North Korean Research Articles

Presenting Soviet Korean Identity in a Multicultural Society: Activities of Korean Kolkhoz Politotdel's Ensemble Cheongchun in Uzbekistan during the 1970s and 1980s

This study explores the overview of Soviet Koreans' performing arts activities in Uzbekistan, with a particular focus on the activities of the Soviet Korean kolkhoz Politotdel's ensemble Cheongchun during the 1970s and 1980s. It aims to clarify the roles and implications of the ensemble in a multicultural society. Since the late 1950s, the Soviet Korean kolkhozes, including Politotdel in the Chirchiq district of the Tashkent oblast, Uzbekistan, have experienced remarkable economic growth. In the cultural milieu of the Korean people, dance and music were inherently intertwined, occupying a significant position. Initially established as a vocal‐instrumental ensemble, Cheongchun always integrated dance and music in its presentations, with dance performances playing a crucial role. An official dance troupe was formed in 1976, and in 1984, it was merged with the ensemble Gayageum. Artistic director and dance teacher Jeong‐wook Hwang (1940–), who studied dance in Pyeongyang, Moscow, and Tashkent, made significant contributions to fostering exchanges with North Korean dancers and actively incorporating Seung‐hee Choi's North Korean dance elements. Cheongchun has played a pivotal role in promoting Korean dance and music not only in Uzbekistan but also across the entire Soviet Union and the United States, thereby visualizing the identity and positive image of Soviet Koreans as exemplary citizens in a multicultural society.

The impact of politicians’ behaviors on hate speech spread: hate speech adoption threshold on twitter in Japan

AbstractIn this paper, we hypothesized that a leading politician’s behavior signaling support for the ideas of hate groups will increase hate speech by shifting social norms. To examine the hypotheses, in particular, to quantify the social norms shift, the study utilized an adoption threshold measure based on Twitter retweet networks. Our empirical study focused on the hate speech spread effect of an announcement by Yuriko Koike, Governor of Tokyo, declining to participate in a memorial ceremony for Korean massacre victims. The results support the hypothesis: after Koike’s announcement, adoption thresholds of hate speech users were significantly lowered, while the number of hate speech users increased. Further, this study compared the effect of Koike’s announcement to the effect of a North Korean missile launch, a national security threat to Japan. The average hate speech adoption threshold was lower after Koike’s announcement than after the missile launch, suggesting that a leading politician’s behavior could have a greater impact on shifting norms of prejudice than even a nationally threatening event.

제3국 출생 탈북민 자녀들의 영어 학습 동기: 회고적 모티그래프와 면담을 통한 사례연구

This research aims to explore the factors that influence the motivation and demotivation
 of third-country-born North Korean defectors in their English learning experiences, both before
 and after settling in South Korea. Motigraph and semi-structured interviews were conducted
 with two third-country-born North Korean defectors, and the transcribed interviews were
 analyzed based on Grounded theory. Overall, motivation to learn English significantly
 increased after settlement in South Korea. Prior to settlement, factors such as accessible or
 easy English classes and the aspiration to enter middle school positively impacted motivation,
 whereas memorization-oriented teaching methods decreased English learning motivation.
 Post-settlement, specific learning goals such as employment or university entrance, teacher
 encouragement, and comparison with South Korean students, emerged as motivating factors.
 However, challenges such as learning English grammar and difficulties with English language
 acquisition in a Korean-speaking environment made learning English difficult. Finally, we
 discussed strategies to assist third-country-born North Korean defectors in adapting to English
 education after settling in South Korea, focusing on practical and educational support.

북한이탈대학생 대학입시특별전형에 관한 쟁점과 개선방안 연구

This study analyzed the collegiate experiences of North Korean defector students admitted via special admissions, scrutinized the challenges of this system, and proposed enhancements. Employing a qualitative case study approach, it involved 10 defector students and 6 experts, including professors and field specialists, totaling 16 participants. Data from Focus Group Interviews (FGI) highlighted six themes across two categories about the special admissions process challenges. The first category showed the positive impact of special admissions, such as facilitating university entry for defectors, enhancing their social capital, and aiding integration into Korean society. The second category focused on challenges like academic gaps, anxiety over their special admission status, and career choice difficulties. These findings, compared with previous research, underscored three main issues with the special admissions system. The study suggests improvements to better support North Korean defector students.

North Korean Refugee Narratives and the Representation of Christianity in the Work of Korean-American Writers Helie Lee and Krys Lee.

North Korean Refugee Narratives and the Representation of Christianity in the Work of Korean-American Writers Helie Lee and Krys Lee.

Research on financial estimates to ensure dental care for North Korean residents after unification

Research on financial estimates to ensure dental care for North Korean residents after unification

북한이탈주민 조기 정착을 위한 제도 개선 방안

North Korea under the socialist system has a structure in which the type and site of work are determined according to the central policy rather than employment other than individual ability in choosing jobs for its residents. Since it is important for North Korea, which is pursuing a planned economy, to achieve production goals set in accordance with each economic sector's plan, groups take precedence over individual abilities at the work site, and there are few changes in the working environment, such as turnover or relocation of work, so efforts or activities to equip individuals with competitiveness in their activities are of little significance. Most of the North Korean defectors who entered South Korea were subordinated in such a working environment at the time of their repatriation. South Korea is making great efforts to increase the competitiveness of individuals seeking employment because economic activities are determined according to the principle of marketism. North Korean defectors who were accustomed to the socialist planned economy system had jobs, but it is difficult to settle smoothly in that employment for adaptation to South Korean society is mainly achieved through competition with the general public. With 34,000 North Korean defectors now, their successful settlement in South Korean society as a priming water for the unification of the Korean Peninsula is drawing attention as a very important issue. This is because economic independence and income are achieved through employment, and the settlement of economic stability leads to stable participation in South Korean society. The economic activities of North Korean defectors will reduce the loss of social costs for them in South Korean society as a whole, which will further benefit the South Korean economy, and serve as a cornerstone for future unification of the two Koreas. Therefore, this study aims to suggest the possibility of obtaining compulsory employment-type qualifications in consideration of educational background and career in North Korea as an institutional improvement plan for early settlement based on economic stability in South Korea.

Using Moment Tensor Inversions for Rapid Seismic Source Detection and Characterization: Application to the North Korean Nuclear Tests

AbstractThe rapid detection and source characterization of any type of seismic events including earthquakes and nuclear explosions is one of the missions of many seismological laboratories. Most often, the techniques used are based on phase picking and amplitude measurements for detecting and locating events, and for estimating magnitudes. From these parameters, especially for anthropogenic sources, event screening is then done empirically, and this may lead to misinterpretations of the source nature. However, it is known that seismic waveform inversion for the determination of the moment tensor has proven to be a reliable source physics-based method for event characterization. Here, we present a technique already used for earthquake monitoring in tectonically active regions, and we test it on very shallow natural and anthropogenic events recorded in the vicinity of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). From a grid of potential locations and by scanning continuous seismic waveforms, it is possible to implement a rapid detector of seismic events providing the full information of the sources (origin time, location, magnitude, mechanism, and source decomposition). We show its overall performances on all past DPRK nuclear tests and regional earthquakes. From such an approach fast complete event screening is achieved. Source uncertainties can also be estimated. This stand-alone detector and identifier of seismic events may help monitoring seismological agencies to provide a rapid and complete alert for any events within a region of interest before more in-depth discrimination analysis can be run.

Beyond trauma: Positive postmemories among second- and third-generation North Korean war refugees

In this article, I discuss how children and grandchildren of North Korean war refugees who were displaced during the Korean War construct identity and belonging in relation to their North Korean heritage. Drawing from the concept of postmemory, I examine how their northern heritage is experienced, constructed, mediated, and even solidified across generations who did not directly experience the Korean War. Unlike existing literature that predominantly focuses on the traumatic aspects of postmemory, I found that one’s construction of postmemory also encompasses positive family memories. These affirming memories exist alongside traumatic ones, countering the overdetermined paradigm of trauma across memory studies. Thus, I propose alternative ways of remembering that capture a nuanced understanding of how the second and third generations construct positive postmemories alongside the traumatic memories of their ancestors.

R2P 관점에서 본 인도적 대북지원의 쟁점과 과제

This study summarized the achievements and issues of humanitarian assistance to North Korea and looked at the direction and Tasks in terms of ‘Responsibility to Protection(R2P)’ that has been actively raised in the international community. If we expand the concept of R2P, it includes the meaning of ‘prevention’ and ‘support’ to prevent systematic human rights violations from occurring. In other words, it can be seen that the suppression of human rights against North Koreans, the threat of survival due to food shortages, and the level of serious health care all provide the basis for the international community’s intervention in North Korea. And intervention in North Korea from an R2P perspective is actually a means of preventing North Korea’s provocations in the current situation in North Korea. Considering the past experience of humanitarian assistance to North Korea and the nature of the North Korean regime, a long-term and gradual strategy is needed to maintain both humanitarian assistance and international pressure for intervention in North Korea from the R2P’s perspective in order to bring about the ultimate change in North Korea.

국가 이미지와 통일·대북정책 태도 간 관련성에 관한 탐색적 연구

This study explores the association between South Koreans’ perceptions of neighboring countries, their views of unification, and their attitudes toward North Korea policy. By applying the framework of international image theory, this study categorizes national images and explores potential variations in attitudes toward unification and North Korea policies across different image types. The results are summarized as follows: Individuals who hold an imperial image of Japan feel are less inclined toward unification and tend to support status-quo North Korea policies. Conversely, those with an imperial image of the United States demonstrate the most proactive attitudes toward reunification, attempting to address the North and South Korean issues from a non-nationalist perspective. Respondents with a barbarian image of China, which is the most prevalent image in South Koreans, show a passive attitude toward unification, favoring peaceful coexistence similar to those with an imperial image of Japan. However, they oppose the notion that severing relations with North Korea is more beneficial, differing from the views of those who hold an imperial image of Japan. These findings suggest that evaluations of soft power are closely linked to the perceptions of neighboring countries. An improvement in cultural status leads to a barbarian image of neighboring countries, potentially fostering pessimistic attitudes toward achieving unification.

북·중·러 연합의 형성과 전망

This study analyzes the North Korea, China, and Russia coalition amidst complex global crises like the US-China strategic competition, the US-Russia crisis, and the North Korean nuclear issue, using coordination games and problems as analytical tools. In the ‘New Cold War’ context, they identify a focal point, form coalitions, and coordinate strategies based on reactive anti-US policies and confrontations with coalitions involving ROK, the US, and Japan. However, differing perspectives on the ‘New Cold War’ and external factors leading to divergent focal points resulted in strategic uncertainty. Forming a stable grand coalition as an institution is challenging, and there is a risk of abandonment when forming a specific coalition based on interests. Moreover, the emergence of spoilers within the coalition breeds apprehension among other nations, rendering the coalition unsustainable. Consequently, the sustainability of the North Korea-China-Russia coalition diminishes, fostering ongoing non-cooperative behavior amidst a temporary phase of adhesion.

North Korean refugees’ implicit bias against South Korea predicts market earnings

This paper investigates whether experiences of living in a communist regime relate to low market earnings. We recruit North Korean refugees and measure their implicit bias against South Korea by using the Implicit Association Test. Conducting double auction and bilateral bargaining market experiments, we find that North Korean refugees with a larger bias against South Korea have lower expectations about their earning potential, exhibit trading behavior with lower target profits, and earn less profits. These associations are robust to conditioning on correlates of preferences, human capital, and assimilation experiences.

Posttraumatic growth experiences of North Korean adolescent refugees living in South Korea: A qualitative case study.

This study aimed to explore the posttraumatic growth (PTG) experiences of North Korean adolescent refugees. The qualitative context of PTG experiences and influencing factors was explored based on the experiences vividly described by North Korean adolescent refugees. I recruited participants for a qualitative case study, targeting "high-growth type" and "low-growth type" adolescents classified through latent profile analysis. A 1:1 in-depth interview was conducted with five high-growth and four low-growth adolescents who agreed to participate in the study. Their PTG appeared to coexist with posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms such as anxiety and depression. In addition, the PTG of North Korean refugee adolescents was particularly remarkable in the areas of "personal strength" and "relating to others." The influencing factors of PTG were described in the qualitative contexts of "constructive rumination process," "self-disclosure," "peer network from both South and North Korea," and "role of significant others." This study confirmed that North Korean adolescent refugees actively strive for growth after trauma. In order to lead their PTG better, specific interventions are required for intentional rumination process, human support resources, and self-opening that affect PTG. This study has academic value in that it compares and verifies the factors affecting PTG by interviewing high- and low-growth adolescents. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

North Korean appropriating Stanislavsky for the revolutionary theatre acting: focusing on experience

ABSTRACT This study investigates the correlativity between the acting of the Seonghwangdang (Village Shrine)-style revolutionary theatre in North Korea and the Stanislavsky system. Kim Jong-il dictates that Seonghwangdang-style revolutionary theatre is one of the representative art works that explains the origin of North Korean juche in his books On the Art of the Cinema and On the Art of the Theatre. Despite his criticism of the Stanislavsky system, Kim almost translates the process of role creation into urisik (our style, that is, North Korean style) one, borrowing a given circumstance, experience, jagam (creative state), and “magic if” from the system according to the principles of juche and sokdojeon (speed battle). The result is simplification of the semantic area of experience and the creative state, which shows how theatrical arts are limited by political ideological centrality.

“Memory struggle” and contact zones in-between the two Koreas: the politics of representation in documentary films

ABSTRACT This article investigates the “Memory struggle” in-between the two Koreas presented in the documentary films after the April 2018 Panmunjom Declaration. The Children Gone to Poland and Shadow Flowers carry out politics of representation that create a new moment of cultural memories about borders normatively standardized by hostility and indifference. The two documentary films place the camera on the border of the Cold War, which connects the past and the present, which was either not recorded or was misrecorded by one side of the border and therefore erased off the surface of our memories. They are non-nationals in that they can be stateless or multinational, depending on the location of the border. As such, they disrupt the border as boundaries that have continued since the Cold War. On the other hand, the struggle of North Korean defectors to return home reveals the indifference and hostility of South Korean society over this fact, confirming the Red Complex, which eventually exists as a shadow of hospitality for North Korean defectors. In this way, the two texts invite us to confront history before the establishment of the border through war orphans or face the reality that the Cold War frontier has expanded infinitely through an individual of ambiguous identities, such as a North Korean defector.

The Checkpoint of History: Testimony and Intertextuality in the Documentary Literature of the Korean War, 1960s–1970s

Abstract Korean War literature has historically encompassed a wide range of ideologically disparate texts. If canonical works of literary fiction have critically interrogated the violence of war and division, the civil war itself has continued to generate institutionalized cultural production purporting to document the crimes of the other side. Working against the categorical separation of these two traditions, this article explores their mutual and intertextual constitution. The sponsorship and commercialization of North Korean defector memoirs (kwisunja sugi) in 1960s South Korea, the article shows, influenced the development of two other popular genres of Korean War literature that alternately reinforced and undermined statist anticommunism. First, the novelist Yi Pyŏngju (1921–1992) employed kwisunja sugi as historical records in his works of the 1960s and 1970s, even as he demonstrated an awareness of the historicity and duplicity of Cold War testimony. Second, while autobiographical essays (ch’ehŏm sugi) submitted to the amateur nonfiction contest (1965–80) of the monthly Sin tonga mimicked kwisunja sugi, charting their authors’ immersion in and escape from the scene of communist violence, these texts also applied this structure to subaltern life in the militarized, capitalist South, reaffirming subversive understandings of the Korean Civil War as a reciprocal system.

Defiance in the Shadows: Flames of Resilience in the Selected North Korean Memoirs

The resilient autobiography focuses on the interpersonal dynamics of life narratives, including the relationships that have exacerbated the hardships described and the ones that have provided the support and strength necessary to overcome them. The selected text for this paper is A Thousand Miles to Freedom: My Escape from North Korea by Eunsun Kim and Sebastien Falletti and In Order to Live: A North Korean Girl’s Journey to Freedom by Yeonmi Park and Maryanne Vollers. These two texts talk about their catastrophic journey from North Korea because of poverty caused by famine and their migration to China, where they were trafficked and subjected to humiliation and their final escape to South Korea. The memoirs depict the individual’s embodiment of resilience as they narrate their own struggles and victories in overcoming hardship. Resistance to adversity and suffering, as well as the ability to bounce back from painful experiences in one’s own life and in the lives of others, are the hallmarks of resilience. Trauma becomes ingrained in attempts for survival in both memoirs, which illustrate the catastrophic impacts of famine, relocation, and personal loss. One effective approach to enhance resilience is reorganizing and reestablishing control over one's life after a traumatic event. Interpretations and writings of the personal narrative are offered from both the subject’s and an outsider’s points of view. Thus, the life story is formed in a dual sense: autobiographically and biographically.

North Koreans in Russia Between Migrants and Refugees

Starting from the premise that North Korean defectors have a dual identity, that of both migrant and refugee, this article examines how and why this duality is intensified in the case of those who defect to Russia, where North Korean defectors do not have proper rights or protections under either category. The main focus of this article is on the situation of North Korean defectors on the ground and with regard to Russian refugee laws, drawing on personal testimony, statistics, and related governmental and NGO documents.

What Made South Korea–Japan Security Cooperation Retreat During the Moon Jae-in Administration?

This article elucidates the reasons behind South Korea’s diminished security cooperation with Japan during the Moon Jae-in administration (2017–2022). The author discovered that President Moon halted ongoing security cooperation activities initiated by his predecessor, even though the North Korean nuclear threat became exponential. In particular, this article argues that not the national-level factors, such as South Koreans’ negative perception of Japan on the basis of their collective memory, but the leader factor was the main reason for the worsening of South Korea–Japan’s security cooperation during the Moon administration, contrary to most people’s expectations. The Moon administration’s progressive political leaders, who had acquired anti-United States/anti-Japan and pro-North Korea/pro-China perspectives during their anti-government protests in the 1970s and 1980s, decided to be confrontational towards Japan to their political benefit. The reality that the security cooperation between South Korea and Japan jumpstarted once the conservative Yoon Suk-yeol administration leaders replaced them supports this finding.