[Deborah Whetstone]

What are society and culture like in South Korea today?

South Korea is incredibly advanced, but has done so at such a quick rate that there are still strong ties to more traditional culture.  This is seen clearly in the family/clan-oriented businesses.  The work ethic itself explains how quickly they've advanced economically - I think most Americans would be surprised to learn (as I was) that South Korea just *reduced* it's work week hours to 52 'maximum'!?!?  When I was tutoring South Korean's in English, I was shocked to learn of a strong cultural habit of going out to dinner and drinking after work.  After learning of how much time is devoted to work, it made more sense, as there is so little time for other things, seemingly.  Also, has discrimination against women been a long-term problem, or is that more due to modern development?  

As is the case in America, I am disturbed by the outsize influence pop culture and 'beauty' has on life in South Korea, from the K-pop bands, to the intense skin care regimen.  Is that aspect seen as having been learned from the US / West?  

 

[Deborah Whetstone]

Based on the video and readings, if I had to summarize how North Korea is viewed, I would say it depends highly on the day, and who is viewing.  

I probably shouldn't have been, but I was surprised to learn North Korea had pop groups, but unsurprised to learn they were put on a strict diet to standardize their waist size.  Then again, I could see something like that being done to any musical (female) group, virtually anywhere.  I was driving and had my daughter read this article to me (it happened to be the one I was on), and she was confused as to why 'they' would do that to the group.  I flippantly replied, "because totalitarianism", but now that I'm thinking about it, . . . the government just makes it . . easier to enforce perhaps.  But again now that I'm thinking about it, managers anywhere do that to their groups - just not governments.  

Back to the main theme - North Korea is seen by outsiders as secretive and bellicose.  But how much of that is posturing?  It's nearly impossible to tell I think.  As in the article about the orchestra playing prior to the Olympics - they presented softer than expected, but also had to be 'quarantined' on a ship to prevent them interacting with those in the South.  I feel like they are terrified of not being taken seriously, and therefore, to paraphrase one woman at the end of the article, I wouldn't be surprised if one day after a softer move like that, they follow it up with a missile launch or something similar lest anyone think they've gone soft.  

The opening paragraph in the last article (Fischer) will absolutely be used in my Human Geography, World History, and Comparative Governments classes!  I don't think I've ever read anything that so succinctly explains 'Cult of Personality', and how North Korea in particular is ruled.  That said, I will definitely be utilizing other excerpts to help my students develop the understanding that it's impossible to 'snap-shot' virtually any government / country.  Yes, that is how the government is perceived, but that alone does not create a full picture of North Korea.

[Deborah Whetstone]

I had the same thought re: change in leadership for the US . . . one of the articles mentioned KJU "outlasted" Obama and Bush.  Undoubtedly that is how he sees it, but I didn't like the phrasing of it, since HE didn't defeat either of them - our term limits did.  

And I agree with your point about the teams of experts coming down to two people - like the article describing NKs and SKs summit where they both continuously went 'off-script'.  {Tongue-in-cheek}, I'm watching the show Madame Secretary this summer, and I can just imagine the hours, days, weeks, etc that went in to planning everything out via careful negotiations so as to not have either side cause offense, and both just basically threw the 'cue-cards' in the air.  It worked out okay in that instance, but it could so easily change.

[Deborah Whetstone]

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

~ KJU appeals to the older generation due to his resemblance to his grandfather, as well as continuing the practice of going out amongst the people to give advice/guidance in a wide array of subjects.  For others though, KJU is basically forging his own path via weaponizing to a degree not even “military first’ KJI achieved (4 nuke tests to KJIs 2, all stronger than KJIs, and “tested nearly three times more missiles than his father and grandfather combined”); BUT he is doing this in conjunction with trying to improve the economy, almost in a Gorbachev-ish way, minus the glasnost angle.  Another article I read (https://www.brookings.edu/essay/the-education-of-kim-jong-un/) called his policy ‘byungjin’ – plan to improve BOTH military AND economy. 

For the military, he is forging his own path by defining / describing NK as a “nuclear state” in their constitution.   Separately, but also how KJU separates his rule I was surprised to see his wife by his side in some of the images.  The Brookings article noted above thought that was planned as contrast to how the government rules the people, which with KNUs modern savvy, is quite possible. 

~ BUT, what is the relevance of KJUs title: NK State Affairs Commission Chairman?  (KIS = KWP; KJI = military; KJU+????)

 

How worried should we be about North Korea?

~ Although I’m surprised at how low the amount of GDP is towards the military – given everything read, seems like it would be even more ( I understand that’s an odd statement given ¼ of the GDP isn’t “low”, but given the stereotype, it seems low to me).  Regardless, the conflicting accounts of KJU is confusing – more worldly, bringing in more modern elements to improve NK for the ‘people’ (meaning his elites), BUT continuously ignoring agreements and launching / testing more and more weaponry.  The amount of provocation he has been able to get away with is frankly rather shocking, and if NK were in a more favorable location closer to others, might be comparable to Hitler and the ‘appeasement policy’ adopted to avoid war.

It seems like NK is playing a long game – to put so much towards military and weapons instead of people, in order to scare SK/US, China, Japan, etc., in to agreeing to lift sanctions out of concern for nuclear weapons?  Which is counter-intuitive really – if switched it up even partially, there would be less need for either seemingly.

One line from one of the articles though really stood out to me: “The gods rarely benefited in Greek mythology from their interactions with humans. Meeting with Trump normalizes Kim Jong-un, but it also humanizes Kim Jong-un.”  This, along with the increase in knowledge about the world for many NKs, seems like despite KJUs playing a rather tricky balancing game. 

[Deborah Whetstone]

~ How did Kim Jong Il ensure regime survival?

First, KJI ensured regime survival by changing the focus to the military, away from the KWP that was the primary authority during his father’s reign.  KJI understood that KWPs allegiance was to his father over him, and that some of the older cadre of Party officers may work against him and any ideas he had.  Whereas KJI’s authority and ‘experience’ (such as it was) came from the military, and therefore would support him.  And if I understood correctly and KJIs ‘experience’ was lacking but given because of who he was, the military still happily accepted the attention and subsequent move to primary authority. 

Second, KJI understood a need to emphasize the military also to protect against the possible ramifications of worldwide communism collapsing by-and-large.  Focusing on creating a police state, while allowing for slightly more economic openness was a two-pronged move to protect the Kim family’s regime, more so than the ‘communist regime’.

Third, by focusing the government’s attention on developing militarily, such as nuclear weapons, there was a consequent lapse in ideological enforcement.  I was most surprised to read of the change from the entire family being sent to camps to just the perpetrator. 

 

~ How did South Korea’s Sunshine Policy change international relations?

The Sunshine Policy helped international relations between the Koreas, at least temporarily, but weakened South Korea in the eyes of the their international allies, such as the US.  SK felt a need to lessen tensions between them and the North, to limit negative effects on their (SKs) economy when NK ‘saber-rattled’.  However, it simultaneously concerned SKs allies, given that NK was still trying to develop long-range, and nuclear weapons, and the US and others felt the Sunshine Policy was enabling the North to continue that path.  So, with some channels it was positive, and in others it was seen more negatively.

 

[Deborah Whetstone]

I'm glad to read this discussion!  I also had questions about the need to bypass the KWP.  Morgan's comment about the new country / first succession angle makes a lot of sense; but still, with the mythological dimensions of KISs stature, I agree that even with the new country issues, all that would be needed is KIS making it known that KJI was his choice.  Is it possible that their knowledge of SK coups, etc., was more of an influence on KJIs actions than an actual need to by-pass his father's cohorts?

[Deborah Whetstone]

Another angle with SK developing so quickly that stood out to me this past week, was them capitalizing on the Vietnam War and recovery to ramp up sales of steel, I believe it was.  That's an angle I think I'm going to research more, and possibly bring in to my classes.  The . . . irony . . . of that, I guess.  Again, I need to do more research on that.

[Deborah Whetstone]

I'd just posted the same thought!  That history / background / isolation was critical to the NKs accepting KISs ideology!  

[Deborah Whetstone]

Okay, now that I've finally been able to finish the last article, a large aspect that stood out to be - I think because of my study of Russian history - was that KIS *purposely* set out to make him and his brand of communism *different*.  Most especially was the description of the portraits where Stalin and Mao get ADDED TO the communist fathers to shore up their commusit legacy, whereas KIS never did that, making his image him alone - simply establishing his OWN communist legacy.  That, together with the description of the Korean people's immediate history - isolated, colonized, brutalized - not knowing any different, or what other options might be.  These two angles, to me, are incredibly significant.  

[Deborah Whetstone]

I feel like I learned it back in college, but something about your statement about Korea being divided unlike Germany who was an actual adversary clicked with: no, Korea wasn't the adversary, but in both cases, they were divided between former allies, split now into pro-capitalist democracy vs pro-authoritarian communist.  There was no need to divide Japan, due to hte US making the decisive move to drop atomic bombs to end the Pacific theater - so since Japan was undoubtedly *with* the US, just as East Germany needed to be a buffer for the Soviet Union, Korea became that on their Eastern border.  Thank you for phrasing it to help with that connection!

[Deborah Whetstone]

*I'm still finishing the last article, so sharing my initial response from the video and first 2 articles, then general thoughts / questions from the other 2 . . . 

How did Kim Il Sung establish a communist monarchy?

Kim Il Sung established a communist monarchy by creating a Cult of Personality in which everything good was because of him, and everything bad was because of others.  He managed to unite traditional Confucian ideals of the Five Relationships and organization with Communist ideology of sacrificing for the good of all.  However, what struck me most strongly was that he took his name from a dead independence activist – seemingly in opposition to his own ideals???

 

How did the Korean War and Cold War shape the two Koreas through 1994?

It is striking how similar South Korea’s modern history is to so many other Newly Independent Countries.  So while the Cold War and the world-wide struggle between Authoritarian Communism and Democratic Capitalism of course played a definitive role in shaping the Two Koreas, it was more notably a factor for North Korea, especially bordering both the PRC and USSR.  South Korea on the other hand seems to have been shaped more so by the Imperialist rule of Japan.  Their decades-long battle to create an actual democracy, against power-hungry and corrupt rulers has more in common with almost all of the other “Third World” countries during the Cold War.  Some that come to mind are Ghana, Congo, Algeria, Chile, Argentina, Myanmar, Vietnam, Cambodia, etc.   South Korea didn’t even instigate any of the tension events between them and North Korea.  Was that because they were too busy trying to figure out what they were doing, so they had little time to worry about North Korea?  Based on the troubled history of South Korea, I am more astonished that South Korea survived to become what it has.  It seems like North Korea could have easily taken over at any point in time, were it not for the US and other democratic allies. 

Now, after completing the first reading, it makes more sense why NK did not overrun SK, and as well as instigating terror attacks against SK, and still hate the US to this day.  It also gives context to how Kim Il Sung was able to establish his Cult of Personality so completely.  If everything was leveled as explained, just as with Germany after the Weimar Republic, the people will turn to whoever can make it better.  The degree of destruction meant they had nowhere to go but up, and because of that, KIS would receive the credit for improving the country.

And  “. . . anti-communism became the litmus test for all in politics, . . . the … justification for authoritarianism from above, . . . “ – again, sounds like almost every NIC I’ve studied, including those for whom the litmus test was the opposite.

And the description of SK after the division of the peninsula sounds similar to the US after our Civil War, re: industry.

~ interesting that the bombing campaign of NK actually helped the people buy in to KISs vision

~ the Confucian angle – head of the family / family is the nation . . . “father-figure” taken to an extreme

~ abusive relationship: from the parent, “do what I want/say, and everything will be fine, . . . don’t make me hurt you, . . . if I do hurt you, it’s because you messed up and need punishment/correction

~ I re-read the paragraph a couple of times, but am still struggling to see the connection between the National Cemetery and Kim’s Cult of Personality

~ confused by the inclusion of Intellectuals – contrary to many emerging communist societies (e.g., Cambodia)

~ I’m struggling with the ‘barrel of a gun’ being a symbol of loyalty and fidelity . . . cultural familiarity I guess – I’m more accustomed to the ‘staring down the barrel of a gun’ trope re: threatening / danger

~ why was there SO much bombing of NK by the US?

[Deborah Whetstone]

The Korean Names and their Meaning will be fantastic to help my AP Human Geography students practice with the concept of Topynym!  From various other PDs I've attended, as well as tutoring Korean adults in English two years ago, I was fortunately aware of much of the information regarding South Korea, but was surprised at how much North Korea is exporting to others, especially India given the US's diplomatic relations with them. One additional facet of South Korean culture I was surprised to learn about while tutoring was the dominance of meeting in the evening for dinner and drinks.  And as a native Floridian, I am incredibly jealous of how close Korea's beaches are to the mountains. 🙂

[Deborah Whetstone]

Hello!  My name is Debbie Whetstone.  I teach grades 9-12 at Florida State University Schools - a Development & Research School attached to FSU, in Tallahassee, Florida. I'm currently teaching AP Human Geography, Law Studies, and Comparative Political Systems, though most of my career has also included World History.  As others stated, students have many questions about the two Koreas, and I am always trying to learn more to help explain the circumstances on the peninsula.

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