Defectors
55 Remnants of Conflict: The Korean War Prisoners Who Chose Brazil
At the end of the Korean War, 88 North Korean and Chinese POWs decided to gamble on lives in third countries, eschewing South Korea and Taiwan. 55 were resettled in Brazil. These are their stories.
Volcano on the Horizon: Thae Yong-ho and the Politics of Speech
In a companion piece to Tom Fowdy’s essay, Christopher Richardson looks at the case of Thae Yong-ho and just what it says to us about the politics of speech.
One Dystopian Korea: A Review of Our Aspiration is War by Jang Kang-myung
Sino-NK doesn’t review many novels, but that doesn’t mean fiction is irrelevant. Quite the opposite. Here, Robert Lauler reviews the latest book by “Because I Hate Korea” author Jang Kang-myung, in which he sketches out a disturbing, dystopian portrait of a future unified Korea.
Yongusil 86: AKS Colloquium and Sources of Identity Change in South Korea
On August 26, Steven Denney presents preliminary findings based on his survey research on the sources of national identity change in South Korea at the Academy of Korean Studies (AKS) colloquium for overseas scholars studying Korea.
Identity, Security, and the Nation: Understanding the South Korean Response to North Korean Defectors
In this review essay, Dr. Sarah Son summarizes her contribution to an Asian Ethnicity special issue (Spring 2016) on North Koreans in South Korea. Her work explores the simultaneous portrayal of this group as both “us” and “them” in public policy discourse.
History, Smoke and Mirrors: Assessing North Korea’s Association for the Study of Human Rights
Can anything be learned from crawling through North Korea’s own report on its human rights situation and outlook? Adam Cathcart goes spelunking to find out.
From the Borderland to Beijing: Chinese Civilian Shot in Changbai
A number of incidents involving North Korean soldiers in the Sino-NK borderland have recently been reported in the South Korean and Chinese media. Christopher Green takes a closer look at one of them from the Korean perspective.
Yongusil 67: Footprints of the Dead and the Utility of Returns: Recent Works from the KEI Academic Paper Series
This Yongusil recounts the footsteps of Sino-NK contributors into Washington, DC, and the august academic paper and seminar series of the Korean Economic Institute.
Shin Dong-hyuk: Finally Poised For Effective Activism
Personal narratives are co-created by teller and receiver, and each is mutually responsible for the outcomes. According to Eric Foley, CEO of Voice of the Martyrs Korea, Shin Dong-hyuk’s extraordinary life story is like any co-created narrative, and only by taking a different stance toward it can we arrive at an honest accounting.
