Korea Deconstructed

Lebanese scholar Rania Hafez joins Korea Deconstructed for a wide-ranging conversation on class, culture, and the search for meaning. Rania reflects on how media pushes culture wars over class solidarity, the importance of leadership in academia, and how she discovered Korean dramas during the Covid pandemic. Her love for Crash Landing on You and Hometown Cha Cha Cha helped her find beauty and purpose again, calling Korea her "Narnia." A deeply personal and philosophical episode about rediscovery, passion, and why Korea speaks to so many hearts around the world. She also reflects on her experiences as a Muslim in Korea and how she is able to navigate these spaces. Rania: https://www.instagram.com/the_lebanese_londoner/ David A. Tizzard has a PhD in Korean Studies and lectures at Seoul Women's University and Hanyang University. He writes a weekly column in the Korea Times, is a social-cultural commentator, and a musician who has lived in Korea for nearly two decades. He can be reached at datizzard@swu.ac.kr.   Watch this video next: https://youtu.be/vIbpLfWJoZM Subscribe to the channel: @DavidTizzard/videos Thanks to Patreon members: Hee Ji Jacobs, Bhavya, Roxanne Murrell Join Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/user?u=62047873 Discussion Outline 0:00 Korea Deconstructed 2:45 Meaning in modern life 31:00 The importance of class 1:01:20 The struggles of capitalism 1:08:30 K-dramas and the love of the country 1:26:40 Being a Muslim in Korea 1:37:00 How to foster connection 1:46:45 Recommendations   Music by Jocelyn Clark    Connect with us:  ▶ Get in touch: datizzard@swu.ac.kr ▶ David's Insta: @datizzard ▶ KD Insta: @koreadeconstructed   Listen to Korea Deconstructed  ▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/kr/podcast/korea-deconstructed/id1587269128 ▶Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5zdXkG0aAAHnDwOvd0jXEE ▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com 

My guest is Fyodor Tertitskiy, a prolific scholar, polyglot, and one of the few who reads the footnotes of history in multiple languages. His new book, Accidental Tyrant, a biography of Kim Il Sung, challenges the official state mythology and unearths the improbable rise of a guerrilla fighter turned dynastic dictator. This is how Kim Il Sung outwitted imperialists, communists, comrades, and colonels alike, turning chance into legacy, failure into foundation. But the question remains: what does this all mean for those of us living in a world still shaped by the ghosts of his decisions?  Buy Fyodor's latest book here: https://www.amazon.com/Accidental-Tyrant-Life-Kim-sung/dp/0197800882 David A. Tizzard has a PhD in Korean Studies and lectures at Seoul Women's University and Hanyang University. He writes a weekly column in the Korea Times, is a social-cultural commentator, and a musician who has lived in Korea for nearly two decades. He can be reached at datizzard@swu.ac.kr. Watch this video next: https://youtu.be/vIbpLfWJoZM Subscribe to the channel: @DavidTizzard/videos Thanks to Patreon members: Hee Ji Jacobs, Bhavya, Roxanne Murrell Join Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/user?u=62047873 Discussion Outline 0:00 Who was Kim Il Sung? 9:00 Japanese colonization of Korea 13:40 Kim Il Sung's early life 22:30 What is communism? 27:30 Kim Il Sung the anti-Japanese guerrilla fighter 35:15 How the Soviet Union created North Korea 44:10 Why was Kim Il Sung chosen to lead? 52:40 Planning the Korean War 58:30 Who was Mun Il? 1:05:10 Chairman Mao 1:15:20 Kim Il Sung's economic policies 1:22:40 The succession policies of North Korea 1:41:50 How people misunderstand Juche 1:54:00 Recommendations Music by Jocelyn Clark Connect with us: ▶ Get in touch: datizzard@swu.ac.kr ▶ David's Insta: @datizzard ▶ KD Insta: @koreadeconstructed Listen to Korea Deconstructed ▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/kr/podcast/korea-deconstructed/id1587269128 ▶Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5zdXkG0aAAHnDwOvd0jXEE ▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com 

In this episode of Korea Deconstructed, I’m joined by four university students: young people who voted, watched, and waited as South Korea held its most recent presidential election and elected Lee Jae-myung. We discuss what the election felt like to them. What it felt like to cast a vote. What they saw among their friends. And what was never said. We’ll explore the hopes and contradictions of a generation caught between economic uncertainty, cultural shifts, and a political system that doesn’t always seem built for them. Korea Deconstructed #105 Big thank you to these wonderful people: Yunseo (https://www.instagram.com/y_jeon_s/) Jennie (https://www.instagram.com/isojeong512/) Andrew (https://www.instagram.com/andrew__ko/) Ray 한종철 (https://www.instagram.com/the_story_from_you/) David A. Tizzard has a PhD in Korean Studies and lectures at Seoul Women's University and Hanyang University. He writes a weekly column in the Korea Times, is a social-cultural commentator, and a musician who has lived in Korea for nearly two decades. He can be reached at datizzard@swu.ac.kr. Watch this video next: https://youtu.be/vIbpLfWJoZM Subscribe to the channel: @DavidTizzard/videos Thanks to Patreon members: Hee Ji Jacobs, Bhavya, Roxanne Murrell Join Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/user?u=62047873 Discussion Outline 0:00 What did election day feel like? 8:15 Analyzing the candidates 15:40 Can you talk about politics in Korea? 23:50 What matters to you in politics? 27:15 Gender and military service 32:00 Japan, America, China, and North Korea 43:35 Produce (Politics) 101 46:40 Young people's politics 57:35 Kwon Young-guk 1:05:40 The future of Korea 1:18:30 Message to the new president 1:21:55 Recommendations Music by Jocelyn Clark Connect with us: ▶ Get in touch: datizzard@swu.ac.kr ▶ David's Insta: @datizzard ▶ KD Insta: @koreadeconstructed Questions or Topic Suggestions? Write in the Comments Below! #KoreaDeconstructed #korea #koreanculture #southkorea Listen to Korea Deconstructed ▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/kr/podcast/korea-deconstructed/id1587269128 ▶Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5zdXkG0aAAHnDwOvd0jXEE ▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com

A recent viral YouTube video claimed that Korea would soon be extinct. The country transformed negatively by one of the world's lowest birthrates. Change, it suggested, was too late. Four young adults come together to discuss the future of Korea, assessing its birthrate issues, education, culture of perfection, and the deep spiritual crisis that seems to have gripped the nation. Is Korea really over? Not necessarily... We hear from 4 young people all living here: a young Korean man interested in Jungian psychology, a woman balancing study and modeling, an ethnic Korean from Uzbekistan (Koryosaram), and someone just embarking on their college life.  Big thank you to these wonderful people: Celine (@celinesoyoon) Marina (@marina_tens) Susan Ray 한종철 Watch the original video from @Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell https://youtu.be/Ufmu1WD2TSk?si=0RuYZzEe5cr4pQ7p David A. Tizzard has a PhD in Korean Studies and lectures at Seoul Women's University and Hanyang University. He writes a weekly column in the Korea Times, is a social-cultural commentator, and a musician who has lived in Korea for nearly two decades. He can be reached at datizzard@swu.ac.kr. Watch this video next: https://youtu.be/QJ66Ew2FsOI?si=bSVFz590fd1xQPsM Subscribe to the channel: @DavidTizzard/videos Thanks to Patreon members: Hee Ji Jacobs, Bhavya, Roxanne Murrell Support Korea Deconstructed: https://www.patreon.com/c/user?u=62047873 Discussion Outline 0:00 Reactions to the video 9:43 A spiritual crisis 16:50 Gender conversations 23:40 The popularity of Korean grief 34:20 Generation gaps and the elderly 43:20 Korean education 51:55 Do young Korean people want children? 1:04:10 Is the future bright? 1:20:55 Recommendations Music by Jocelyn Clark and Radical Gary Connect with us: ▶ Get in touch: datizzard@swu.ac.kr ▶ David's Insta: @datizzard ▶ KD Insta: @koreadeconstructed Questions or Topic Suggestions? Write in the Comments! #KoreaDeconstructed #korea #koreanculture #kurzgesagt #southkorea Listen to Korea Deconstructed ▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/kr/podcast/korea-deconstructed/id1587269128 ▶Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5zdXkG0aAAHnDwOvd0jXEE ▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com 

Kornel Chang on U.S. Power, Korean Resistance, and the Birth of Division What if Korea’s true revolution was never allowed to happen? In this episode, I talk with historian Kornel Chang, author of A Fractured Liberation, to explore a moment in Korean history that most people never learn about. A moment when ordinary Koreans believed they were on the brink of something new. In 1945 Japanese colonial rule had ended and, across the peninsula, people were filled with hope. Workers seized factories, farmers reclaimed land, and women demanded rights. It was Korea’s “Asian Spring”...an explosion of grassroots energy and possibility. But it didn’t last.  Instead of freedom, Koreans faced a new occupying force: the U.S. military government in the South. Kornel walks us through how the American-led administration, fearful of leftist movements and obsessed with anti-communism, sidelined local efforts toward democracy, reinstalled collaborators from the colonial regime, and helped lay the groundwork for division, war, and decades of authoritarian rule. This is a story about who gets to decide the future when the dust of war settles. And it's more important than ever.    Buy A Fractured Liberation: https://www.hup.harvard.edu/books/9780674258433 Kornel Chang is the author of Pacific Connections: The Making of the U.S.-Canadian Borderlands, winner of the Association for Asian American Studies Book Prize in History. He is Associate Professor of History and American Studies and Chair of the History Department at Rutgers University–Newark.   About David A. Tizzard  David A. Tizzard has a PhD in Korean Studies and lectures at Seoul Women's University and Hanyang University. He writes a weekly column in the Korea Times, is a social-cultural commentator, and a musician who has lived in Korea for nearly two decades. He can be reached at datizzard@swu.ac.kr. Watch this video next: https://youtu.be/QJ66Ew2FsOI?si=bSVFz590fd1xQPsM Subscribe to the channel: @DavidTizzard/videos Thanks to Patreon members: Hee Ji Jacobs, Bhavya, Roxanne Murrell Join Patreon: Support Korea Deconstructed: https://www.patreon.com/c/user?u=62047873   Discussion Outline   0:00 From Pyongyang to New York 9:49 The Paths Not Taken 27:48 Why Was Korea Divided? 41:36 Who Could Lead Korea? 52:42 Collaboration with the Japanese 1:04:35 The Lived Experiences of 1945-1948 1:17:14 Using Literature to Centre Ordinary Koreans 1:26:23 On Korean Studies and its Factions 1:37:00 Recommendations   Music by Jocelyn Clark Connect with us: ▶ Get in touch: datizzard@swu.ac.kr ▶ David's Insta: @datizzard ▶ KD Insta: @koreadeconstructed Questions or Topic Suggestions? Write in the Comments Below! #KoreaDeconstructed #korea #koreanhistory #koreanculture   Listen to Korea Deconstructed  ▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/kr/podcast/korea-deconstructed/id1587269128 ▶Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5zdXkG0aAAHnDwOvd0jXEE ▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com 

From visas to values: a positive, practical conversation about living in Korea Kim Ninja joins Korea Deconstructed to talk about building an authentic life in Korea. Born in Germany to Vietnamese parents, Kim made the jump to Korea and now helps thousands of expats and digital nomads adapt culturally, practically, and legally. Through cartoons, articles, and community building, he offers a refreshing, optimistic take on life abroad — steering away from sensationalism. In this conversation, Kim shares practical advice on visas, adapting to Korean norms, and how to find real beauty in your experiences.  Follow Kim Ninja Instagram: @iamkimninja LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/iamkimninja/ Website: iamkimninja.com David A. Tizzard has a PhD in Korean Studies and lectures at Seoul Women's University and Hanyang University. He writes a weekly column in the Korea Times, is a social-cultural commentator, and a musician who has lived in Korea for nearly two decades. He can be reached at datizzard@swu.ac.kr. Watch this video next: https://youtu.be/QJ66Ew2FsOI?si=bSVFz590fd1xQPsM Subscribe to the channel: @DavidTizzard/videos Thanks to Patreon members: Hee Ji Jacobs, Bhavya, Roxanne Murrell Join Patreon: Support Korea Deconstructed: https://www.patreon.com/c/user?u=62047873   Discussion Outline  0:00 – Why Choose Korea? (Reasons to live in Korea) 2:45 – K-pop Matters for Asian People (Cultural significance of K-pop) 6:15 – Translating Eastern and Western Culture (Bridging cultural gaps) 10:40 – Living in Korea (Adapting to life in Korea) 25:00 – Avoiding The Negativity of Korea (Focus on positivity in expat life) 45:18 – Korea and Vietnamese Relations and Culture (Exploring the ties between Vietnam and Korea) 55:55 – The Visa Process in Korea (Step-by-step guide to expat visas) 1:04:50 – What Korea Can Improve for Digital Nomads (Suggestions for digital nomads in Korea) 1:10:00 – Final Thoughts (Kim Ninja’s advice for future expats)   Music by Jocelyn Clark:  Connect with us: ▶ Get in touch: datizzard@swu.ac.kr ▶ David's Insta: @datizzard ▶ KD Insta: @koreadeconstructed Questions or Topic Suggestions? Write in the Comments Below! #KoreaDeconstructed #KimNinja #LifeInKorea #LivingAbroad #ExpatLife #KoreanVisa #DigitalNomads #KoreanCulture Listen to Korea Deconstructed ▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/kr/podcast/korea-deconstructed/id1587269128 ▶Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5zdXkG0aAAHnDwOvd0jXEE ▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com 

I sat down with scholar, Nilesh Kumar to explore how Korean cinema has reflected shifting notions of gender, identity, and social structure across decades. From the angry men of the Korean New Wave to the defiant heroines of modern streaming hits, this conversation examines how bodies on screen become battlegrounds for power, memory, and desire. We begin by talking about how technology defines Park Chan-wook’s groundbreaking movie Oldboy, as well as its absence of allegory, signaling the start of post-modern Korean cinema. Then, we explore three main themes in Korean cinema across time: Masculinity, femininity, and queer representation. The first section sees us discuss Chilsu and Mansu (1988), Peppermint Candy (1999), A Single Spark (1995), Whale Hunting (1984), Burning (2018), and Parasite (2019). We then turn our attention to Hostess Cinema (1974-1982), Yeong-ja’s Heydays (1975), Right Then, Wrong Now (2015), Ballerina (2023), Han Gong Ju (2013), and My Sassy Girl (2001). Finally, we look at King and the Clown (2005), Moonlit Winter (2019), Mine (2021), The Handmaiden (2016) as well as the importance of Seo Dong-jin and Paul B. Preciado. I was particularly impressed by how Nilesh put each section in context, describing the importance of the socio-economic and political conditions of the time. Nilesh Kumar is from England, of Gujarati-Indian background, and is based in South Korea. He is a Film Curator and co-founder of the Seoul-based underground-movable cinema, STEAK FILM and the sexuality themed, STEAK CINEMA. His topics of writing have included contemporary queer South Korean culture, South Korean ‘hostess’ cinema (1974-82), and 6th Generation Chinese Cinema. Selected work: https://novasiagsis.com/author/nileshp/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nilesh5739/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shanti.love.90 David A. Tizzard has a PhD in Korean Studies and lectures at Seoul Women's University and Hanyang University. He writes a weekly column in the Korea Times, is a social-cultural commentator, and a musician who has lived in Korea for nearly two decades. He can be reached at datizzard@swu.ac.kr. Watch this video next: https://youtu.be/L9azQpXZ2Rc Subscribe to the channel: @DavidTizzard/videos Thanks to Patreon members: Hee Ji Jacobs, Bhavya, Roxanne Murrell Join Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/user?u=62047873 Discussion Outline 0:00 Oldboy and Allegory 18:40 Angry Men in Korean New Wave Cinema 44:42 Hostess Cinema and Female Representation 1:12:25 My Sassy Girl (엽기적인 그녀) 1:37:30 The Queers are Here 2:33:46 Recommendations Music by Jocelyn Clark: https://youtu.be/IWVqqXT3TfY?si=wq2mcIIarE6JTqFS Connect with us: ▶ Get in touch: datizzard@swu.ac.kr ▶ David's Insta: https://www.instagram.com/datizzard/ ▶ KD Insta: https://www.instagram.com/koreadeconstructed/ Questions or Topic Suggestions: Write in the Comments Below #koreadeconstructed #davidtizzard Korea Deconstructed by David Tizzard ▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/kr/podcast/korea-deconstructed/id1587269128 ▶Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5zdXkG0aAAHnDwOvd0jXEE ▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com 

보도지침 (Media Guidelines) is a satirical work that critiques the media landscape and the influence of government or corporate power on Korean journalism in the 1980s. It explores themes such as censorship, the manipulation of public opinion, and the ethical dilemmas faced by journalists. The play is known for its sharp wit and critical perspective, often using humor and irony to highlight the challenges and compromises that media professionals may face.  More and more young Koreans are bringing this play to the stage—not as a history lesson, but as a statement about their own reality. So, I spoke with four university students who recently performed 보도지침. They shared why this play matters, how it connects to the present, and why art remains a powerful tool for democracy and social change.   If you care about free speech, activism, and the role of art in shaping society, this conversation is for you. Read more about it in Korean here: https://namu.wiki/w/보도지침(연극) Go Minjeong, Lee Seoyeon, Nam Sumin, and Park Hayeol are members of the Seoul Women's University theatre group. Their Insta page: https://www.instagram.com/swutheaterart/ David A. Tizzard has a PhD in Korean Studies and lectures at Seoul Women's University and Hanyang University. He writes a weekly column in the Korea Times, is a social-cultural commentator, and a musician who has lived in Korea for nearly two decades. He can be reached at datizzard@swu.ac.kr. Watch this video next: https://youtu.be/L9azQpXZ2Rc Subscribe to the channel: @DavidTizzard/videos Thanks to Patreon members: Hee Ji Jacobs, Bhavya, Roxanne Murrell Join Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/user?u=62047873   Discussion Outline  0:00 Introduction 3:00 보도지침 (The Play) 9:30 The Parents' Generation 15:00 Reactions to the Play 26:30 Communism and North Korea 33:00 The Importance of Theatre 42:14 Reflections on Korean History 49:25 Recommendations   Connect with us:  ▶ Get in touch: datizzard@swu.ac.kr ▶ David's Insta: https://www.instagram.com/datizzard/ ▶ KD Insta: https://www.instagram.com/koreadeconstructed/ ▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/kr/podcast/korea-deconstructed/id1587269128 ▶Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5zdXkG0aAAHnDwOvd0jXEE ▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com 

A few years ago, Blair's grandmother gave him a present. Approximately 300 photographs his grandfather had taken in Korea nearly 70 years ago. These beautifully preserved color photos not only revealed a country and its people emerging from war and beginning to rebuild, it also showed Blair members of his family. It showed him where he was from, and, therefore, where he was going. He has digitized these photos and made them into an archive. This has since grown to feature a wide range of photos and videos expertly organized to allow visitors to discover Korea as it once was and, perhaps, also help some people understand where they came from. Korean Image Archive: https://www.koreanimage.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/koreanimage Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/koreanimage Discussion 0:00 My Grandparents in 1950s Korea 9:45 300 color photos of old Korea 27:40 Creating an archive 34:40 Mixed race families in Korean history 54:10 American soldiers and camptown Korean women 1:05:35 Recommendations David A. Tizzard has a PhD in Korean Studies and lectures at Seoul Women's University and Hanyang University. He writes a weekly column in the Korea Times, is a social-cultural commentator, and a musician who has lived in Korea for nearly two decades. He can be reached at datizzard@swu.ac.kr. Watch this video next: https://youtu.be/L9azQpXZ2Rc Subscribe to the channel: @DavidTizzard/videos Thanks to Patreon members: Hee Ji Jacobs, Bhavya, Roxanne Murrell Join Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/user?u=62047873 Connect with us: ▶ Get in touch: datizzard@swu.ac.kr ▶ David's Insta: https://www.instagram.com/datizzard/ ▶ KD Insta: https://www.instagram.com/koreadeconstructed/ ▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/kr/podcast/korea-deconstructed/id1587269128 ▶Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5zdXkG0aAAHnDwOvd0jXEE ▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com 

David A. Tizzard has a PhD in Korean Studies and lectures at Seoul Women's University and Hanyang University. He writes a weekly column in the Korea Times, is a social-cultural commentator, and a musician who has lived in Korea for nearly two decades. He can be reached at datizzard@swu.ac.kr. Jack Greenberg works as an independent consultant, researcher, and freelance writer. His current focus is on heritage and conservation issues, historical memory debates, truth-seeking and reconciliation, and civilian massacres of the Korean War.    Connect with Jack Substack: https://ggachi.substack.com/ Twitter: https://x.com/jackwgreenberg BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/jackwgreenberg.bsky.social Insta: https://www.instagram.com/jackwgreenberg/   Jack's Work  False Squid Game Links: https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/2025/02/113_390188.html Brothers Home Adoption Scandal: https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/2025/02/113_392647.html Togani Review: https://chajournal.blog/2023/05/29/togani/ Watch this video next: https://youtu.be/L9azQpXZ2Rc Subscribe to the channel: @DavidTizzard/videos Thanks to Patreon members: Hee Ji Jacobs, Bhavya, Roxanne Murrell Join Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/user?u=62047873   Discussion Outline 0:00 Shamanism 15:30 Shamanism and Politics 21:50 The Minjung Movement 36:15 North Korean Sympathy and the Korean Left 43:30 The Protests of 2025 53:20 Group Confinement Facilities: 형제복지원 1:01:25 The Truth and Reconciliation Commission 1:09:45 Japanese Collaboration (친일파) 1:20:25 Civilian Massacres in Korea 1:42:00 American Military Comfort Women 1:50:50 Finding Courage   Connect with us: ▶ Get in touch: datizzard@swu.ac.kr ▶ David's Insta: https://www.instagram.com/datizzard/ ▶ KD Insta: https://www.instagram.com/koreadeconstructed/   Korea Deconstructed by David Tizzard ▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/kr/podcast/korea-deconstructed/id1587269128 ▶Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5zdXkG0aAAHnDwOvd0jXEE ▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com