North Korean studies explained

Rr:	Bukhanhak
Mr:	Pukhanhak
Context:	south

North Korean studies is a sub-area of Korean studies. The number of researchers is comparatively small.^[1] The only fully dedicated institution to the study area is the University of North Korean Studies, Seoul,^[2] but many universities run undergraduate courses and postgraduate research programs.^[3]

The field has been unable to achieve consensus on even some fundamental questions, such as whether North Korea should be characterized as a communist or fascist state and what is the level of involvement of the government in human right abuses.^[1]

North Korean studies suffers from a lack of primary sources from the country, although the situation varies by decade. Sources from the 1940s are mostly Soviet documents available from archives. Documents from the 1950s are harder to come by. Some were smuggled out of the country, but the bulk of scholarship is done on reports of Eastern Bloc embassies in North Korea., Soviet documents from the 1960s are in the process of being declassified, but sources from Eastern European countries are already available. The availability of documents from the 1950s and especially the 1960s is contrasted with the fact that most of that which happened in North Korea took place outside of diplomatic circles, and foreign diplomats were given less and less information as time passed. Sources from the 1970s and 1980s are especially scarce outside of a selection of official publications. Beginning with the 1990s, scholarship has relied on testimonies of North Korean defectors.^[4]

Academic departments

• Korea University Sejong Campus^[5]
• Dongguk University, 50 students
• University of Central Lancashire MA North Korean Studies
• DPRK Strategic Research Center, KIMEP University

Academic projects

• North Korea International Documentation Project, NKIDP

Journals and webpages

• 38 North – analysis website formerly at Johns Hopkins University,^[6] now at The Stimson Center^[7]
• Hyundae Pukhan Yongu – Contemporary North Korean Studies (현대 북한 연구)^[8]
• NK News – a news website^[9]
• Daily NK – a news and opinion website
• Sino-NK – an independent periodical
• North Korea Review – previously published by the Jamestown Foundation^[10]
• North Korean Review – an English-language academic journal fully devoted to North Korean studies by Yonsei University^[11]
• North Korea Tech – technology analysis blog, affiliated with 38 North^[12]
• Citizens' Alliance for North Korean Human Rights – Quarterly journal (1996–2012)
• International Journal of Korean Unification Studies
• Routledge Research on Korea Series.

Other DPRK-focused institutions conducting research

• Committee for Human Rights in North Korea
• Database Center for North Korean Human Rights
• Korea Institute for National Unification
• People for Successful Corean Reunification

See also

• Media coverage of North Korea

Further reading

• Web site: The flaws and biases in North Korean studies . Fyodor . Tertitskiy . . 8 July 2016 .

External links

• NORTH KOREAN STUDIES – СЕВЕРОКОРЕЙСКИЕ ИССЛЕДОВАНИЯ Articles and links to Web sites about contemporary North Korean society and politics, relations with Russia and Australia, and Soviet Koreans.
• Sino-NK

Notes and References

1. Web site: The contentious field of North Korean studies: Schools of thought and divisions . Young . Benjamin R. . NK PRO . 24 September 2021 . 25 October 2021 .
2. http://www.nk.ac.kr/ENG/UNKS_main.aspx University of North Korean Studies
3. http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20120307001048 Students of N.K. studies hope for role in unity
4. Web site: How sourcing for North Korean studies has changed over time . Tertitskiy . Fyodor . . 4 September 2018 . 9 September 2018 .
5. http://graduate2.korea.ac.kr/programs/programs01-1-33.jsp Korea University Graduate Department of North Korean Studies
6. News: Demick. Barbara. October 6, 2017. The first casualty of North Korean nuclear tests? The country's environment. Los Angeles Times. August 15, 2021. 38 North, an academic website on Korea run by Johns Hopkins University..
7. Web site: About. August 15, 2021. 38 North.
8. 현대 북한 연구 – Volume 11, Issue 3 – Page 320 2008 "이러한 전통 과 경험 을 바탕 으로 2004 년 학교 법인 한마 학원 은 북한 대학원 대학교 를 설립 했습니다 . 이제 북한 대학원 대학교 는 북한 · 통일 분야 의 종합 적인 연구 · 교육 의 메카 로서 그 역할 을 수행 할 것 입니다 . 북한 대학원 대학교 는 F 북한 ...
9. Web site: On Reading North Korean Media: The Curse of the Web . Weiser . Martin . Sino-NK . 31 October 2016 . 23 July 2017 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20170907170426/http://sinonk.com/2016/10/31/on-reading-north-korean-media-the-curse-of-the-web/ . 7 September 2017 .
10. Web site: North Korea Review Archive. 29 February 2004. The Jamestown Foundation . 2017-07-29 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20170730000505/https://jamestown.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/North-Korea-Review-Archive.pdf . 2017-07-30 .
11. Web site: North Korean Review – McFarland- a leading independent publisher of academic and nonfiction books . mcfarlandbooks.com . 2017-07-29 .
12. Web site: Affiliates. August 15, 2021. 38 North.