Propaganda

History, Smoke and Mirrors: Assessing North Korea’s Association for the Study of Human Rights

By | October 07, 2015

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.

Voices from the Black Box: 1987, the Social Democratic Party, and Protection of Human Rights

By | September 14, 2015

The DPRK human rights discourse is dominated by the many victims of Kimist state power. Whether for better or worse, this certainly leaves limited space for other perspectives to be aired. Here, Martin Weiser outlines evidence of a domestic debate surrounding human rights protection dating back to the late 1980s.

Purges, Baekdu, and the Moranbong Band: Data Points around General Hyon

By | May 16, 2015

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.

Yongusil 67: Footprints of the Dead and the Utility of Returns: Recent Works from the KEI Academic Paper Series

By | April 23, 2015

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.

Footsteps and Deterritorializations: “And did those feet in ancient times…”

By | March 22, 2015

Rodong Sinmun reports on a wintery children’s pilgrimage to North Korea’s northern border, the place where, four score and ten years ago, Kim Il-sung crossed the Yalu. Political geographer Robert Winstanley-Chesters investigates the implications of their reenactment.