The Korea File

On episode 110 hosts Andre Goulet and Gennie Pimentel welcome Shanna Tan , translator of the smash hit book WELCOME TO THE HYUNAM-DONG BOOKSHOP by Hwang Bo-reum . In this conversation Shanna explains why a slice of life novel about a high-flying career woman in Seoul who leaves a life of burnout and marital misery to open a book shop outside of the city has become a massive international success i...

On episode 109 Dr. Theresa Hyun , a York University professor and the author of “ Writing Women in Korea: Translation and Feminism in the Colonial Period ”, joins hosts Andre Goule t and Gennie Pimentel to talk about children’s literature, fairy tales and the role of mothers in the North Korean revolution. Plus: a surprising data set on the number of immigrant and multiethnic children who live out...

On episode 108 Seoul National University master's student An HaKyeng's joins hosts Andre Goulet in Montreal and Gennie Pimentel in Toronto for a conversation unpacking her research on the immigration experience for new arrivals, the challenges migrant workers face in South Korea, ethnonationalism, fertility rates, government policy and more. Works cited in this episode: Immigration in Japan and So...

On episode 107 Cambridge PhD candidate Alexandra Leonzini joins Andre Goulet and co-host Gennie Pimentel for a conversation exploring how music builds soft power and promotes national prestige, the DPRK opera's greatest hits, cultural diplomacy and the Cold War, how tourists serve as intermediaries in North Korea’s noraebang branding efforts and more. Watch 'Where Are You, General?' at https://www...

On ep106 Korea University PhD candidate Elizabeth Campbell joins host Andre Goulet and associate producer Gennie Pimentel for a conversation exploring the role of women in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's revolutionary past and present, the legacy of anti-Japanese guerrilla and 1st Kim Il-sung spouse Kim Jong-suk, the influence of 1972 cult classic film 'Flower Girl' on DPRK cinema, reg...

On episode 105 Toronto podcasters Erin Hynes and Kattie Laur, host and producer of the ethical travel show 'Alpaca My Bags', sit down with Montreal astronomer (and recent Busan/Jeju tourist) Trevor Kjorlien for a round-table conversation on ethical travel, the end of the 'Golden Age' of flying and how to approach international travel in an era of climate crisis with TKF host Andre Goulet and new a...

Widely regarded as the accepted authority on the English language, the Oxford English Dictionary is the unsurpassed guide of its meaning, history, and pronunciation featuring more than 600,000 words and spanning over 1000 years. In this conversation UK scholar Cerise Louisa Andrews joins host Andre Goulet to discuss the recent influx of Korean-origin words into English, the influence of the Hallyu...

On a new episode scholar Mikayla Neyens joins host Andre Goulet to discuss the cultural events that have inspired and defined contemporary feminism in South Korea, exploring the new face of radical activism confronting the threats of Deepfake porn, 'Molka' and the 'Nth Room' cyber sex ring, and explaining how its rising political influence nearly defeated a misogynist political establishment in th...

Michael Breen, CEO of Seoul-based PR firm Insight Communications Consultants and author of the outstanding 2017 book ‘The New Koreans: The Story of a Nation', joins host Andre Goulet to preview next week's Presidential Election and explore the unique ideological history and framework behind South Korean electoral politics. For more on Michael's most recent book see https://www.goodreads.com/en/boo...

Seoulbox has been bringing a taste of Korea through snacks, magazines, and K-pop merch to subscribers around the world since 2019 with a focus on authenticity and the darker side of Korean culture that has cultivated an enthusiastic clientele. In this conversation Suji Sohn joins host Andre Goulet to describe her journey from War Studies major at King’s College London, where she participated in th...

On a celebratory 100th episode host Andre Goulet welcomes Harbinger Media Network podcast pals Paris Marx of leftist tech worldview critique show Tech Won't Save Us and Evan MacDonald of socialist film review show Kino Lefter to explore the historical parallels and context of Squid Game, examine the show's cultural capitalist critique, regret impulsive investments in crypto currency and try to exp...

On the 99th episode of The Korea File podcast diplomatic studies scholar Jeffrey Robertson joins host Andre Goulet to argue that foreign policy options previously considered extreme – like abandoning the US alliance, acceding to China’s dominance and even of securing a nuclear weapons capacity – are entering strategic debate in South Korea. Follow Robertson on Twitter @Junotane and read his piece...

Armed with theory set out in the "Korean Revolution Manifesto" and practical experience drawn from the March 1st Independence Movement, in 1925 worker and citizen organizations including the Daegu League of Truth and Fraternity, the Changwon Black Friend League and the Jeju Island Mutual Aid group began to organize on the peninsula. In the summer of 1929 Anarchists formed an administration represe...

What is alternative education in Korea? To answer this question, Contemporary Rebellions welcomes Tae Wook Ha, an activist and professor of Alternative Education at Asia Life University in the city of Daejeon and Minyeong Kim, a graduate of one of the first wave of accredited Korean alternative high schools and a current staff member at the NGO World Without War. In these conversations they discus...

On a very special Halloween episode of The Korea File hear a haunting and horrific conversation between guest Joe McPherson (The Wall Street Journal, The Korea Herald, National Geographic, Zen Kimchi) and host Andre Goulet as they explore his 'The Dark Side of Seoul' walking tour, podcast and comic book and share some seasonally terrifying tales of terror in the shadowy and wind-swept hallways of...

Since the end of the nineteenth century, Korea has faced waves of foreign domination, authoritarian regimes and divided development and, throughout these turbulent times, “queer” Koreans have been ignored, minimized and erased in historical narrative. But a new collection of academic writing is challenging this marginalization through critical analysis of non-normative sexuality and gender varianc...

In the charged political climate of '80s South Korea, university freshman Kim Hyun-sook finds refuge in the comfort of literature as the youngest member of a Banned Book Club, the title of the acclaimed 2019 graphic novel from Kim, co-author Ryan Estrada and artist Ko Hyung-ju. On episode 95 of The Korea File, Estrada joins host Andre Goulet to discuss censorship, sequential art and what Kim's pow...

How has K-pop evolved and changed over the last decade? Is right-wing political paranoia about Tiktok teens and BTS Army activism exaggerated? And is the so-called 'dark side' of the industry just a reflection of broader South Korean society? On episode 94 of The Korea File K-pop authority Dr. CedarBough Saeji educates host Andre Goulet on the history, impact and world-wide popularity of the count...

Introducing a special presentation of the March episode of Contemporary Rebellions: Yonsan. Never again everyone said. Yet in February, 2020 hired thugs attacked the Noryangjin Fish Market workers. The latest episode of the show explores how displacement and state sanctioned violence, as well as resistance to redevelopment and forced evictions, continue. The Contemporary Rebellions podcast is prod...

A powerful new memoir ‘Witnessing Gwangju’ was released this month to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Gwangju Democratic Uprising. The book’s author, former American Peace Corps volunteer Paul Courtright, was one of only a handful of foreign witnesses to this pivotal event in modern South Korean history. On episode 93 of The Korea File, he joins host Andre Goulet to explore how his simple...

On episode 92 sociologist Jacob Reidhead and host Andre Goulet discuss the origins of the Democratic Party’s unprecedented victory in April’s parliamentary elections and contrast South Korea’s patron-client political party system with Japan and Taiwan’s faction-based traditions. Plus: rumors, America’s failed media ecosystem and the life and 'death' of North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un. This...

On episode 91 of The Korea File visual sociologist, street photographer and Korea National University of the Arts cultural theory lecturer Michael Hurt joins host Andre Goulet to explore what the Moon Jae-in administration's COVID-19 management strategy tells us about how different styles of government engage with crisis. Plus: critiquing Confucian blaming and reflections on Seoul's new normal in...

On episode 90 of The Korea File it's a conversation on cults, conspiracies and the peninsula's very viral winter as host Andre Goulet welcomes freelance journalist, pirate, indie musician and media promoter Japhy Ryder. For more from World Pirate Radio go to https://www.wprpn.com/ Check out Peter Daley's appearances on WPRPN at https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/space-pirate-radio/episodes/2016-06...

On episode 89 of The Korea File: 'Campus Music' and martial law, the K-Pop precedent of the USFK's factory band system and some of the best music of an era. Join academic Matt Van Volkenburg (Gusts of Popular Feeling) and host Andre Goulet for an in-depth conversation on the music, personalities and history of 60s/70s Korean counter-culture.....plus: the not-so-secret history of President Park Chu...

On episode 88 of The Korea File podcast, cultural and culinary anthropologist Jennifer Flinn joins host Andre Goulet to explain how factors like the decline in multi-generational family living, the increasing age when Koreans first get married and the globalization and urbanization of South Korea are altering traditional assumptions about gender and cooking in Korea. Plus: ghost tours, historical...