• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.107-116
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• 2020

This paper aims to explore the vocabulary difference between South and North Korean English textbooks as a first step toward a unified vocabulary list. To this end, both South and North Korean English textbooks in 2000s and 2010s are digitized into a corpus of text files, and a vocabulary list is constructed based on the corpus with reference to its concordances for the vocabulary use and contexts using AntConc 3.5.7. The vocabulary list of North Korean English textbooks are compared and found in their differences of quantity and quality of the English vocabulary in English education. Both quantitative and qualitative differences are found in between South and North Korean English textbook corpus. Both South and North aim that students learn about 3,000 words throughout the English education. North Korean English textbook contains more special academic vocabulary while South Korean English textbook is constrained by a strict vocabulary control which does not allow such a flexibility. Differences of vocabulary and their use are caused by the capitalistic market economy of South and the socialists' planned economy of North. Differences are also attributed to the religious words and grammatical vocabulary appearance.

• Cross-Cultural Studies
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• v.48
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• pp.1-30
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• 2017

The purpose of this study is to review two books on the history of Korean literature written in Japanese, taking special interest in ancient Korean literature, examining transcultural patterns between the history of North and South Korean literature and that of Japanese literature, and thereby identifying perceptions and description patterns of the history of Korean literature from the perspective of comparative literature. This study analyzes two books with the same title The History of Joseon Literature written in Japanese by Kim Dongwook and Byeon Jaesoo. The two books are not translations of Korean books but were written in Japanese for Japanese and ethnic Korean readers in Japan. The History of Joseon Literature (1974) by Kim Dongwook mainly compares Joseon literature with Japanese literature. The History of Joseon Literature (1985) by Byeon Jaesoo, an ethnic North Korean in Japan, was written from socialistic perspectives. The two books have different standards for evaluating value of the history of Joseon literature and different perceptions about it. Due to the division between North and South Korea, the history of literature is unfolding in different ways in the two Koreas, and the two books reflect such differences. However, they have several common features. For example, they highly regard the value of literature written in Chinese characters and originality of hangga (a folk song of Silla), Hangeul (the Korean alphabet), and pansori (a form of Korean folk music in which a singer accompanied by a supportive drummer sings and chants an epic story). In addition, they both demonstrated that literature written in Hangeul and that written in Chinese characters interacted with each other as the same Korean literature. When the two books were written, the history of Korean literature had been considered a subunit of the history of East Asian or Chinese literature. However, as this study found, Kim and Byeon wrote the two books from a perspective of departing from this view based on nationalism, re-establishing the value of Korean literature, promoting Japanese people's understanding of the high quality of Korean literature, and imbuing ethnic Koreans in Japan with nationalistic pride.

• Korean Security Journal
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• no.28
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• pp.153-179
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• 2011

Korea has been a victim of State supporting terrorism by North Korea even before international society realize the terrorism threats because of 9.11 in US. However, state supporting terrorism against South Korea by North Korea went along with East/West Cold War System by US and the Soviet Union. It is because socialism that Kim Il-sung who established a separate government in North Korea with the political, economic, social and military support of the Soviet Union selected as his political ideology justifies terrorism as the tool to complete the proletariat revolution. North Korea's state supporting terrorism is being operated systematically and efficiently by military of North Korea. It gives big worries to international society not only by performing terrorism against Korea but also by dispatching terrorists and exporting terrorism strategies to the third world countries. In this situation, terrorism against Korea has met a new transition point at 9${\cdot}$11 in US. As South Korea is confronting North Korea and the war has not ended but suspended, the alliance between US and Korea is more important than anything else. Because of this Korea decided to support the anti-terrorism wars against Afghanistan and Iraq of US and other western countries and send military force there. The preface of the anti-terrorism war has begun as such. On October 7, 2001, US and UK started to attack Afghanistan and Taleban government in Afghanistan was dethroned on December 7, 2001. US and western countries started a war against Iraq on March 20, 2003. On April 9, 2003 Baghdad, the capital of Iraq fell, and Saddam Hussein al-Majid al-Awja government was expelled. During the process, the terrorism threat against South Korea has expanded to Arab terrorists and terrorism organizations as well as North Korea. Consequently, although Korean government, scholars and working level public servants made discussions and tried to seek countermeasures, the damages are extending. Accordingly, terrorism against Korean companies in overseas after 9${\cdot}$11 were analyzed focusing on Nation, Region, Victimology, and Weapons used for the attacks. Especially, the trend of terrorism against the Korean companies in overseas was discussed by classifying them chronologically such as initiation and termination of anti-terrorism wars against Afghanistan and Iraq, and from the execution of Iraqi President, Saddam Hussein al-Majid al-Awja to December 2010. Through this, possible terrorism incidents after the execution of Osama bin Laden, the leader of Al-Qaeda, on May 2, 2011 were projected and proposals were made for the countermeasures.

• Korea and Global Affairs
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.69-92
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• 2018

North Korea conducted a total of six nuclear tests from the 1st test of 2006 to September, 2017. North Korea developed an armed forces security strategy at the level of regime protection and defense to respond to U.S. hostile policy. However, it is certain that strategic goals of North Korea's nuclear test were to overcome a crisis in North Korea's regime through US-North Korea negotiation and complete nuclear armed forces for socialist unification on the Korean Peninsula. North Korea's continuous nuclear test is a direct factor in threatening peace on the Korean Peninsula and an indirect factor in security dynamics of Northeast Asia. The U.N. Security Council has enforced sanctions against North Korea through six resolutions against North Korea's reckless nuclear test for the past 10 years. However, Kim Jong-Un's regime is in a position to stick to simultaneous pursuit of nuclear and economic development in spite of anti-North sanction of international society including U.N. and U.S.A. It is understood that North Korea was stimulated to conduct intense nuclear test as U.N. and U.S.A's anti-North sanction was not effective on North Korea. Full-scale and local wars are expected as military options, one of anti-North sanctions of the Trump administration. The Trump administration has attempted diplomatic pressure strategy as a secondary boycott unlike previous administrations. Nevertheless, North Korea has stood against U.N. and U.S.A's anti-North sanction with brinkmanship tactics, announcing full-scale military confrontation against U.S. It is judged that North Korea will pursue simultaneous nuclear weapons and economic development in terms of regime survival. North Korea will have less strategic choices in that its regime may collapse because of realistic national strategy between U.S.A. and China.

• Analyses & Alternatives
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.115-162
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• 2022

The Rules of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), revised at the eighth Party Congress in 2021, reflect the Kim Jong Un regime's changes in strategic lines and ideological justifications on North Korea's socialism and communism, and its recent stances against the external environment. Moreover, they contain critical changes in the party's organizational system encompassing the central and the provinces. This study explores the organizational changes of the "monolithic guidance system of the party core" stipulated by the new party rules in January 2021, based on the analysis of the entire nine revised rules of the WPK since 1945. In the 2021 Party Congress, the Kim Jong Un regime, which officially came to power after the fourth Party Conference in 2012, has institutionalized the monolithic guidance system centered on the party core, or the head of state, Kim Jong Un. The newly set leadership and execution system, which reorganized party, government, and military organizational structure and accompanied the relevant personnel changes, was derived from the attempts for reinstating the Kim Jong Un regime as a more normalized party-state structure before its 10th year in power in April 2022. The "monolithic leadership system of the party core" established a system of "organizational leadership" through the organization of the Central Committee, directed by the Party Head, or General Secretary. The institutionalization of the new system resulted from the ten-year development of the revival of the party-state structure, which compromised the status of the military and reconfirmed the party's control of the military. This study explains the new system from the perspectives of both institutionalization and top-down unity, shedding light on the new party-military-government relations of the Kim Jong Un regime. The analysis contributes to a better understanding and forecasting of the Kim Jong Un regime's governance, which currently strengthens the monolithic leadership system as a crisis management system in the face of the "triple hardships" of sanctions, Covid and disaster.