Defectors
New Era, New Challenges: North Korea Analysis on Virgin Soil
We have more information now than ever before on the politics of the North Korean leadership. Using insights from the the politics of authoritarianism literature, this essay suggests the need for a robust framework of analysis to meet the challenges of the new era.
Defector Testimonies in a Polarized Society: From Implausible Story to Political Controversy
Nothing looms larger in the rear view mirror of South Korea’s democratic legacy than the South Jeolla Province city of Gwangju and the events that took place there in May 1980. That same democratization narrative was again abused in May 2013, this time along with some defector testimony of a most curious disposition.
Yongusil 10: Adam Cathcart interviews Blaine Harden in the Yonsei Journal of International Studies: “In Need of an Icon” (full version)
Brutality and autocracy seem to build industries against themselves in our contemporary age. Here the Yongusil presents Adam Cathcart’s interesting and engaging interview with the author of a potentially iconic text, one which will frame North Korea and Kimism in the public mind for many years, Blaine Harden author of “Escape from Camp 14.”
Suspicion, Repentance and Finding Spies in South Korean Media
On July 15, a confessed North Korean spy was arrested in Seoul. Darcie Draudt takes a brief look at two recent stories about spies in South Korean media this past week and draws some conclusions about the fine line between mobilizing a watchful nation and paranoia.
Press Conference as Discursive Battleground: Pyongyang’s Evolving “Double Defector” Propaganda
As the case of the “Laos Nine” reverberates, Brian Gleason examines the motivations and tactics behind Pyongyang’s recent move to place “redefectors” front and center in the public discourse within North Korea itself in the second installment of a two-part series.
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