The Korean Odyssey

* Australian Korean supporters and the Korean cheering squad are cheering together during the North Korea–China match.  ⓒ Il Young Jeong Il Young Jeong Senior Research Fellow_Institute of Social Science_Sogang University “Go Korea!” echoed across Australia. It felt good not to have to divide the peninsula into South and North. “Go Korea!” The heartfelt chant was both a cheer for our South and North Korean players and a call for reconciliation between the two Koreas and for peace on the Korean Peninsula. This is the story of a South Korean cheering squad supporting both South and North Korea at the AFC Women’s Asian Cup, held in Australia since March 1.  This article is a personal account written by the author, who participated in the tournament as a member of the joint cheering squad.   The reason we set off for a distant southern land, Australia This is Sydney, Australia’s representative global city, where the Women’s Asian Cup football tournament is in full swing. I v...

  *An academic conference is being held to discuss building peace on the Korean Peninsula.   ⓒ  Il Young Jeong Il Young Jeong Senior Research Fellow_Institute of Social Science_Sogang University Subject phrases such as “North Korea’s,” “North Korea is,” and “As for North Korea … ” are frequently encountered in recent academic conferences and media reports dealing with the Korean Peninsula. These expressions have become familiar, yet they evoke a certain sense of discomfort. At some point, we grew accustomed to understanding the space of “North Korea” as a single, unified actor called “North Korea.” This article criticizes the current tendency to place the space of North Korea into a black box and interpret it as a monolithic entity, and proposes restoring the research ecosystem on North Korea as a way to address this problem.   Two Wings for Understanding North Korea The space we call North Korea is shrouded in secrecy. It is likely one of the most isolated countri...