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