[Jane Hannon]

Winning the support of the military was a major strategy that Kim Jong Il employed to ensure regime survial. From courting the support of the military through small details such as the gifts of watches and emphasizing the use of his military title to essentially placing the military above the Korean Workers Party, Kim Jong Il worked hard to retain the support of the military. 

I wonder to what extent this is still the strategy of Kim Jon Un? Based on what we learned about the experience of the North Korean soldier who defected in frustration over his treatment--and a recent article I saw suggesting that North Korean soldiers have been directed to provide more food for themselves--I  wonder if the support of the military is still as highly prized today.

[Jane Hannon]

I struggled a bit with the Kwon and Chung article, but my major take-aways were that several factors contributed to the establishment of a Communist monarchy. As far as establishing Communism, the Korean War seems to have helped by resulting in the relocation of some of those who would have strongly opposed Communism to South Korea. When the North rebuilt following the destruction of the war, Kim Il Sung employed propaganda in a way similar to Stalin and promoted the idea that such economic advancements as occurred were his "gifts" to the people, leading to intense personal loyalty and giving rise to a cult of personality like those of Stalin and Mao. The fact that loyalty to the leader was so highly prized made it the qualifying virtue for Kim Il Sun's successor. Since his son exemplified filial piety, he was more qualified than any other to succeed his father. And those who had fought with Kim Il Sun and the Communists in Manchuria in the 1930s formed a base of support for Kim that continued to buttress his son after his death. The hardships in Manchuria made it possible to provide meaning to the intense famine and suffering of the 1990s, perhaps preventing it from destabilizing the regime and therefore enabling the monarchy to continue.

[Jane Hannon]

I am embarrassed to say that prior to preparing for this session, I had really only studied or thought about the Korean War through the lens of U.S. History: not a really a war, just a U.N. peace-keeping action, mostly a stalemate, sort of a forgotten year that 21st century American students seem hardly to have heard of. "Beyond the Numbers" really brought home the brutality and the lasting consequences of what occurred: massive civilian deaths (10% of the population), the creation of millions of refugees, and the separation of families. The story of Mrs. Lee, who ventured across the 38th parallel never to see her family again, was stunning and heart-breaking.  Reading about the interactions that many Koreans had with Americans during the war makes me again wonder how South Korea has maintained a good relationship with the United States in the aftermath of this.

[Jane Hannon]

Prior to viewing the lecture, I was vaguely aware that South Korea had evolved from an authoritarian but pro-U.S. form of government to a thriving democracy, but I was not aware of the specifics.  I had not previously learned about the extensive student activism or the support of religious groups, including Christians, Buddhists, and Shamans for democracy. My question is really why the desire for democracy was so strong in South Korea during the Cold War? Many countries that became the site of Cold War proxy wars ultimately rejected the United States and much of what it stood for, including Western-style democracy, but grassroots support for democracy persisted in South Korea despite the destructiveness of the Korean War and other Cold War machinations.  I am curious as to why this may have been the case? 

[Jane Hannon]

Having previously learned that both North and South Koreans have a strong and widespread desire for reunification, I appreciated learning about the nuanced attitudes that exist toward this topic. Apparently younger people often prioritize maintaining peace and attitudes may differ based on family relationships or land claims in the North. Additionally, it was interesting to learn that defectors from the North can find it difficult to adjust to life in South Korea and even encounter discrimination. The comparison to the reunification of Germany helped to illustrate some of the challenges that would occur in the event of reunification of of the peninsula.

 

[Jane Hannon]

The information provided in the discussion session about women’s lives in contemporary South Korea, especially the difficulty of combining a career with child-rearing and the idea that women require special care to recover from childbirth, makes an interesting contrast to the high and empowered status of women in ancient times. However, it appears that these strong ancestors remain influential. I was also interested to learn about women who had embraced the 3 No’s and the #MeTooWithYou movement. It appears that this history is not a straight line and unsurprisingly, issues related to gender remain complicated.

 

[Jane Hannon]

I was very surprised and interested to learn of the high status accorded to women in ancient Korea. While I was aware that women play prominent roles in public life in both North and South Korea in the 21st century, I did not realize that upper class women enjoyed such high status in ancient times, with married women residing with their natal families and holding inheritance rights.

I also did not realize that North Korea is so heavily involved in world trade, especially exports of computer technology. This helps me to understand why imposing sanctions on North Korea is significant; it seems doing so could significantly impact China. Finally I was surprised that North Korea, as a Communist country, had such high unemployment rate, although I had anecdotally heard that it was difficult to find work in North Korea

 

[Jane Hannon]

Hello, my name is Jane Hannon and I am the head of the history department at Georgetown Visitation, a Catholic girls' high school in Washington, D.C. Next year I will be teaching tenth-grade Modern World History and ninth-grade Global Patterns. Since enrolling in my first NCTA seminar at CU-Boulder a few years ago, I have been working to expand and deepen the coverage of East Asia in my courses. My students always have lots of questions about North Korea, so I am eager to enhance my knowledge. 

[Author]

Posts