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As tensions remain on the Korean peninsula, this book looks back on the decade of improved inter-Korean relations and engagement between 1998 and 2008, now known as the ‘Sunshine Policy’ era. Moving beyond traditional economic and political perspectives, it explores how this decade of intensified cooperation both affected and reshaped existing physical, social and mental boundaries between the two Koreas, and how this ‘de-bordering’ and ‘re-bordering’ has changed the respective attitudes towards the other. Based around three key themes, ‘Space’, ‘People’, and ‘Representations’, this book looks at the tangible and intangible areas of contact created by North-South enga...
This rare glimpse into North Korean society is the first book of its kind: a riveting collection of state-sponsored propaganda posters that present the unique graphic sensibilities of this little-known country. Seldom seen by the outside world, North Korea s propaganda art colors the cities and countryside with vibrant images of brave soldiers, happy and well-fed peasants, and a heroic and compassionate leader. More than 250 of these posters are collected here for the first time, showing the wide range of North Korean propaganda art. Hand-painted, one-of-a-kind pieces of art, these posters display the latest political slogans that are repeated in newspaper editorials, government declarations, and compulsory study sessions throughout the country. A unique collection which would appeal to artists and graphic designers as well as those interested in this closed society, this book may not represent the reality of North Korea, but rather a vision of the country as promoted by its regime and depicted by its state sponsored artists.
Despite the significance of Korea in world Christianity and the crucial role Christianity plays in contemporary Korean religious life, the tradition has been little studied in the West. Christianity in Korea seeks to fill this lacuna by providing a wide-ranging overview of the growth and development of Korean Christianity and the implications that development has had for Korean politics, interreligious dialogue, and gender and social issues. The volume begins with an accessibly written overview that traces in broad outline the history and development of Christianity on the peninsula. This is followed by chapters on broad themes, such as the survival of early Korean Catholics in a Neo-Confuci...
This title complements the 2010 exhibition Flowers for Kim-Il-Sung at MAK – Museum for Applied Art/Contemporary Art, Vienna and features new essays by international writers on a wide spectrum of issues.The relationship between North Korean art and ideology is examined, how modern and traditional values are dealt with, as well as the commercial conditions of artistic work – the market value of art. It also considers how a country's art is received abroad, together with the difficulties faced by curators if they want to show this work outside the country's borders.The concept of art including the question of its significance to society is explored through the field of fine art, stamp design, book illustrations, wall mosaics, literature and music.
Never-before-seen North Korea - a rare glimpse into the country behind the politics and the creativity behind the propaganda This incredible collection of prints dating from the 1950s to the twenty-first century is the only one of its kind in or outside North Korea. Depicting the everyday lives of the country's train conductors, steelworkers, weavers, farmers, scientists, and fishermen, these unique lino-cut and woodblock prints are a fascinating way to explore the culture of this still virtually unknown country. Together, they are an unparalleled testament to the talent of North Korea's artists and the unique social, cultural, and political conditions in which they work.
This edited collection investigates the mobilities, resettlement practices, and identities of North Korean defectors who have relocated to the United Kingdom, the United States, Japan, and South Korea. The contributors to this volume examine the complex nature of defection from North Korea, highlighting the ways in which defectors renegotiate their identities in order to adapt and settle in new societies as well as the implications these differing narratives have on future policy decisions.
This book is an analysis of the developments associated with the Belt and Road Initiative (B&RI) five years after Xi Jinping announced both the Silk Road Economic Belt (SREB) and the 21st Maritime Silk Road (21MSR). Together, these two dimensions constitute the B&RI, providing the so-called Chinese ‘project of the century’ with regional, inter-regional and global reach. This book aims at assessing the impact of the B&RI in all these dimensions and levels of influence. This is a current and promising theme, not only in the short and medium terms, but also within a broader timescale, reflecting Chinese strategic thinking itself, since Chinese philosophy and culture are oriented towards long-term and inter-generational perspectives. Likewise, both the title of this publication and the way it has been organized result from the empirical perception that China asserts a conservative attitude towards foreign affairs, redesigned in multiple dimensions, to create a perception of domestic unity and global prestige. In this vein of thought, the B&RI is already influencing and will continue to influence, directly or indirectly, the current economic and political order.
In Surviving Imperial Intrigues, Sangpil Jin explores how successful Korean neutralization could have radically transformed the balance of power equation in East Asia. He conducted multilocational archival work, analyzing documents from the Austro-Hungarian Empire Ministry of Foreign Affairs, British Foreign Office, French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, German Foreign Office, Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Russian Foreign Office, Russian State Naval Archive, and US State Department, as well as perusing private papers and newspapers. What surfaced in these readings were disparate voices of multiple actors and their agendas concerning Korean neutrality and dynamic international relations ...
For more than half of the twentieth century, the Korean peninsula has been divided between two hostile and competitive nation-states, each claiming to be the sole legitimate expression of the Korean nation. The division remains an unsolved problem dating to the beginnings of the Cold War and now projects the politics of that period into the twenty-first century. Korea’s Twentieth-Century Odyssey is designed to provide readers with the historical essentials upon which to unravel the complex politics and contemporary crises that currently exist in the East Asian region. Beginning with a description of late-nineteenth-century imperialism, Michael Robinson shows how traditional Korean politica...
There are two starkly different Koreas that are equally important actors on today’s tense geopolitical stage: South Korea, which is thriving as a democracy racing into the future as a high-tech economic powerhouse, and North Korea, a repressive dictatorship ruled by the iron inclinations of the Dear Leader. The dividing 38th Parallel is a Cold War relic that masks the deep and binding cultural ties between them, and Keith Pratt tackles here in Everlasting Flower the complexly intertwined history of the two nations. Everlasting Flower traverses the ancient physical and cultural landscape of the Koreas, spanning from the ancient states of Old Choson and Wiman Choson to the present day. Pratt...