From nuclear threats and ballistic missiles tests in 2017, to smile diplomacy with President Moon on top of Paektu mountain in 2018 to the announced end of the moratorium on nuclear tests in 2019, Chairman Kim Jong-un could seem unpredictable. Yet, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), despite its opaque and erratic nature, has remained uncompromising in its own survival. The nuclear issue, even at the top of the political agenda, could not cover the complexity of North Korea.
The country challenges our conventional ideas about authoritarian systems and socialist economies while most of the time being considered only through enduring clichés. Regarded as one of the world's most enigmatic country, this course goes beyond the media images to explore the main features of North Korea's history, politics, economics, military and foreign policy. A special focus will be done on the country's external relations and the ongoing nuclear crisis, as well as the evolving US-DPRK relations under the Biden administration.
A pedagogical innovation is to use primary sources, i.e. North Korean materials brought back by the instructor from his several trips to the country. That critical introduction to North Korean studies aims at giving a coherent outline of a fantasized country to facilitate a better understanding of current developments in the country while acknowledging the difficulties and constraints in studying North Korea. (No Korean language skills is required)
Antoine BONDAZ
Séminaire
English
Spring 2020-2021
To validate the course, the student is expected to pass the following assignments :
- Oral presentation (30%): this exercise consists for a group of 2 in making a problematized and structured presentation in a 15-minutes oral presentation using an +/- 8 slides ppt.
- Press review (15%): students will present in a 5 min-format a recent event related to North Korea, using a 3 slides ppt. One of the key objective is to present an event, analyze it, and critically compare its media coverage.
- Article commentary (15%): students, randomly chosen, will present the required reading in a 5-min analytical presentation, summarizing the main ideas.
- Group project (40%): A research paper (15 pages) for a group of 4 will answer a key question regarding a contemporary issue in North Korea using innovative and first-hand data. The research question will be defined during the first weeks of the course. Students will be expected to use the course materials and combine it with their own research. The group project will be presented during the last session.
“Demystifying North Korea” will cover most of the available knowledge about the secretive state based on a variety of sources including North Korean primary sources, academic books and articles, documentaries and the instructor's own experience. This interactive course will be divided into 12 sessions to strike a balance between breadth and depth. The course's methodology will stress written and oral communication to increase students' analytical skills to understand/summarize complex issues and to present structured arguments in an efficient way.
At the end of the course, the student is expected to :
- Develop a critical mind while analyzing primary North Korean sources
- Debate on North Korean issues using facts and figures researched on the matter
- Design, organize and moderate a conference on North Korea with a guest speaker
CUMINGS Bruce, North Korea: another country, The New Press, 2011