The Korea File

The Jeju Peace Forum was founded in 2001 with the goal of contributing to world peace and international cooperation in the East Asian sphere through multilateral dialogue and community building. The 2003 edition of the conference included President Roh Muu-hyun's official apology to Jeju Island for the 4.3 massacre and the 2007 Jeju Declaration envisioned a regional peacekeeping diplomatic role fo...

With more than 10 million visitors every year, how does Jeju balance UNESCO-certified biosphere reserves and multiple World Natural Heritage Sites with the environmental footprint of a rapidly expanding tourism economy? Jeju Weekly editor Darren Southcott weighs in on the growing conflict between conservation and exploitation on Jeju Island. The Jeju Weekly has been publishing since 2009 and is av...

From humble beginnings in a Tapdong parking lot 12 years ago, the Stepping Stone indie rock festival celebrated another success in 2015 in spite of heavy rain, intense winds and a washed-out beach due to Typhoon Chan-hom. The Korea File was at the festival's Plan B, Daemyung Resort's Diamond Ballroom on Hamdeok Beach, to speak with festival organizer Kim Myoung-su and some of the bands, including:...

South Korea is one of very few developed nations to have maintained a Shamanic heritage over millennia, and although Shamanism’s influence has diminished on the Korean mainland in the face of modernization, state-sponsored oppression and a generational shift in recent decades, it is still widely practiced on Jeju by a shrinking, but significant, number of elderly islanders . Here’s writers Anne Hi...

With roots emanating from the animistic tradition of central Siberia, Korea is one of very few developed nations to have maintained a Shamanic heritage over thousands of years. But after decades of neglect and government-sponsored eradication efforts in the 20th century, what's left of Korean shamanism? Filmaker, writer and photographer Joey Rositano has spent more than three years attempting to a...

Korea’s back-to-the-land movement is an unprecedented phenomenon in modern Korean history. What’s driving tens of thousands of Koreans to leave the conveniences and comforts of the city to start a new life in rural Jeju? Agnes Sohn is an American cultural anthropologist with a focus on social and cultural movements. She recently completed three months of field research under a Fulbright-Hays grant...

Jeju Island welcomes more than a million tourists to its beaches, resorts and UNESCO Natural World Heritage sites every month. The number has grown dramatically every year, from 5 million in 2005 to more than 12 million last year, driven by the economic confidence of a powerful domestic middle class and the package tours of China's nouveaux riche. The effect of the increase in visitors on the envi...

Where Ween meets Willie Nelson, this is weirdo, operatic guitar rock at it's strangest: expat/Korean hybrid Saure Gurken are currently playing around Seoul supporting the release of their new EP '上'. From their bio at doindie.co.kr-"Saure Gurken is a three-piece rock band based in Seoul, South Korea. Formed in 2013 by original members Vance Baryn (vocals, bass) and Quaziq (guitars), they were lat...

Matt VanVolkenburg's prolific blog 'Gusts of Popular Feeling' celebrates it's 10th year of analysis on Korean society, history, urban space, film and current events this month. In the final segment of a 3-part interview, Matt talks about marijuana, rock music and the counterculture and their relationship with dictator Park Chung-hee in the military police state of 1970s South Korea. For an epic 10...

Matt VanVolkenburg's prolific blog 'Gusts of Popular Feeling' celebrates it's 10th year of analysis on Korean society, history, urban space, film and current events this month. In the second of a 3-part interview, Matt discusses the concept of Korean identity, the notion of the unfinished country and the history of anti-Americanism on the peninsula. For an epic 10 year run of writing check out Van...

Matt VanVolkenburg's prolific blog 'Gusts of Popular Feeling' celebrates it's 10th year of analysis on Korean society, history, urban space, film and current events this month. In the first of a 3-part interview, Matt discusses his ongoing research on all things Korean, as well as the history of social movements in the south half of the peninsula. For an epic 10 year run of writing check out VanVo...

On April 16th, 2014 the MV Sewol sunk off the coast of Mokpo killing 304 passengers. The victims were primarily high school students on a field trip to Jeju Island. One year later, South Korean society continues to struggle with the issues of public safety and government accountability. Families of the victims continue to grieve for their lost loved ones. Cho Mi-sun, an activist with Sewol Truth,...

Art-noise provocateur Henry Demos on moonlighting between this project and weirdo-pop duo Nice Legs, the evolution of the "frankenbass" and how the character of Seoul effects music in the city. Drum collaborations from Andrew Blad. This completely improvised set was performed and recorded live at Strange Fruit, Hongdae on 5/3/15. Photo by Douglas Vautour. See more of his work documenting Seoul's i...

Called to service with the American Peace Corps in Mali, she's now a public school teacher in Jeju City. Comparing and contrasting the two experiences, this is Maria Denise in conversation. Music on this episode: Early 'Group Sounds' band The Key Boys with 'Let's Go to the Beach'. Find out more about the Peace Corps at http://www.peacecorps.gov/

In part two of our conversation, writer and journalist Jon Dunbar talks about his authoritative experience with Urban Exploration around the country, the 10th anniversary of his seminal zine Broke in Korea and why he believes Seoul's punk and indie rock scenes should be kept separate. Jon Dunbar's writing and photography can be found at http://daehanmindecline.com/ This episode's music: 1960's Gro...

Tommy Tran is a PhD student at the University of California at Los Angeles in the department of Asian Languages and Cultures. His primary focus is urban ethnography in Korean Studies. In this interview he discusses the hidden history of Jeju-do's streets, architecture and urban planning initiatives during the Chosun dynasty and Japanese occupation. You can read more about his work at his blog, Jej...

In part one of a two-part interview, writer and journalist Jon Dunbar discusses the seedy reputation of Korean cult culture, including Cheonghaejin Marine, the company behind the sinking of the MV Sewol. For more on Cheonghaejin Marine's alleged culpability in the Sewol's sinking, go to http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20140421001183 Jon Dunbar's writing and photography can be found at http:...

On April 3rd, 1948, Jeju Island was caught in a civil war-like time of violence and human rights abuses. This is when the period known as the Jeju Uprising and Massacre began. The Korea File spoke with participants at the Jeju 4.3 Commemorative Street Festival last Friday to hear their impressions of this tragic event in Jeju's history. Live music performances include Hallasanhoe's Songs for Jeju...

Tommy Tran is a PhD student at the University of California at Los Angeles in the department of Asian Languages and Cultures. His primary focus is urban ethnography in Korean Studies. In this interview he discusses what happens when Jeju Island, a former periphery of Korea, becomes a premier testing ground for development highlighting the contradiction between urban expansion and cultural and ecol...

Ben Spencer made it through 6 months on the biggest hardship posting in Korea's EPIK public school program, the rapidly shrinking fishing community of 2000 on Chuja Island, 2 hours north-west of Jeju by ferry. I spoke with him in October and agreed to catch up again at the end of his contract to see how he had maintained morale and motivation in such an isolated environment. In this exit interview...

Fancy folk trio FANCY MAN on playing in Jeju's music scene, using the school music room as a practice space and the joys of sharing a teaching gig with your bandmates. You can find more music and videos including Christmas Card From Korea (part 2) at http://www.timothycushing.com/ This interview and live performance was recorded at Jeju City's Magpie Brewing Co. on 2/20/2015.

Math-rock trio MOUNTAINS on Daegu's thriving music scene, the joys of playing Seoul and the fight to promote live music in the south of the peninsula. Live music recording from their performance at Itaewon's Thunderhorse Tavern, 1/30/2015

On this episode: musician and journalist Chance Dorland on the ups and downs of being a working journalist in Seoul and how the Peacecorps nearly (literally) killed him. Check out Chance's work online at http://www.seoulitup.com/ , and at groovekorea.com, download his podcast 'Chance and Dan Do Korea' on iTunes and listen to him live on the airwaves with his segment 'Chance Encounters' Monday Thro...

Michael Breen has been working in Korea for more than 30 years as a journalist with The Guardian, The Korea Times and others. He's the author of 'The Koreans: Who They Are, What They Want and Where Their Future Lies' and the CEO of Insight Communications Consultants. In the second of a two-part interview he discusses life under South Korea's 1980's dictatorship, the perils and possibilties of Kore...

Michael Breen has been working in Korea for more than 30 years as a journalist with The Guardian, The Korea Times and others. He's the author of 'The Koreans: Who They Are, What They Want and Where Their Future Lies' and the CEO of Insight Communications Consultants. In the first of a two-part interview he discusses what brought him to South Korea, the Origins of the Korean War and the work of Kor...