Korean Studies

"Counting People" / Demography in South Korea, (1945-early 1980s)

by John P. DiMoia

forthcoming in edited volume out of Germany (C. Unger, H. Hartmann, eds.)--first version submitted; edits submitted in early May 2012.

La confrontación latente: El futuro incierto de la península coreana

by Asier Blas Mendoza

Blas Mendoza, Asier e Iker (2007): "La confrontación latente: el futuro incierto de la península coreana", Revista CIDOB d’Afers Internacionals, núm. 78, p. 197-216.

En el presente artículo se abordan los cambios acontecidos en las relaciones intercoreanas tras el derrumbe de los... more En el presente artículo se abordan los cambios acontecidos en las relaciones intercoreanas tras el derrumbe de los regímenes soviéticos. En los primeros años que siguieron a la caída del Telón de Acero, se mantuvo en todo el perímetro coreano un escenario de confrontación que parecía perpetuar el problema sine die. Pero en la segunda mitad de los años noventa, el Nordeste Asiático comienza a vivir un auténtico cambio que repercutirá en la aparición de contactos públicos entre las dos Coreas. El nuevo juego destapado oficialmente por la Sunshine Policy propició un replanteamiento muy profundo en las políticas exteriores de ambos estados, y abrió un nuevo capítulo en las relaciones intercoreanas que ha demostrado claramente la importante dimensión y repercusión del conflicto en el marco
geoestratégico de todo el Este Asiático, así como en la política internacional.

When Is It Rude To Be Rude? - Politeness Across Cultures and Subcultures - 언제 무례하여 무례해지는가?

by Thorold (Thor) May

This document contains both an original English version and a Korean translation

This paper deals with politeness phenomena which are general to all human societies, but draws many examples from... more This paper deals with politeness phenomena which are general to all human societies, but draws many examples from Korea as understood by the writer (who is Australian). The emphasis in this analysis is on the problem of decoding politeness. It is noted that even within a culture, politeness signals can be manipulated, and that interlocutors calibrate their meaning according to knowledge of individual personalities. In Korean society, the requirement for formal politeness signals is very strong, both in body language and in fixed linguistic markers (such as verb endings). However, the pragmatic meaning of these signals is calibrated in ways that are difficult for foreigners to decode. The paper also considers the dilemma of that minority of Koreans who attempt to interact within the linguistic and social codes of English. It is noted that these attempts often go astray, both because the speaker misunderstands English politeness coding conventions and because listeners in English, almost by definition, come from radically different cultural backgrounds to the Korean.

Organizacja i funkcjonowanie szkolnictwa wyższego w Republice Korei – wnioski dla Polski

by Agnieszka Piasecka

The paper analyses perspectives of implementing Korean solutions into Polish higher education sector. It was presented at the conference Finance and Public- Private Partnership in higher education sector: Polish reality and international perspectives held in Rzeszów on 20th April 2012. The original is in Polish. Status: accepted. More info about the conference: http://www.wsiz.rzeszow.pl/pl/dzialalnosc_naukowo_badawcza/konferencje_naukowe/konferencja/Strony/finansowanie-i-partnertwo.aspx

Biblisch-Hebraeische Poesie und deren Uebersetzung ins Koreanische - Kurzer Ansatz

by Mark Boersma

Eine Einfuehrung in die poetische Sprache der hebraeischen Bibel und deren Uebersetzung ins Koreanische. Eine Einfuehrung in die poetische Sprache der hebraeischen Bibel und deren Uebersetzung ins Koreanische.

Korean Language Education in the Philippines: A Case Study of Ateneo de Manila University's Korean Language Program

by Sarah Domingo Lipura

"International aspect of sustainability. The European and East Asian interpretation"

by Agnieszka Piasecka

This is a working paper/ esay which was a part of the seminar held at Ajou University, Suwon, South Korea.

The paper and the presentation focuses on comparison between the practical side of implementation of sustainable... more The paper and the presentation focuses on comparison between the practical side of implementation of sustainable concepts in development. For this, the very idea of sustainable development is being presented, together with the historical review of sustainable philosophical and political ideas both in Europe and in East Asia, based on Polish and South Korean examples.
Later the presentation disputes about the  legal frameworks of sustainability and it’s practical side of implementation after the Rio Summit and other UN conferences and discusses the cross-cultural differences in understanding and applying sustainable development on macro and micro economic scales.

Fantasy island: oceanic imaginings in Paul Yoon's Once the Shore

by John R. Eperjesi

Korea's Search for a Global Role between Hard Economic Interests and Soft Power

by Thomas Kalinowski

Co/authored with Hyekyung Cho, published in "European Journal of Development Research" 24(2)

South Korea has been a rising economic power for some decades. It exhibits several behavioral traits associated with... more South Korea has been a rising economic power for some decades. It exhibits several behavioral traits associated with rising powers such as issue leadership and opportunity seeking. Korea aims to be an issue leader in the field of development, although it seeks to secure the foundations for further sustained economic growth. In this article, we investigate Korea's global strategy since the 1990s, aiming to translate its economic clout into global political influence. The focus is placed on a critical evaluation of the approach under the current Lee Myung Bak administration since 2008. This article examines the domestic factors that have led Korea to pursue its strategies of securing influence, including most notably the legacy of the mercantilist developmental state. The article raises cautionary concerns about the capacity of Korea to adopt a foreign policy that moves beyond economic self-interest and plays an active role in the creation of global public goods.

Flying geese as moving targets: Are Korea and Taiwan catching up with Japan in advanced displays?

by Jeffrey Hart

(with Greg Linden, Stefanie Ann Lenway, and Thomas P. Murtha) Industry and Innovation, 5 (June 1998), 11-34.

Language learning as a site for belonging: a narrative analysis of Korean adoptee-returnees

by Kim Stoker

Westerners in Korea, Koreans in the West

by Gerd Jendraschek

Public lecture given on 30 March 2010 at Gyeongsang National University, Jinju, South Korea

1. Some facts
2. Some background
3. Some problems
4. Some hope
5. Outlook 1. Some facts
2. Some background
3. Some problems
4. Some hope
5. Outlook

The Games We Play Online and Offline: Making Wang-tta in Korea

by Florence Chee

As published in Popular Communication.

This article presents an ethnographic analysis of case studies derived from fieldwork that was designed to consider... more This article presents an ethnographic analysis of case studies derived from fieldwork that was designed to consider the different ways Korean game players establish community
online and offline. I consider ways Korean youth participate in activities at Korean computer game rooms, which can be thought of as “third places.” A synthesis of the Korean concept Wang-tta provides extra insight into the motivations to excel at digital games and one of the strong drivers of such community membership. Korea’s gaming society has many unique elements within the interplay of culture, social structure, and infrastructure.

Evolution of the South Korean wireless industry: from state guidance to global competition

by Florence Chee

Book Review: Islam and Democracy: The Southeast Asian Experience (Hussin Mutalib)

by Sarah Domingo Lipura

Kasarinlan: Philippine Journal of Third World Studies, Vol 20, No 1 (2005)

Geomancies of the Korean Global: Preface to the Photography of Drayton Hamilton

by Rob Wilson

North Korea after Kim Jong Il: The Kim Jong Un era and its challenges

by Ruediger, Rudiger Frank

Access and Repression in Korea

by Taru Salmenkari

Studia Orientalia vol. 111 (2011), pp. 297-326

This study assesses political opportunities available to civil society in the Republic of Korea. After... more This study assesses political opportunities available to civil society in the Republic of Korea. After democratisation, democracy movement activists simultaneously organised within civil society and entered political society, creating many links between the two. Street politics and violence have not decreased in relation to government responsiveness to civil society’s demands. Antiauthoritarian struggles lent demonstrations prestige, which, together with authoritarian influences in policing, has sustained a history of confrontation. Thus, Korea defies the theoretical assumption that political systems open to civil society initiatives use repression sparingly.

The Party as the Kingmaker: The Death of Kim Jong Il and its Consequences for North Korea

by Ruediger, Rudiger Frank

First take on the death of Kim Jong Il and succession by Kim Jong Un

North Korea in 2010: Domestic Developments and the Economy

by Ruediger, Rudiger Frank

sample chapter from:
Rudiger Frank, James E. Hoare, Patrick Kollner and Susan Pares (eds., 2011): Korea 2011: Politics, Economy, and Society, Leiden: Brill