1 HIST 3601 10
Two Koreas: Identities, Division, and Reunification
Fall 2015
PHIL 329
M: 11:10-1:00
Professor Jisoo M. Kim
Office: Phillips 315
Telephone: 202-994-6761
Email: [email protected]
Office Hours: Mon. 2-4 pm and by appointment
Korean Peninsula
Course Description:
What is the political meaning of the 38th parallel to Koreans living in the South and the
North? How did it become such an impenetrable border when it was intended to be a
temporary line back in 1945? How did the border affect Koreans before and after the
Korean War? How did people cross the border before demilitarized zone (DMZ) was
created right after the Korean War? While Koreans have shared the same identity for
thousands of years, how did it diverge since 1945? If reunification were to occur, do you
think it would be possible for North Koreans to successfully integrate to the South
Korean society? This course is designed to offer a critical and interdisciplinary survey of
2 the “border” that divides the Koreas since 1945. We will use the border as a lens into
exploring three main themes: Korean identities, division, and reunification. We will treat
these themes not as mutually exclusive but constitutive entities. Thus, these three themes
will be reflected in the readings throughout the course. In addition, the concept of border
will be the prime into the larger political, economic, social, and cultural conditions that
enabled its metamorphosis. In particular, we will trace the transnational processes of
modernization, imperialism, colonization, the Cold War, decolonization, and
neoliberalism that have shaped and continue to shape Korean identity and culture. Our
interdisciplinary inquiry draws from history, literature, anthropology, film, media, and
performance studies.
How will this course help you learn?
The mission for you by the end of the course is to learn to appreciate modern Korean
history and be able to use relevant information to make better decisions that influence
today and tomorrow.
Learning Objectives:
1) “Basic literacy” in especially twentieth century Korean history. The ability to
think and write about issues of colonial legacy, national division, Korean War,
democracy, and revolution in a critical and compelling manner.
2) Have a deeper understanding of the national division of Korea in order to
convey how the South and the North each constructed their identity and how
their identity dramatically diverged from one another.
3) To be able to analyze a variety of Korean historical documents, including both
primary and secondary sources, theoretical texts, documentaries, and films by
using historiographical vocabulary by defining and questioning the standard
narrative.
4) To become curious and creative in not only asking critical questions but also
answering them.
5) To develop your oral, written, and digital communication skills by thinking
critically about Korean history, culture, and society.
6) To recognize how history connects not only to your life experiences but also to
the lives of others; to embrace diverse perspectives and exhibit compassion
and respect inside and outside the classroom.
7) To integrate skills and knowledge from various disciplines. (ex. international
affairs, political science, religion, literature, art history, business, economics,
biology etc.)
8) To join the scholarly community of historians by evaluating and debating the
ideas and interpretations of others in comparison to your own.
3 How will you succeed in this course?
Attend. It is significant to be present at all the components of the class and actively
participate. I understand you are busy and committed students who have many demands
on your time. Missing your group meetings either inside or outside of class means not
being present for your peers. Only a hospitalization, contagious illness with a doctor’s
note, death in your family or a religious holiday justifies an excused absence.
Participate (both inside and outside of class). You are expected to actively participate in
the course based upon your own goals for success in this course. There are students from
many different backgrounds and knowledge in this class. Many activities within lecture
and discussion rely on group work so be cognizant of their perspectives and their value
throughout the semester. On the same track, you should be prepared for these activities in
order to contribute in your own right. I expect you to actively participate in activities such
as small group discussions and debates.
Communicate. This course is designed to meet the needs of every end of the spectrum,
from versed to those who are novices. It can be very challenging to speak up and ask
questions during class but please do as you are not alone. I am also willing to field
questions before and after class, on Blackboard, during review sessions, during office
hours or via email. If you start this habit early in the semester, then I will be able to
identify what challenges you are having and help you succeed in this course.
Expectations. 1) What I expect of you:
i) Pay attention to all handouts for directions and other materials given to you (or
posted on Blackboard). We have only a few hours to examine important changes and
developments in Korea; therefore, I don't want to spend much time reading things to you
that you can read on your own. Please pay close attention to my handouts that will often
contain important information about assignments, deadlines, etc.
ii) A close reading of all reading assignments. I have attempted to compile a reading
list that is not excessively long. However, it is important that you budget your time and
energy so as to be able to read the assigned materials. You are not expected to memorize
every fact, figure, chart and graph in the readings. However, you should be able to
summarize the main points and salient arguments of each reading.
iii) Participation in class discussions. One of the best ways to explore the themes and
issues of this course is to talk about them. You are expected to contribute to class
discussions with a combination of your understanding of the assigned readings and your
own ideas and experiences. Please also come to class with a willingness to frequently ask
questions, vigorously air opinions, and respectfully consider opinions that differ from
your own.
iv) Have fun. Believe it or not, learning about and discussing the dynamics that have
transformed Korea over the 20th century can be exciting.
2) What I don't expect of you:
i) An encyclopedic knowledge of all things Korean. We are all students. The important
thing is not how much (or how little) we know, but what we do with what we know.
4 Don't let what you perceive to be a lack of knowledge or experience vis-à-vis your
colleagues intimidate you into remaining silent. Such an outcome is not only detrimental
to your grade but, more importantly, to your education.
ii) A perfectly formed, flawlessly logical contribution to class discussions. Just because
you haven't developed an idea into a fully formed thesis doesn't mean it can’t contribute
to discussion.
3) What you can expect of me:
i) A close reading of all assigned materials.
ii) An even closer examination of your written assignments.
iii) The return of all submitted assignments with constructive suggestions for
improvement (if necessary).
iv) Availability for consultation outside of class.
v) Direction but not domination of class discussions.
How will you and I evaluate your progress?
1. Journal
2. Class warm ups
3. Discussion project
4. Oral presentation
5. Digital poster
6. Final research paper
7. Scavenger’s hunt
15%
20%
10%
10%
10%
30%
5%
Help yourself learn-“Journal” (100 points/15%): Use the Blackboard journal to keep
track of thoughts you have as you read, ideas that arise as a result of class activities and
discussions, and reflections you are asked to write as part of homework assignments.
Date your entries. You should make entries at least once a week, but certainly every time
you have a pertinent thought that you want to remember, an insight that grows out of
your reading for class as well as research paper, or an observation you make based on
assignments and activities, whether in or out of class. This should not be something you
devote a significant amount of time at the end of the semester. I will give you narrative
feedback and a simple check-plus, check or check-minus on how your journal is
progressing so far. The journal will be graded based on the cumulatively on your
progress through the semester. Class warm ups (reading questions) (200 points/20%):
1) Process assessment (outside of class): individual answer (100 points/10%)
Based on the reading materials assigned, you will be asked to write a one-page reading
reflection and submit it to Blackboard discussion before the class time (Sunday 11pm).
Your reading reflection should be critical analysis of author’s main points/evidence. This
exercise will give an opportunity to analyze scholarly writings. I will provide brief
written feedback on these responses and score them as check-minus, check, or checkplus; the reading reflections will collectively count for a small percentage of the final
5 course grade. Full credit will be earned for completing these questions on time. Because
they are designed to prepare you for class, no credit is earned if you do not post it by the
deadline without urgent excuse.
2) Product assessment (inside class): group answer (100 points/10%)
Almost every beginning of the class for about 15 minutes, you will gather into groups and
compare your answer. As a group, you will then rearticulate the main points of the
readings and submit it to Blackboard discussion in class.
Discussion project (100 points/10%): For this project, you will locate, analyze, and lead
your classmates in a 20-minute discussion of the theme you choose directly relevant to
the course. I expect you to do some research by finding scholarly articles and web-based
resources. Based on the information gathered, prepare your oral presentation that reflects
your critical thinking processes as you investigate “your” question. Sum up how your
ideas evolved during your process of research and analysis. You should find primary
sources (historical document, photograph, documentary, film, or first person interview)
and distribute to your classmates; consult with me at least once during the planning
process; prepare 3-5 really good discussion questions for the class; develop your own
interpretation to explain to the class in a 5-minute wrap-up to the discussion; write 4-5
page analytical paper of the topic based on the readings and create an annotated
bibliography to hand it.
Oral presentation (100 points/10%): Prepare a ten-minute oral presentation on the
following project. You and I will grade according to the rubric provided on Blackboard.
Conference Topic-“The Koreas: Identities, Division, and Reunification” By September
21, you will select a theme for your research topic from one of the following: identities,
national division, and reunification. These themes do not have to be exclusive but
constitutive of one another. Based on your paper topic, you will be placed in a panel with
two or three other students. As a group, you will draft your panel’s title and abstract as
well as your paper abstract (due November 16). These abstracts will be posted on
Blackboard and be available for your classmates about two weeks prior to the conference
date. On the day of the conference, you will prepare a ten-minute presentation based on
your research. It is encouraged to use your PowerPoint slides or images when giving the
presentation. I will be the moderator for each panel. I will be inviting an audience who
could possibly be the unification attaché from the Korean Embassy, correspondents, or
faculty members.
Digital poster (100 points/10%): Your conference panel has to create a digital poster that
adequately reflects the theme of the panel. This digital poster will be used when inviting
an audience to announce the topic of each panel. Therefore, I expect your group to use
your imagination and be as creative as possible to make it not only appealing but also
meaningful in terms of content. Due November 23.
Final research paper (200 points/30%):
6 Your final paper is to write a 15-page research paper on Korean history based on a topic
of your choice (due Dec. 11, Friday). The quality of your paper will be seriously taken
into consideration. You will not receive a good grade if your paper does not have clear
argument supported by evidence. You need to clearly demonstrate your own perspective
and interpretation of the topic based on your thorough research. Please refer to the
guideline for writing this research paper.
Scavenger’s hunt (50 points, 5%): You simply earn additional points by doing the
following things throughout the semester: filling out the pre-course questionnaire (2 p.),
coming to office hours (earn 4 p. per visit/ 8 p. total), two reflections of your learning due
on October 5 and November 9 (10 p. each), early-course assessment on October 12 (10
p.) and end-of-course evaluation (10 p.). You will not have any chance to make up for
these if you miss it. For example, you will not receive 2 points if you submit the precourse questionnaire during the second week.
Required Texts:
*** It is mandatory that you bring your reading materials to each class and be
ready to refer to them whenever possible.
*** The reading assignment may be modified. Advance notice will be sent.
In general, we will read 100-150 pages per week, though some weeks there may be more,
others less. I have provided a basic outline in the schedule below. The books with double
asterisks have been ordered through the GWU bookstore, though they are also available
through Amazon and other retailers. The journal articles may generally be found on
ArticlesPlus, available on the Gelman homepage. Except for the book chapters uploaded
on Blackboard, the books and articles assigned are your responsibility to find. If you have
any questions, please do not hesitate to ask!
**Bruce Cummings, Korea’s Place in the Sun: A Modern History (W.W. Norton;
Updated edition, 2005)
**Syngman Rhee, tr. by Han-Kyo Kim, The Spirit of Independence: A Primer for Korean
Modernization and Reform (University of Hawaii Press, 2001)
**Kim Il Sung, The Selected Works: Kim Il Sung (Createspace Ind. Publishing Platform,
2011).
**Suk-Young Kim, DMZ Crossing: Performing Emotional Citizenship along the Border
(Columbia University Press, 2014)
**Suk-young, Kim, Illusive Utopia: Theater, Film, and Everyday Performance in North
Korea (University of Michigan Press, 2010)
7 **Kim Yong and Suk-young Kim, Long Road Home: Testimony of a North Korean
Camp Survivor (Columbia University Press, 2009).
**Richard Grinker, Korea and its Futures: Unification and the Unfinished War (Palgrave
Macmillan, 2000)
**Sonia Ryang and John Lie eds., Diaspora without Homeland (University of California
Press, 2009)
Recommended:
Charles Armstrong, The Koreas (New York: Routledge, 2007).
Roland Bleiker, Divided Korea: Toward a Culture of Reconciliation (University of
Minnesota Press, 2005)
Weekly Topics (Some reading materials will be added later.)
Week 1 (8/31): Introduction
No readings. I expect you to have completed the pre-course questionnaire.
Week 2 (9/7): One Unified Korea Pre-1945
NO CLASS (Labor Day)
Recommended:
Bruce Cummings, Korea’s Place in the Sun, Ch. 1-3
Week 3 (9/14): Ideology in the Koreas
Syngman Rhee, The Spirit of Independence, Ch. 10-21 & 52 (short chapters)
Kim Il Sung, The Selected Works, Ch. 1 & 2
Week 4 (9/21): The Birth of ROK and DPRK
Bruce Cummings, Korea’s Place in the Sun, Ch. 4
Charles Armstrong, “The Cultural Cold War in Korea, 1945-48,” Journal of Asian
Studies, vol. 62, no. 1 (2003): 71-99.
8 Tae Gyun Park, “What Happened Sixty Years Ago?: ROK-US Deep Distrust between
President Rhee and Eisenhower,” Journal of International and Area Studies 37 Vol. 21,
No. 1 (2014): 37-53. Week 5 (9/28): Crossing the Border
Suk-Young Kim, DMZ Crossing: Performing Emotional Citizenship along the Border
(Columbia University Press, 2014), Intro. & Ch. 1-3
Week 6 (10/5): Korean War and its Legacy
(De)Memorializing the Korean War: A Critical Intervention
https://cross-currents.berkeley.edu/e-journal/issue-14
Suzy Kim, Introduction
Suzy Kim, “Spectators of War in Pyongyang”
Seunghei Clara Hong, “Silenced in Memoriam”
Brendan Wright, “Political Violence and the Problematics of Localized Memory at
Civilian Massacre Sites”
Bruce Cummings, Epilogue
DVD: The Memory of Forgotten War (Blackboard)
Recommended:
Bruce Cummings, Korea’s Place in the Sun, Ch. 5
Week 7 (10/12): Korean War and its Legacy-Divided Families
Choong Soon Kim, “Attribute of “Asexuality” in Korean Kinship and Sundered Koreans
during the Korean War,” Journal of Comparative Family Studies, Vol. 20, No. 3 (1989):
309-325.
Richard Grinker, “Divided Families” in Korea and its Futures: Unification and the
Unfinished War (Palgrave Macmillan, 2000), 99-126.
Movie: Ode to My Father (국제시장)
Directed by Je Kyoun Youn
Recommended:
James Foley, Korea’s Divided Families: Fifty years of Separation (Routledge, 2009)
Week 8 (10/19): Multiculturalism in South Korea
Nam-Kook Kim, “Identity Crisis and Social Integration under Globalization in Korea,”
Korea Observer vol. 44, no. 1 (2013): 31-54.
Hyun Choe, “South Korean Society and Multicultural Citizenship,” Korea Journal vol.
47, no. 4 (2007): 123-146.
Hyun Mee Kim, “The State and Migrant Women: Diverging Hopes in the Making of
Multicultural Families in Contemporary Korea,” Korea Journal vol. 47, no. 4 (2007):
100-122.
Kyung-Koo Han, “The Archaeology of the Ethnically Homogeneous Nation-State and
Multiculturalism in Korea,” Korea Journal vol. 47, no. 4 (2007): 8-31.
Recommended:
Choong-soon Kim, Voices of Foreign Brides: The Roots and Development of
Multiculturalism in Korea (AltaMira Press, 2011).
Week 9 (10/26): Performing North Korea as the Utopian State I
Suk-young, Kim, Illusive Utopia: Theater, Film, and Everyday Performance in North
Korea (University of Michigan Press, 2010), Intro. & Ch. 1-3
(e-book available via Gelman Library)
Recommended:
Charles Armstrong, The Koreas, ch. 3
Week 10: (11/2): Performing North Korea as the Utopian State II
Suk-young, Kim, Illusive Utopia: Theater, Film, and Everyday Performance in North
Korea (University of Michigan Press, 2010), Ch. 4-5 & Conclusion
(e-book available via Gelman Library)
Week 11 (11/9): Human Rights in North Korea
Kim Yong and Suk-young Kim, Long Road Home: Testimony of a North Korean Camp
Survivor (Columbia University Press, 2009).
Recommended:
Chol-hwan Kang and Pierre Rigoulot, The Aquariums of Pyongyang: Ten Years in the
North Korean Gulag (Basic Books, 2005).
9 10 Week 12 (11/16): Between the Nations: Koreans in Japan
Dear Pyongyang (Written and directed by Yonghi Yang)
Sonia Ryang and John Lie eds., Diaspora without Homeland (University of California
Press, 2009), Intro., Ch. 1-3, 6 & 8
Recommended:
Charles Armstrong, The Koreas, ch. 4
Week 13 (11/23): Korea and its Futures: Unification and the Unfinished War I
Richard Grinker, Intro. & Ch. 1-4
Recommended:
Virginie Grzelczyk, “New approaches to North Korean politics after reunification: The
search for a common Korean identity,” Communist and Post-Communist Studies 47
(2014) 179-90.
Week 14: 12/3: Korea and its Futures: Unification and the Unfinished War I
Richard Grinker, Ch. 6-10
Week 15 (12/7): Conference Day
“Two Koreas: Identities, Division, and Reunification”
Syllabus Appendix
Policies and Resources
1. Unexcused late work and extensions
a. I will NOT accept late essays without a documented personal emergency. If this
occurs, you must contact me at the earliest possible date after the deadline has passed and
provide me with proper documentation. Only a hospitalization, contagious illness with a
doctor’s note, death in your family or a religious holiday justifies an excused absence.
11 b. If, in advance, you foresee a serious problem with meeting submitting your papers on
time, I will consider an extension. Otherwise, and barring a documented personal
emergency, I will deduct one letter grade for every day that is late. Any papers submitted
4 days or more after the deadline will earn a zero.
2. Writing Center (http://www.gwu.edu/~gwriter/): The GW Writing Center provides
individual support to students who need one-on-one help with their writing projects. If
you need assistance, schedule an appointment through their online system, and send your
paper (at least 24 hours in advance of your appointment) to [email protected]. Include
the name of your tutor, time of your session, and number you will be calling from at the
time of your appointment.
3. English for Academic Purposes: Students with non-English backgrounds who have the
ability to travel to GW’s Foggy Bottom campus can take advantage of GW’s EAP
(English for Academic Purposes) Writing Support Program. The program offers a free,
one-on-one tutoring to support any stage of the writing process. Tutors are trained to
provide focused support for non-native speakers. Visit the appointment website to make
an appointment.
4. Religious Holidays: You must notify me the first week of the semester of your
intention to be absent from class on your day(s) of religious observance. Together we will
arrange any necessary make-up provisions.
5. Academic Integrity: All submissions of written work MUST be entirely your own and
all sources must be properly cited. If you have any questions about this or other related
matters, consult the GWU Code of Academic Integrity
(http://www.gwu.edu/~ntegrity/code.html) or see me. Cheating, plagiarism, or other
violations of the Code will result in NO CREDIT for the assignment or test and may
result in failure for the course. Plagiarism will result in a failing grade for the paper and
may result in failing the course (or worse). Plagiarism is defined in the GW Code of
Academic Integrity as follows:
Plagiarism- intentionally representing the words, ideas, or sequence of ideas of another
as one’s own in any academic exercise; failure to attribute any of the following:
quotations, paraphrases, or borrowed information.
(http://cs.seas.gwu.edu/general/gwintegrity.html#_Toc420653052)
6. Disability Support Services (202-994-8250): Any student who may need an
accommodation based on the potential impact of a disability should contact the DSS
office by phone or in person at the Marvin Center, Suite 242, to establish eligibility and
to coordinate reasonable accommodations. For additional information, please visit
http://gwired.gwu.edu/dss/.
12 7. University Counseling Center (202-994-5300): The UCC offers 24/7 assistance and
referral to address students’ personal, social, career, and study skills problems. For more,
visit http://gwired.gwu.edu/counsel/CounselingService/AcademicSupportServices.
8. Security: In the case of an emergency, if at all possible, the class should shelter in
place. If the building that the class is in is affected, follow the evacuation procedures for
the building. After evacuation, seek shelter at a predetermined rendezvous location.