KOR4504 – Korea: History, Society, Politics
Course description
Course content
Through the course of its ”compressed modernization”, Korea has been undergoing drastic changes at the neck-breaking speed from the end of the 19th C. onward, being first turned into a highly regimented colony of Japan and then divided between two Cold War states, which solidified their power systems in a fratricidal war.
This course is aimed at original texts-based understanding of the influence which the pre-modern tradition, colonial regimentation and Cold War militarism exerted upon the societies in both South and North Korea.
Using a number of primary and secondary sources, the course will shed light on:
- what factors were decisive in South Korea’s high-speed economic development and institutional democratisation
- what strategies the disadvantaged groups of the South Korean society (workers, migrants, women, etc.) have been employing in the struggle for their rights
Specially highlighted is the issue of the social costs of the processes of capital accumulation and centralized, government-led industrialization in both South and North Korea.
At the same time, the emphasis is put on the theoretical underpinnings of research on modern state-building, class formation, militarization of society and gender issues.
By using Korean-language materials together with the English-language ones, this course will further deepen the students’ ability to analyze complex problems in the life of today’s Korean Peninsula.
Learning outcome
- This course gives a historically informed, primary source-based and theoretically underpinned overview of politics and society in South and North Korea, focusing on state structures, systems of corporate governance, relationships between the bureaucracy and corporate bourgeoisie, developments in the perceptions of the external world and foreign relationship, positions of workers, women and migrants, and ecological problems.
- Students should also learn about the two Korea’s complex entanglements in the international trade and investment networks and interstate hegemonic structures.
- The aim is to present basic knowledge in both English and Korean about Korea’s modern and contemporary history, politics and society, to introduce the students to English and Korean literature on the subject and to discuss various ways of understanding and interpreting Korea’s modern developments.
Admission
Students who are admitted to study programmes at UiO must each semester register which courses and exams they wish to sign up for in Studentweb.
If you are not already enrolled as a student at UiO, please see our information about admission requirements and procedures.
Please see the admission requirements defined by East Asian Culture and History.
Prerequisites
Formal prerequisite knowledge
Good reading skills in Korean.
Overlapping courses
10 credits overlap with KOR1504 – Korea: History, Society, Politics
Teaching
The course is based on a combination of lectures and seminars, in total 10 classes of 2 hours eac