Korean Politics

Korea was one of the last countries in Asia to be visited by Westerners, and its borders have remained largely unchanged since it was unified in the seventh century. Though it is one of the world's oldest and most ethnically homogeneous states, Korea was not born in a vacuum. Geographically isolated, the country was heavily influenced by powerful China and was often used as a bridge to the mainland by Japan. Calling themselves as "a shrimp among whales", Koreans borrowed elements of government, culture, and religion, all the while fiercely fighting to maintain independence.

Every Falling Star, the first book to portray contemporary North Korea to a young audience, is the intense memoir of a North Korean boy named Sungju who is forced at age 12 to live on the streets and fend for himself. To survive, Sungju creates a gang and lives by thieving, fighting, begging, and stealing rides on cargo trains. Sungju richly recreates his scabrous story, depicting what it was like for a boy alone to create a new family with his gang, his "brothers".

The weekly column Ask a North Korean, published by NK News, invites readers from around the world to pose questions to North Korean defectors. By way of these fascinating interviews, the North Koreans themselves provide authentic firsthand testimonies about what is happening inside the "Hermit Kingdom." This book sheds critical light on all aspects of North Korean politics and society and shows that even in the world's most authoritarian regime, life goes on in ways that are very different from what you may think.

In In Order to Live, Yeonmi Park shines a light not just into the darkest corners of life in North Korea, describing the deprivation and deception she endured and which millions of North Korean people continue to endure to this day, but also onto her own most painful and difficult memories. She tells with bravery and dignity for the first time the story of how she and her mother were betrayed and sold into sexual slavery in China and forced to suffer terrible psychological and physical hardship before they finally made their way to Seoul, South Korea - and to freedom.

An extraordinary insight into life under one of the world's most ruthless and secretive dictatorships - and the story of one woman's terrifying struggle to avoid capture/repatriation and guide her family to freedom. As a child growing up in North Korea, Hyeonseo Lee was one of millions trapped by a secretive and brutal communist regime. Her home on the border with China gave her some exposure to the world beyond the confines of the Hermit Kingdom....

The 2020 Commission Report on the North Korean Nuclear Attacks Against the United States is an exciting piece of "speculative fiction." The novel posits that there was a nuclear attack against the US on March 21, 2020 by North Korea, and that a national bipartisan commission was created to investigate what and how it happened. It's pretty scary stuff.

Amid escalating nuclear tensions, Kim Jong-un and North Korea's other leaders have kept a tight grasp on their one-party state, quashing any nascent opposition movements and sending all suspected dissidents to its brutal concentration camps for "re-education". Kang Chol-Hwan is the first survivor of one of these camps to escape and tell his story to the world, documenting the extreme conditions in these gulags and providing a personal insight into life in North Korea.

After defecting from North Korea, Yeonmi Park found liberty and freedom in America. But she also found a chilling crackdown on self-expression and thought that reminded her of the brutal regime she risked her life to escape. When she spoke out about the mass political indoctrination she saw around her in the United States, Park faced censorship and even death threats.

Whether you're a lover of mythology, a student of Korean culture, or simply in search of a mesmerizing listen, this collection offers a treasure trove of stories that have withstood the test of time. Delve into this book and let the magic of Korean mythology enchant you.

From the Emmy Award-winning Squid Game to streaming sensations like The Glory and Crash Landing on You, Korean television has emerged onto the global pop culture scene as compelling television—but what exactly makes these shows so irresistibly bingeable? And what can we learn about our societies and ourselves from watching them? From stand-up comedian and media studies PhD Grace Jung comes a rollicking deep dive into the cultural significance of Korean television.

Few American television series are as deeply entrenched in twentieth-century popular culture as M*A*S*H, a Korean War medical comedy characterized by its dark tone and finesse in tackling serious social and political issues. By the end of its run, M*A*S*H had been a mainstream hit for several seasons and won fourteen Emmys, leading it to be called, "the most popular pre-Seinfeld series in television history." In this comprehensive study of M*A*S*H, David Scott Diffrient analyzes the series' contextual issues such as its creation, reception, and circulation as well as textual issues like its formal innovations, narrative strategies, and themes.

From master storyteller and historian H. W. Brands comes the riveting story of how President Harry Truman and General Douglas MacArthur squared off to decide America's future in the aftermath of World War II.

Henry Park has spent his entire life trying to become a true American—a native speaker. But even as the essence of his adopted country continues to elude him, his Korean heritage seems to drift further and further away. Park's harsh Korean upbringing has taught him to hide his emotions, to remember everything he learns, and most of all to feel an overwhelming sense of alienation. In other words, it has shaped him as a natural spy.

The Cold War dominated international life from the end of World War II to the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. But how did the conflict begin? Why did it move from its initial origins in Postwar Europe to encompass virtually every corner of the globe? And why, after lasting so long, did the war end so suddenly and unexpectedly? Robert McMahon considers these questions and more, as well as looking at the legacy of the Cold War and its impact on international relations today.

Ian McAllister has searched the world over, hunting for that all-elusive perfect photograph. He finds it on a tourist trip to North Korea when he stumbles upon a young street kid foraging for roots. Unaware that this single act will brand him a spy and cost his freedom, Ian takes the shot. Now, he must pay the penalty.

Anna Fifield reconstructs Kim's past and present with exclusive access to sources near him and brings her unique understanding to explain the dynastic mission of the Kim family in North Korea. The archaic notion of despotic family rule matches the almost medieval hardship the country has suffered under the Kims. Few people thought that a young, untested, unhealthy, Swiss-educated basketball fanatic could hold together a country that should have fallen apart years ago. But Kim Jong Un has not just survived, he has thrived.

메디치미디어는 2020년 6월에 제2회 '메디치포럼-힘의 역전2, 달라진 세계'를 개최하여 세상의 변화에 어떻게 적응할 지에 대한 고민을 뛰어넘어, 팬데믹을 어떤 분기점으로 만들 것인가라는 문제를 던진 바 있다. 바야흐로 변화를 향한 의지의 방향을 찾으려는 것이다. 완전히 달라진 세계에서 우리가 만들어야 할 미래와 우리의 과제는 무엇일까. 각 분야의 '힘의 역전'을 위해 필요한 태도와 전략을 제안하는 문정인, 다니엘 튜더, 김세연, 유명희, 김동환, 민금채, 이원재의 포럼 발표와 인터뷰를 이 책에 담았다.

메디치미디어는 2020년 6월에 제2회 '메디치포럼-힘의 역전2, 달라진 세계'를 개최하여 세상의 변화에 어떻게 적응할 지에 대한 고민을 뛰어넘어, 팬데믹을 어떤 분기점으로 만들 것인가라는 문제를 던진 바 있다. 바야흐로 변화를 향한 의지의 방향을 찾으려는 것이다. 완전히 달라진 세계에서 우리가 만들어야 할 미래와 우리의 과제는 무엇일까. 각 분야의 '힘의 역전'을 위해 필요한 태도와 전략을 제안하는 문정인, 다니엘 튜더, 김세연, 유명희, 김동환, 민금채, 이원재의 포럼 발표와 인터뷰를 이 책에 담았다.

메디치미디어는 2020년 6월에 제2회 '메디치포럼-힘의 역전2, 달라진 세계'를 개최하여 세상의 변화에 어떻게 적응할 지에 대한 고민을 뛰어넘어, 팬데믹을 어떤 분기점으로 만들 것인가라는 문제를 던진 바 있다. 바야흐로 변화를 향한 의지의 방향을 찾으려는 것이다. 완전히 달라진 세계에서 우리가 만들어야 할 미래와 우리의 과제는 무엇일까. 각 분야의 '힘의 역전'을 위해 필요한 태도와 전략을 제안하는 문정인, 다니엘 튜더, 김세연, 유명희, 김동환, 민금채, 이원재의 포럼 발표와 인터뷰를 이 책에 담았다.

2020년 코로나 19라는 초유의 사태로, 일찍이 경험해 보지 못한 일들이 잇달아 일어나고 있다. 모든 것이 그 이전과는 다른, 우리가 경험해보지 못한 '달라진 세계'에 대한 전망과 담론장이 폭발하고 있다. 하지만 그런 담론의 범람 속에서 고민의 '방향'을 함께 질문하려는 시도가 드문 것이 사실이다.