Art and Performance
A Roundtable Review of Shine Choi’s Re-Imagining North Korea in International Politics
In a new “neutron star” of a book, sociologist Shine Choi delves into the many ways of seeing North Korea. Sino-NK reviews the argumentative battlefield.
Purges, Baekdu, and the Moranbong Band: Data Points around General Hyon
Using music as a medium, Adam Cathcart takes the field of debate regarding the alleged purge and execution of Hyon Yong-chol into the ultra-politicized realm of concert halls and power stations.
Spaces of Leisure: The Socialist Modern at Rest and Play
In this final essay of a new triliogy, Robert Winstanley-Chesters traces connections between early repertoires of promenading on the banks of the Taedong and contemporary watery manifestations at Munsu and Rungna.
German Shepherds and German Musical Politics in North Korea
Among the elite music academies of Pyongyang, performances take place of German symphonic literature and avant-garde contemporary music; our editor-in-chief assesses the scene.
Spaces of Leisure: From Cinematic Birth to Physical Culture
Considering the development of leisure and entertainment in North Korea Robert Winstanley-Chesters tracks its movement from initial strategies focusing on the purely ideologic, political or cultural, to a return in the 1970s to a focus on sporting activity and spatiality.
Yongusil 45: PRC Power Consolidation, the Korean War, and the “Cold Front” of Historical Research in Hong Kong
In a conference which took place on September 15-16 at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, an array of new scholarship was presented which indicated the scope and depth of the Chinese Communist Party’s power consolidation during the Korean War. Sino-NK’s own Adam Cathcart presented his work alongside several up-and-coming students and established scholars.
Spaces of Leisure: A North Korean (Pre-) History
In the first of three essays, Robert Winstanley-Chesters analyzes the disconnect between North Korea’s revolutionary culture and the existence of consumption space, uncovering a pre-history of leisure and entertainment in North Korea.
Kim Ki-nam: North Korea’s Orchestral Politics
Octogenarian propaganda doyen Kim Ki-nam has survived at the top of North Korean politics for decades. Quite apart from all the perks that tend to accrue to such people, the other thing former Rodong Sinmun editor Kim has earned from his exertions is the attention of Adam Cathcart.
A Bifurcated Review of De-bordering Korea: Tangible and Intangible Legacies of the Sunshine Policy
Seven full years have passed since the second and final “sunshine policy” president, the late Roh Moo-hyun, left office. Yet debate over the historic value of the decade of sunshine persists. In Sino-NK’s latest review, two members of the team look at a brand new Routledge edited volume that attempts to assess the social legacy of the era.
