development policies - including special economic zones, business ventures (repopening the Kaesong Industrial complex and Mount Kumgang Tourist region), possible lifting of economic sanctions, as well as infrastructure spending programs within North Korea.  I found it helpful!

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/06/11/how-kim-jong-un-wants-to-develop-his-economy-and-secure-his-regime.html

[Alyssa Yff]

How has Kim Jong Un forged his own path for the Kim dynasty?

Like other participants, I found that Kim Jong Un rose to power through the establishment of the Kim family's "Communist Monarchy" as well as elimination of enemies. In the video, there was a visual of the Kim family tree.  What stood out to me was that Kim Jong Il had many children with both his wife and mistresses.  While we saw in the previous session, the ascension of Kim Jong Il to power was a long process in which Kim Il Sung carefully crafted speeches and navigated the KWP to establish succession by his son.  However, it was less clear that this process had occurred with Kim Jong Un.  This made me realize think that there was already an assumption of succession by the Kim Family and the matter became which son.  It also seems that there were little to no disputes as Kim Jong Un came to power, very few factional rivalries.  All of this supports that by 2011 when Kim Jong Un came to power the "Communist Monarchy" was firmly established.  However, I am curious if Kim Jong Il had selected Kim Jong Un as his successor?  In what ways was Kim Jong Un "prepped" to become the leader of North Korea (as Kim Jong Il had been)?  

As Kim Jong Un came into power, there were percieved "threats" from his siblings.  So we have seen the elimination of enemies as a key component of his rise to power.  This again is similar to his father and grandfather as they pursued a similar course to ensure regime survival.  I also noted that while Kim Jong Un has forged his own path in some ways, I felt that he pursued or expanded many of the policies set out by his father/grandfather.  Kim Jong Un seemed to have more promise as he was western educated and there was hope for a more open relationship with Korea (as mentioned in the videos).  However, he has followed many of the same policies of his predecessors.  First, he continues to follow policies that closely censor and monitor the freedoms of the North Korean people.  In the Baek article, it talks about how technology and the internet are very large threats to the Kim regime and how this is tightly controlled by the regime.  This article really illustrated the fear of the Kim regime. Second, Kim Jong Un seems to be continuing the military first policies of his father, maintaining a highly militarized state and expanding its nuclear capabilities.  Many of the articles spoke about the North Korean nuclear arsenal and the potential threat it posed.  If anything, Kim Jong Un is forging a new (possibly more dangerous path) through the North Korean nuclear program.  Third, Kim Jong Un continues to pursue economic opportunities for North Korea.  This seems to be where he truly is forging his new path.  I felt that there was limited evidence that North Korea is seeing much progress here, but maybe we will see this in the next few years.  He continues the "on the spot guidance" of his father and grandfather as he builds support and trys to expand North Korea's economy.  I have to be honest, I am not sold on that Kim Jong Un has forged his own path.  I think he is generally following and expanding the policies of the Kim regime.

How worried should we be about North Korea?

I think North Korea is a definte threat for many reasons.  North Korea is wreckless with their population and do not prioritize the welfare of their people.  The famines, living conditions in the pictures, and level of control over their people (through censorship of the media, lack of individual freedoms, and economic control) should all worry the international community.  Likewise, their nuclear capabilities are also a threat.  As the video stated, the rule of Kim Jong Un is characterized by turbulence.  Many of the articles emphasized this fact as well, that Kim Jong Un is hard to predict and erratic.  This again is very concerning.  

Questions I have after the video and readings:

1) How and why was Kim Jong Un selected to succeed Kim Jong Il?  Was this decided by Kim Jong Il?  How was he prepped and trained to move into this position? Is it similar to how Kim Jong Il "long ascension" to power?

2) What actual reforms has Kim Jong Un implemented economically?  Does he have economic policy goals? And are they going to benefit the people, or just continue to maintain the status quo of the elites? 

3) Has Kim Jong Un made any other changes to the military-first policies of Kim Jong Il, other than more nuclear capabilties? has he expanded the military?    

[Alyssa Yff]

Hi Laura,

I really liked your observations about the Suryong and connections to European history!  I do think that Kim Jong Il probably viewed himself as the brains of the operation as you stated.  In the articles for our discussion, the various authors illustrated that the ascension was decided early on and seemed that Kim Jong Il probably had advisors (but they weren't specifically mentioned in the articles).  I do think that he probably viewed himself as the mastermind behind these new policies.  

I had a few questions about this as well, I am curious what training in the military Kim Jong Il received.  I am also wondering If Kim Il Sung knew of his plans to replace Juche to Military First and if he supported this idea?  Maybe he was not involved at all?

[Alyssa Yff]

Today's discussion was very interesting and I found a few items that were highlights:

1) I really appreciated the conversation about the picture of the students in North Korea.  I also was struck by Dr. Kim Jung's discussion of the image in the video and had never known that deficiencies would result in lighter hair coloring.  That was compelling.  Likewise, I had never thought that students of the elite or party members would attend school with students of lower classes.  Is this common practice within North Korea?  Do all attend "state" schools or do they have private institutions for the elite to attend as well?  If so, are the children in the picture with the red scarves lower level "elites"?

2) I also enjoyed Julie's question about the military personnel in North Korea.  As I read through our class readings, I had similar questions about the military and their training and experiences.  I found it interesting to see how Kim Jong Il moved the military into positions of power and provided gifts to win favor.  l had a few questions, we talked about the KWP members still being in prominent and powerful positions.  Is this similar to the military or would the military have higher status?   Can women serve in the military in any capacity?  

[Alyssa Yff]

Hi Guys,

The PBS documentary that Tom may be referring to is called "The Dictators Playbook."  It is excellent! They have an episode on Kim Il Sung and how he used the Cult of Personality to buid his regime.  They have excellent images and historical analysis within this film.  I have used this film and the Mussolini Dictators Playbook in class and students enjoy it.  I think they may have clips on PBS.org as well.  

[Alyssa Yff]

I think you make a very good point Meghan that Kim Jong Il may have assumed that there would be factional disputes and challenges to his rise to power if he kept the existing KWP system.  In the one reading they talked about Kim Il Sung's brother as a rival who had to be put down by the party so that Kim Jong Il could rise to power.  

In terms of the "on the spot guidance" I wasn't sure if it was tied to the agricultural reforms (collectivization and quotas) or if they were in a different sense. It seems like he used them as a way to bolster his support and image as the heir to the great leader Kim Il Sung.  I thought maybe he was using these just to give himself a reputation boost and rally the people behind him.  This would be a good question to ask tomorrow? 

[Alyssa Yff]

I am curious about the intentions of South Korea as well.  I think you are right that there were hopes to help build them economically in the hopes of more political cooperation and openness.  It is interesting that it has not worked.  I am curious how these policies have changed with Kim Jong Un - he seems much more hostile to foreigners and the "imperialist" foes.  

[Alyssa Yff]

How did Kim Jong Il ensure regime survival? How did South Korea’s Sunshine Policy change international relations?

I thought the articles on Kim Jong Il's regime were very interesting.  Like what Tom stated above, much of Kim Jong Il's rise to power was centered around strategic moves by Kim Il Sung.  Beginning in the 1960s and 1970s, Kim Jong Il was positioned for succession through various positions with in the KWP central committee and the National Defense Commission.  During the 1980s, Kim Il Sung made a speech stating that the issue of succession was resolved - basically claiming the ascension of Kim Jong Il (Kim, 63).  Likewise, Kim Jong Il was strategic in his rise to power as he shifted the focus of politics from KWP centered to military centered.  The 1998 Constiution laid the groundwork for allowing Kim Jong Il to become "eternal president" and shift power away from the party to the military.  The Kim article stated that through this process, he became the supreme commander of the state, party and society.  As Kim came into power in the late 90s, he implemented political changes to give the military increased power, replaced the military leadership, and he also put out propaganda to build the military as the tool to "safeguard socialism" (Kim, 63).  In doing so, he put the military as the body to solve the nation's problems.  What I found very interesting is how the argument for a militarized state was phrased as a way to confront imperialists.  This was presented as the best way to fight off imperialist threats like the United States and protect North Korea, the "Fatherland."  Additionally, to ensure regime survival Kim Jong Il filled the leadership positions with in the North Korean state with people he thought were patriotic and dedicated (Kim, 67).  He felt that the old KWP leadership had become corrupt and lost their ability to appeal to the masses.  Therefore, a new strategy was necessary for him to ensure regime survival.  The strategy would be a strong ideology, strong economics, and strong military.

As mentioned by Julia and Tom above, the Sunshine policy was part of a series of economic reforms implemented by Kim Jong Il in the late 1990s and early 2000s.  Korea had faced declining success economically and had suffered hardships of famine, drought, etc during the 1990s.  As Kim Jong Il came to power he pushed through a variety of economic reforms that were introducing a market based economy and more international cooperation.  The Sunshine policy allowed for greater cooperation between the two Korean states, while the economic reforms were similar to China's policies under Mao focusing on agriculutural productivity through collectivization.  Kim Jong Il focused on agricultural reforms initially with the farmers and then pursued industrial activities through the Kaesong Industrial Complex. 

A few questions I have:

1) In the lecture, the Sunshine policy between North and South Korea seemed to have a rocky relationship and then ended.  Was there any positive impact in either North or South Korea economically? 

2) Did Kim Jong Il or Kim Jong Un end this policy?  Where do the states stand at this point - how much cooperation occurs? 

3) When Kim Jong Il passed away, was succession assumed at this point due to the previous passing of his father?  Or did Kim Jong Un have to pursue a long ascension to power as well? 

4) From the Lankov article, Kim Jong Il really reshaped Korean politically, economically and socially.  How successful were his reforms?  What challenges have resulted from these changes to North Korea?

[Author]

Posts