Essays
Hagiography of the Kims and the Childhood of Saints: Kim Jong-il
Christopher Richardson examines the mythological narrative of Kim Jong-il’s genesis, uncovering the carefully constructed combination of religion, half-truths, and state propaganda.
Politics and Pollack: It Takes a Nation of Fishes
Bringing his Politics and Pollack series to a close, Robert Winstanley-Chesters explores the most recent pelagic developments in North Korea, focusing on the January 8 Fishing Station and the problematic notion of “charismatic time.”
A Pragmatic Approach to Collapsing the Regime: A Critique
In a June 16 op-ed in the New York Times, Sue Mi Terry promoted expediting the end of the North Korean regime. The piece energized analyst Michael Bassett to respond.
Politics and Pollack: Fishing in the Age of the Six Goals
Continuing his series of essays focusing on maritime development in North Korea, Robert Winstanley-Chesters encounters the pelagic realm of the 1970s, revealing deficiencies in Kim Il-sung’s persistent attempts to increase the nation’s harvest of fish.
National Identity and Historical Legacy: Ahn Jung-geun in the Grand Narrative
Take the slow train to Harbin and you’ll arrive right at the locus of fractious Northeast Asian history: the spot where Korean nationalist Ahn Jung-geun killed the first Resident-General of Korea Ito Hirobumi in 1909. With support from an Academy of Korean Studies grant, Steven Denney and Christopher Green try to get behind the national narrative(s).





