The Korea File

Why does Gangnam, and so much of Korea, feel artificial and improvised? How are urban apartment complexes like undemocratic military bases? And will Seoul end up another megacity playground for tourists and the super rich like London, New York or Tokyo? Independent linguist Robert Fouser, a former Seoul National University Department of Korean Language professor and the author of the new Korean-la...

In a break month for content, The Korea File is proud to present Singapore-based Shida Osman in conversation with TKF's Andre Goulet on 'The Podcast Show'. TPS show notes describe the conversation as follows: “Consistency, would be the key to a successful podcast”,says Andre Goulet, podcast host of The Korea File. The conversation unveils why he chose Korea, what happened to the punk rock band tha...

Traditional Korean homes have become a victim of recent waves of gentrification in Ikseon-dong and Bukchon. But as these old residential neighbourhoods become a haven for hipsters, the unique cultural footprint of an important aspect of Seoul’s history is being erased. On episode 86 of The Korea File, Ji-hoon Suk, a University of Michigan Ph. D. student in Asian History and a keen observer of cult...

Introducing Jeju Views, a biweekly snapshot of the global microcosm that is Jeju Island. Join host Ann Bush and guests in conversation as they discuss how to navigate the ever-evolving multicultural landscape of the South Korean island. On episode 1, performer Gaelan Whitney opens up about a recent production of the spoken word and comedy show 'Vajeju Nights' and how some Yemeni refugees in attend...

On episode 85 of The Korea File,‘Transactions’ journal General Editor Jon Dunbar joins host Andre Goulet to discuss Urban Exploration and Bong Joon-ho’s ‘The Host’, the Seoul Queer Culture Festival and the American Embassy’s rainbow Pride flag and the legacy and future of the Royal Asiatic Society-Korea Branch. Plus: highlights from this year’s edition of the journal including the North Korea/Guya...

.....how engagement with radical anti-imperialist politics create the intellectual space to better understand the personal struggle of defining Korean identity as Korean-Americans in the United States….. .....how a trio of teenagers convinced an 89 year-old former Alaska Senator to make a presidential run…. ....and how an insurgent, largely social media-driven campaign is bringing a radically anti...

The Royal Asiatic Society- Korea Branch has been enhancing an understanding of Korean arts, customs, history and social trends through lectures, cultural excursions and special publications since it's founding more than a century ago. In that time, the RASKB and it's unusual cohort of members (including missionaries, diplomats and other expatriates) have witnessed every aspect of Korea's contempor...

Despite the high hopes many were feeling in the lead up to second Trump-Kim meeting, the Summit was probably dead before it even began late last month at the colonial-era Metropole Hotel in downtown Hanoi. But who pulled the trigger? What was the poison pill? And where do the United States and North Korea need to go from here to guarantee a lasting peace? On this episode host Andre Goulet is joine...

In May 2015, on the 70th anniversary of Korea’s national division, thirty international women peacemakers from around the world walked with thousands of North and South Korean women to call for an end to the Korean War, reunification of families and the inclusion of women’s leadership in the peace process. Christine Ahn, the founder of Women Cross the DMZ, Women De-Militarize the Zone, The Korea P...

The American military is gradually leaving Yongsan, a major garrison located in the heart of Seoul. But how are the dynamics of military spatial reorganization playing out beyond the metropolis? In this conversation Bridget Martin of the University of California at Berkley joins host Andre Goulet to explore how South Korean landscapes are shaped by the country's unresolved conflict with North Kore...

With a unique cultural and geographical history going back centuries, the ‘Joseonjok’ are considered too different to be fully Chinese in China while simultaneously 'not good enough to fit in’ in South Korea. In this conversation, writer Eddie Park joins host Andre Goulet to discuss his recent investigative reporting from the Korean Autonomous Prefecture in Yanbian, China. This interview was recor...

Is there room for freedom of conscience in the South Korean military? Amnesty International says that there are more than 230 conscientious objectors currently incarcerated in the country. But a Constitutional Court ruling this summer, a ruling that states that the government must provide alternative civilian roles for those who refuse to take up arms due to religious or political reasons, sends a...

South Korean society has long been intolerant of outsiders, but the outrage sparked this summer by a thousand Yemeni asylum seekers on Jeju Island illustrates the depth of the country’s xenophobia. On this episode of ké cast, Korea Exposé Publisher Se-Woong Koo joins host André Goulet to discuss why, despite its vaunted democracy and economy, compassion and humanitarian instincts are in short supp...

This is 'ké cast' Season 2, Episode 1. Produced in collaboration with Korea Exposé, an independent media organization that speaks to a global audience about the Koreas in a way that goes beyond cliché and superficial analysis, look for this podcast at the beginning of each month through 2018. On this episode, Korea Exposé managing editor Haeryun Kang joins 'The Korea File' podcast host Andre Goule...

Former U.S. diplomat, speechwriter, and commentator on U.S. foreign policy in Asia Mintaro Oba joins host Andre Goulet to discuss this month’s on again off again US-North Korea meeting how the Moon administration’s heroic heavy lifting has kept the summit on track. Plus: a risk-free template for how to be a North Korea pundit. This conversation was recorded on June 1st, 2018. Music on this episode...

John Carl Baker, a fellow with Washington, DC think tank The Ploughshares Fund joins host Andre Goulet to talk about peace, nuclear proliferation and this historic week on the Korean peninsula. This conversation was recorded on May 2nd, 2018. Music on this episode, 'But I Like You' is from Busan indie rock band Say Sue Me. Find their new album 'Where We Were Together' on Bandcamp. Mastered by Chri...

Jenny Town (Assistant Director of the US-Korea Institute at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies/Managing Editor at 38North.org) joins host Andre Goulet to discuss Washington's reaction to the surprise announcement of a Donald Trump/Kim Jong-un summit and- what can we expect from this month’s upcoming inter-Korean talks? How do the conditions surrounding the summit compare to...

Steven Denney (Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto/Senior Editor at SinoNK.com) joins host Andre Goulet to discuss the diplomatic delegation's visit to Pyongyang and how Korean nationalism and American obstructionism continue to clash in the wake of the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Games. Plus: January's weird Foreign Ministers’ Meeting on Security and Stability on the Korean Pen...

In this conversation with prominent blogger Ask A Korean, we unpack the spy-ops and psy-ops that have informed more than a decade of alt-Right agitation in South Korea. Plus: a look into the anti-democratic overreach of the National Intelligence Service and a deep dive into the origins of Ilbe, Korea’s nihilistic proto-Reddit web forum and 4chan and Breitbart predecessor. And, an analysis of the d...

As the Koreas begin high level diplomatic talks, host Andre Goulet is joined by photojournalist Jules Tomi for a wide-ranging conversation on the upcoming Pyeongchang Olympic Games and the confluence of factors, including chaotic American political leadership, that may be leading to an easing of tensions on the peninsula. Plus: critiquing voyeuristic journalism, apocalyptic diplomacy by Twitter an...

Academics have long examined the relationship between nation-states and their "internal others," like immigrants and ethnic or racial minorities. Now, with her award-winning book ‘Contested Embrace: Transborder Membership Politics in Twentieth-Century Korea’ Jaeeun Kim shifts this focus to look at how a state relates to people it sees as diasporic "external members". In this conversation, Kim shar...

On this episode: The Nation magazine’s resident Korea expert Tim Shorrock discusses American political instability, assesses the unthinkable cost of a new Korean civil war and examines the international community's role in resolving the nuclear crisis. Become a sustaining patron of this podcast at https://www.patreon.com/thekoreafile Music on this episode includes the national anthems of the Repub...

How do we consume nationalism in the marketplace? And what does it mean to treat nationalism as a commodity? In this conversation, Nam Center Postdoctoral Fellow Jiun Bang discusses the commodification surrounding the Dokdo/Takeshima dispute, and challenges some of the traditional assumptions behind our perceptions of nationalism.  And- a conversation on the strange linguistic character of the nam...

Choson Exchange is bringing capitalism to the DPRK. Since 2009, the Singapore-based non-profit has facilitated training workshops for everyday North Koreans in Economics, Entrepreneurship and Urban Planning in metropolitan Pyongyang and elsewhere around the country. In this conversation, Choson Exchange Associate Director of Research Dr. Andray Abrahamian discusses how the introduction of some asp...

What role did public polling play in the spectacular political collapse of President Park Geun-hye? How effective is political polling today? And with social trends pointing to a continuing decrease in the rate of democratic participation, how can polls remain representative? In our conversation prior to his recent lecture at the University of Michigan, UC Berkley Professor Taeku Lee discusses how...