North Korean Nationalism: Reading the Paleolithic Text
Hyeong Woo Lee
North Korea, after over seven decades since establishment, continues to be poorly understood. The paucity of knowledge regarding the country is not only a matter of the lack of access to factual data; understanding of the country’s ideological tenets and its denizens’ values and beliefs remains superficial. The implications of this scantiness run deeper: failure to fully understand the cultural and historical frames of reference of North Korea as a state and people leads to stereotypes, misperceptions, and even contributes to confrontation. The purpose of this brief paper is to explore and gain a better grasp of North Korea’s sense of national identity through the lens of Paleolithic archaeology – a dimension largely overlooked in analyses of North Korea, at least in the West.
Related Publications
-
Taiwan in Tokyo’s 2022 Defense White Paper: Reconfiguring Security Imperatives?
This article was originally posted on the Japan Forum for Strategic Studies (JFSS) website, you can find the article here. A few days prior to the highly controversial visit […]
-
South Korea’s Foreign Policy in Changing Times: Reversing Course?
Abstract: The tragedy currently unfolding in Ukraine may be a symptom of new dynamics in global geopolitics. The changing balance of power epitomized by the rise of China and the […]
-
China’s Communist Party at 100: From Revolution to Rule
Introduction The founding of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in 1949 was a turning point in the history of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which celebrates its hundredth anniversary […]
-
Xi Jinping and the Administrative Hierarchy and Subdivisions in China
Summary China under Xi Jinping has witnessed systemic changes with emphasis on central control, urbanization and industrialization. Policies such as the National New-Type Urbanization Plan (2014–2020) have enhanced urbanization in […]