Abstract In 1945, with the participation of the Soviet Union, which sent naval forces to the northern coast of the Korean peninsula as well as paratroopers to Pyongyang, Korea was liberated from Japanese colonial rule. A limited contingent of Red Army units was dispatched in the northern part of the Korean peninsula to accept Japanese…
Abstract The United States and Soviet Union delegations to the Joint Commission talks ended the initial round of their efforts in May 1946 after but two months of talks designed to guide the creation of a unified Korean government through a process of trusteeship that would last at most five years beyond their helping Koreans…
Introduction During its long history, the city of Seoul has suffered three major sieges and occupations. The first happened in 1592, the second occupation of the capital was in 1636, and the third occasion when the city was besieged and occupied by an enemy army was during the first phase of the Korean War. The…
Abstract This paper adopts a comparative approach by focusing on a selection of early DPRK and People’s Republic of China war films made during the years that followed the Korean War. It looks into the narrative, and the aesthetics of the films in the general framework of socialist construction but also in terms of the…
Abstract The use of fire and its associated risks are universal across all cultures. In pre-industrial times, it was common for people to use open flames daily. Nonetheless, while fire brought many valuable aspects to their everyday lives, it could quickly get out of control and become a significant threat to human settlements and lives.…
Abstract This article introduces “homoregionalism” as a subcategory of regionalism practiced by and as gay men in Korea. Regionalism is alive, complex, and witnessing a transformation by a new online generation. Korean gay men—with both regional identities and sexually oriented lifestyles—through their own practice of regionalism, contribute to the construction of this subregionalism influenced b……
Abstract This paper examines Japanese archeological missions during the colonial period and how archeological knowledge was exploited by the imperial authorities both domestically and abroad. The Swedish Crown Prince Gustaf VI Adolf’s visit to Korea is an important case study to examine the connection between Japanese academia and the politics of the Japanese Government-General of…
Special Section 1 MARK E. CAPRIO, Rikkyo University Introduction: Four Interpretations of the North Korean “Dream” of Building a Socialist Society: 1945–1960 5 SERGEI KURBANOV, St. Petersburg University Dreams of Socialism Reflected in a 1947 North Korean School Textbook 23 MARK E. CAPRIO, Rikkyo University Preparing to Fail: Growing North–South Divisions during the Period of…
Abstract In recent years digital populism has emerged in South Korea as a new type of political behavior, marked by the political use of the internet as both a form of political participation and an instrument of mobilization. Technological advances and the diffusion of social media have enabled social polarization, rooted in post-Asian Financial Crisis…
Introduction Debates on the causes of coalition (in)stability date back to more than a century ago; coalition governments have at times been referred to as “structurally weak and unstable” (Lowell, 1896), whereas others (Lijphart, 1994; Rokkan, 1970; Sartori, 1976) have repeatedly emphasised that “multi-party coalition systems are not necessarily unstable and ineffective”. Coalition-building has been…