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.

The Legendary Women of Baekdu: “And did those feet in ancient times…”

By | May 07, 2015

Robert Winstanley-Chesters concludes his essay series focused on the crossings, journeys and deterritorializations of elements of charismatic Kimism, arriving finally on the slopes of Baekdu with Kim Jong-suk.

The Crossings and Encounters of Kim Jong-suk: “And did those feet in ancient times…”

By | April 09, 2015

The second piece in a three-part series, Robert Winstanley-Chesters looks in detail at the de- and reterritorialization of charismatic authority in the story of Kim Jong-suk, the so-called “Mother of Military-first Chosun.”

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.

Hagiography of the Kims & the Childhood of Saints: Kim Il-sung

By | January 31, 2015

In this essay Christopher Richardson explores the childhood hagiography of Kim Il-sung, “the master narrative from which all others derive,” and in so doing locates the origins of regime durability and state legitimacy.