North Korea: Origins and Transitions

Undergraduate

This course explores the history of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) from a global perspective. Topics include the Japanese colonial legacies; liberation, division, and foreign occupation between 1945 and 1950; the meanings of the Korean War; comparing Kim Il-Sung's North Korean revolution with Park Chung-hee's state building in the South; the reality of "Self-Reliance"; social control and everyday life; and issues around human rights.