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: 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.
“Victory Day,” the Canonization of Kim Jong-il, and North Korean Succession Politics
Why did the North Korean commemorations of the July 27, 1953 Armistice dwell so heavily on Kim Jong-il, who was just a child during the Korean War? Adam Cathcart investigates how shifting histories in Pyongyang are laying the groundwork for ongoing succession narratives for the present leader.
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.
Is He or Is He Not? Political Authority, Media Appearance, and the DPRK Leadership Question
Is Kim Jong-un merely a symbol? Pekka Korhohen, a visiting scholar at Kyoto University, reviews Kim Jong-un’s charismatic leadership in both theory and practice, engaging with assertions that North Korea is not actually ruled over by the Marshal.
Tuning Out Beijing’s Six-Party Drumbeat: Wu Dawei in Pyongyang
What has Chinese diplomacy on the North Korean nuclear issue accomplished recently? Not a great deal, to put it mildly. Damning demonstration by Chief Editor Adam Cathcart.
Kim Jong-un within Songun Legacy Politics
In part three of an AKS-funded series, Sino-NK describes why a speech in August 2013 forcefully indicated Kim Jong-un’s fixation with Songun politics, the implications of which Jang Sung-taek learned the hard way.
Yongusil 21: North Korean Review on the Unhasu Orchestra in Paris and the AP in Pyongyang
The Unhasu Orchestra has disappeared from North Korean cultural life. Adam Cathcart and Steven Denney explore that orchestra’s role (and that of the AP) in diplomacy within North Korea’s political repertoire, in a newly-published scholarly article for the North Korean Review.
Sino-NK 2013 Rewind: Sepho and the “Quiet Charisma” of Grassland Reclamation
Robert Winstanley-Chesters kicks off our month of analytical consideration and review, the Sino-NK 2013 Rewind, analysing developmental approach in North Korea during 2013 and the “quiet charisma” of Sepho’s grasslands.
