Week III:
January 22nd and 24th:
The Son Takes Command
Tuesday: January 22nd
The Rise of Kim Jong Il and Kim-Centered Chuch'e Thought
Thursday: January 18th
The Non-aligned Movement and the 1972 Constitution
Readings:
- Armstrong, chapters 5 & 6
- Cheehyung Harrison Kim: "North Korea's Vinalon City: Industrialization as Socialist Everyday Life." positions east asia cultures critique, Vol 11, No. 4 Fall 2014 pp 809-836 (find electronic version of journal in UW library)
- Suzy Kim, "Mothers and Maidens: Gendered Formation of Revolutionary Heroes in North Korea," Journal of Korean Studies 19(2): 257-89 (find electronic version of journal in UW library)
Study Questions:
- Why does it matter that Kim Jong Il started to take power in the 1970s and 1980s rather than in 1994 when Kim Il Sung died?
- What are the differences in emphasis between Kim Il Sung's DPRK and Kim Jong Il's?
- What were the characteristics of the 1972 Constitution? Do these characteristics simply reflect internal developments in Korea, or was the DPRK also influenced by foreign relations? the non-aligned movement? What benefits did they expect to get?
- Why did North Korea join the non-aligned movement? What benefits did they exepct to get? Why was it ultimately not successful?
- Armstrong argues that over-emphasis on military preparedness is the main reason for North Korea's falling behind South Korea economically. Do you agree?
|