Korea and the World

About Korea and the World

Korea and the World interviews academics, professionals and intellectuals living and working in South Korea on current political, economic and societal issues.

Publisher

Korea and the World-Team

Category

society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

27 Nov 2014

Latest episode

25 Oct 2021

Latest episodes

87 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   25 Oct 2021

   #87 - Suk-Young Kim

   News and discussions about technology in North Korea usually focus on the country’s nuclear programme. Often ignored, however, is the fact that, over the course of the past decade, consumer technology has also evolved. Maybe most importantly, cell phones have become increasingly widespread. They are now a common sight in the streets of Pyongyang and border cities. This is a momentous change which coincides with the emergence of a new generation, millennials, in North Korea. To learn more about the role that technology, and especially cell phones, plays in North Korean society, we had the pleasure of interviewing Professor Suk-Young Kim. She told us about North Korean millennials and their characteristics, where North Korea stands in terms of technology, how technology and foreign media consumption interact to produce emergent trust networks among North Koreans, and why North Korea’s regime permits the spread of such a technology in the first place. Suk-Young Kim is a Professor and Head of Theater and Performance Studies at UCLA. She received her Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary Theatre and Drama with a Certificate in Gender Studies from Northwestern University and her Ph.D. in Slavic Languages and Literature from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Her first book, Illusive Utopia: Theater, Film, and Everyday Performance in North Korea, was the winner of the 2013 James Palais Book Prize from the Association for Asian Studies. More recently, she published K-pop Live: Fans, Idols, and Multimedia Performance. This episode was produced in cooperation and with the support of the East Asian Studies Center (https://easc.osu.edu/) at The Ohio State University and its Title VI National Resource Center grant from the U.S. Department of Education. The interview was recorded on August 2nd, 2021 remotely from Columbus, OH.

2. 

   17 Aug 2021

   #86 - Stephanie Choi

   One source of the success of K-Pop idols and groups, in Korea as well as abroad, can be found in their exceptionally active and dedicated fans. For many of them, being a fan goes beyond just listening their idols’ music; it also means buying and collecting merchandise, attending fan events and live recordings, or even translating appearances of their idols for global fans. These are costly endeavors, both in terms of money and time, yet they have become a hallmark of K-Pop’s fan culture. To learn more about the relationship between K-Pop idols and their fans, we spoke to Dr. Stephanie Choi. She told us about how fans act as both promoters as well as regulators of their idols’ activities, and about the role that intimacy plays in this relationship. We also discussed the origins of fan groups in Korea and their evolution over the decades; the kinds of labor fans engage in to ensure the success of their idol; the rules dictating fans-idol interactions; and the services that idols provide in return to their fans. Stephanie Choi is Adjunct Assistant Professor in East Asian Studies at New York University. She earned her Ph.D. in Ethnomusicology from the University of California, Santa Barbara. She also holds an M.A. in Ethnomusicology from Wesleyan University and a degree in Korean Music from Seoul National University. Interviews with Stephanie Choi have been featured in the New Yorker, NBC News, the Korea Herald, and the Korea Times, among others. This episode was produced in cooperation and with the support of the East Asian Studies Center (https://easc.osu.edu/) at The Ohio State University and its Title VI National Resource Center grant from the U.S. Department of Education.

3. 

   2 Jul 2021

   #85 - John Delury

   China is a key player on the Korean peninsula: it is not only North Korea’s sole ally, but has also become South Korea’s most important trading partner. Yet, the relationship it has with both Korean states is fraught with tension. Beijing’s hold over Pyongyang has been weakening under the rule of Kim Jong-Un, and Seoul’s alliance with Washington seems to be at odds with Chinese interests. To understand the relationships China has with both Koreas, we sat down with Professor John Delury. We talked about China’s place in the world and its evolution under the leadership of Xi Jinping, its relationship with South Korea during the Moon administration and with Kim Jong-Un’s North Korea, and about the role the United States plays in these relations. John Delury is Professor of Chinese Studies at Yonsei University’s Graduate School of International Studies, in Seoul. He completed his undergraduate and graduate studies in History at Yale University. He wrote, together with Orville Schell, Wealth and Power: China’s Long March to the Twenty-first Century, which was published in 2013. Professor Delury’s works have appeared in various publications including Foreign Affairs, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Asian Survey. This episode was produced in cooperation and with the support of the East Asian Studies Center (https://easc.osu.edu/) at The Ohio State University and its Title VI National Resource Center grant from the U.S. Department of Education.

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Apple Podcasts (US)

4.3 / 5

15 ratings

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