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[LECTURE] 2016 YÉOL June Lecture – North of the DMZ: Spread of South Korean culture in North Korea작성일 2016-05-30

North of the DMZ: Spread of South Korean culture in North Korea

Lecturer: Andrei Lankov

Professor, Kookmin University

This lecture is dedicated to spread of South Korean culture in North Korea. North Korea is a reclusive state that is extremely hostile to its main enemy, the South Korea. Although South Korean culture is quite popular in East Asia, many people would assume that the DPRK would be an exception.

However, media reports show that the situation is the opposite. South Korean TV series and songs have become quite popular in the North Korea too. The spread of a mortal enemy’s culture in the very heart of a country such as North Korea — how was this possible? Why did North Korean authorities fail to suppress this?

Prof. Lankov will speak about information revolution in North Korea and its numerous manifestations. As corruption eats away at the North Korean state control authority, the state’s grip on the people weakens and many South Korean DVDs, USBs, videotapes and other media are smuggled in North Korea by Korean and Chinese contrabandists. For example, “the Descendants of the Sun” – the South Korean TV series released in 2016 – is becoming quite popular in North Korea, And even many its theme s North Korean bureaucrats recognize ong.

Prof. Lankov will speak how this change has influenced North Korean society and what effect it will have on the North Korean political system.

Andrei Lankov is a graduate of Leningrad State University. In the 1980s,he studied at Kim Il-sung University in North Korea. He was also a professor at Australian National University and since the mid-2000s has been employed by Kookmin University in South Korea. He is a well-known scholar of North Korea. Prof. Lankov has been in many places— from bars in Dandong to conference halls in Washington. His spectrum of interests is quite broad— from the history of old Seoul to modern South and North Korea. Prof. Lankov has written several books and is recently finishing new one. Currently Prof. Lankov is studying North Korean private enterprises, bazaars and other manifestations of the North Korean market economy, while conducting interviews with refugees from the DPRK. He considers North Korea’s new market system as an extremely fascinating subject.