Rob York is director for regional affairs at Pacific Forum in Honolulu, working on Korean Peninsular security and Indo-Pacific information warfare. He previously worked as production editor at the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong and as editor of NK News from 2013 to 2016. He earned his PhD in Korean history in 2023. Pacific Forum: https://pacforum.org/ Discussion Outline 0:00 Lee Jae Myung 17:50 Trump and Korea 39:00 North Korea 43:10 Communism 47:55 China in the 21st Century 1:10:00 Korea...
Aug 16, 2025•1 hr 23 min•Ep. 110
In this episode of Korea Deconstructed, I sit down with Ra Jong-yil, a scholar, diplomat, and influential figure in modern Korean politics. We recorded this conversation in his house in Seoul. Born in 1940 during the Japanese occupation of Korea, Ra Jong-yil has lived through some of the country’s most defining historical moments. And, in many cases, helped shape them. We talk about his father's role in the Provisional Government in Shanghai alongside Syngman Rhee, Kim Ku, and Ahn Chang Ho. Ra a...
Aug 03, 2025•1 hr 40 min•Ep. 10
Italian journalist Marianna Baroli joins me to discuss K-pop, fan culture, parasocial love, and how Korean music is reshaping global identity, especially in Italy. But at what cost? And where do we go next? Find Marianna online Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/countingstars/ Panorama: https://www.panorama.it/author/mariannabaroli Discussion Outline 0:00 Introductions 4:55 Fan girling 2PM 7:35 Why K-pop Beat the West? 9:25 The Current State of K-pop 14:20 GOT7 17:50 Girl Groups 20:25 Italian ...
Jul 14, 2025•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 108
Lebanese scholar Rania Hafez joins Korea Deconstructed for a wide-ranging conversation on class, culture, and the search for meaning. Rania reflects on how media pushes culture wars over class solidarity, the importance of leadership in academia, and how she discovered Korean dramas during the Covid pandemic. Her love for Crash Landing on You and Hometown Cha Cha Cha helped her find beauty and purpose again, calling Korea her "Narnia." A deeply personal and philosophical episode about rediscover...
Jun 29, 2025•1 hr 55 min•Ep. 107
My guest is Fyodor Tertitskiy, a prolific scholar, polyglot, and one of the few who reads the footnotes of history in multiple languages. His new book, Accidental Tyrant, a biography of Kim Il Sung, challenges the official state mythology and unearths the improbable rise of a guerrilla fighter turned dynastic dictator. This is how Kim Il Sung outwitted imperialists, communists, comrades, and colonels alike, turning chance into legacy, failure into foundation. But the question remains: what does ...
Jun 20, 2025•1 hr 57 min•Ep. 106
In this episode of Korea Deconstructed, I’m joined by four university students: young people who voted, watched, and waited as South Korea held its most recent presidential election and elected Lee Jae-myung. We discuss what the election felt like to them. What it felt like to cast a vote. What they saw among their friends. And what was never said. We’ll explore the hopes and contradictions of a generation caught between economic uncertainty, cultural shifts, and a political system that doesn’t ...
Jun 08, 2025•1 hr 29 min•Ep. 105
A recent viral YouTube video claimed that Korea would soon be extinct. The country transformed negatively by one of the world's lowest birthrates. Change, it suggested, was too late. Four young adults come together to discuss the future of Korea, assessing its birthrate issues, education, culture of perfection, and the deep spiritual crisis that seems to have gripped the nation. Is Korea really over? Not necessarily... We hear from 4 young people all living here: a young Korean man interested in...
May 18, 2025•1 hr 29 min•Ep. 104
Kornel Chang on U.S. Power, Korean Resistance, and the Birth of Division What if Korea’s true revolution was never allowed to happen? In this episode, I talk with historian Kornel Chang, author of A Fractured Liberation, to explore a moment in Korean history that most people never learn about. A moment when ordinary Koreans believed they were on the brink of something new. In 1945 Japanese colonial rule had ended and, across the peninsula, people were filled with hope. Workers seized factories, ...
May 10, 2025•1 hr 43 min•Ep. 103
From visas to values: a positive, practical conversation about living in Korea Kim Ninja joins Korea Deconstructed to talk about building an authentic life in Korea. Born in Germany to Vietnamese parents, Kim made the jump to Korea and now helps thousands of expats and digital nomads adapt culturally, practically, and legally. Through cartoons, articles, and community building, he offers a refreshing, optimistic take on life abroad — steering away from sensationalism. In this conversation, Kim s...
Apr 27, 2025•1 hr 16 min•Ep. 102
I sat down with scholar, Nilesh Kumar to explore how Korean cinema has reflected shifting notions of gender, identity, and social structure across decades. From the angry men of the Korean New Wave to the defiant heroines of modern streaming hits, this conversation examines how bodies on screen become battlegrounds for power, memory, and desire. We begin by talking about how technology defines Park Chan-wook’s groundbreaking movie Oldboy, as well as its absence of allegory, signaling the start o...
Apr 24, 2025•2 hr 38 min•Ep. 101
보도지침 (Media Guidelines) is a satirical work that critiques the media landscape and the influence of government or corporate power on Korean journalism in the 1980s. It explores themes such as censorship, the manipulation of public opinion, and the ethical dilemmas faced by journalists. The play is known for its sharp wit and critical perspective, often using humor and irony to highlight the challenges and compromises that media professionals may face. More and more young Koreans are bringing thi...
Mar 22, 2025•54 min•Ep. 100
A few years ago, Blair's grandmother gave him a present. Approximately 300 photographs his grandfather had taken in Korea nearly 70 years ago. These beautifully preserved color photos not only revealed a country and its people emerging from war and beginning to rebuild, it also showed Blair members of his family. It showed him where he was from, and, therefore, where he was going. He has digitized these photos and made them into an archive. This has since grown to feature a wide range of photos ...
Mar 08, 2025•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 99
David A. Tizzard has a PhD in Korean Studies and lectures at Seoul Women's University and Hanyang University. He writes a weekly column in the Korea Times, is a social-cultural commentator, and a musician who has lived in Korea for nearly two decades. He can be reached at datizzard@swu.ac.kr . Jack Greenberg works as an independent consultant, researcher, and freelance writer. His current focus is on heritage and conservation issues, historical memory debates, truth-seeking and reconciliation, a...
Feb 28, 2025•2 hr 6 min•Ep. 98
Eunjae Cho is currently studying Chinese Language and Literature at Seoul Women’s University. She has a deep interest in languages and Asian culture, which led her to work as a journalist in the e-sports industry. She has primarily written articles about League of Legends and Japanese subculture. A distinctive feature of her articles is that they include voices and interviews from fans and professionals across various countries. Her recent work: https://m.post.naver.com/viewer/postView.naver?vol...
Jan 12, 2025•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 97
I watched Squid Game Season 2 over the holidays and decided to record some brief thoughts on it. You can find an abridged version in the newspaper here: https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/opinion/2025/01/782_389692.html I am back in the studio next week with a new guest and a new topic before flying to the UK to spend a month with my family. Happy 2025 everyone. David A. Tizzard has a PhD in Korean Studies and lectures at Seoul Women's University and Hanyang University. He writes a weekly column i...
Jan 04, 2025•20 min•Ep. 96
David A. Tizzard has a PhD in Korean Studies and lectures at Seoul Women's University and Hanyang University. He writes a weekly column in the Korea Times, is a a social-cultural commentator, and musician who has lived in Korea for nearly two decades. He can be reached at datizzard@swu.ac.kr . Sanko Lewis (PhD) is a professor, philosopher, martial arts researcher, and artist living in Seoul, South Korea. Find him and his work: https://linktr.ee/sankolewis Subscribe to the channel: @DavidTizzard/...
Dec 21, 2024•2 hr 1 min•Ep. 95
David A. Tizzard has a doctorate in Korean Studies and lectures at Seoul Women's University and Hanyang University. He is a social-cultural commentator and musician who has lived in Korea for nearly two decades. He can be reached at datizzard@swu.ac.kr . Watch this video next: https://youtu.be/L9azQpXZ2Rc Subscribe to the channel: @DavidTizzard/videos Thanks to Patreon members: Hee Ji Jacobs, Bhavya Join Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/user?u=62047873 Connect with us: ▶ David's Insta: https:/...
Dec 06, 2024•26 min•Ep. 94
Korean gender, feminism, fairness and equality are discussed here at length. We also cover transgender representation in media, male mandatory military service, magic days for women, and the world's lowest birthrate. Watch this video next: https://youtu.be/L9azQpXZ2Rc?si=u-xsXr1c2atGH-ri Subscribe to the channel: @DavidTizzard/videos Connect with us: ▶ Email: datizzard@swu.ac.kr ▶ David's Insta: https://www.instagram.com/datizzard/ ▶ KD Insta: https://www.instagram.com/koreadeconstructed/ ▶ Jeon...
Nov 17, 2024•2 hr 1 min•Ep. 93
This week I sat down with a group of BTS fans from around the world and spent two hours listening to their stories. As a lot of the media hype and attention around them has either focused on their solo efforts or been replaced by the next generation of idols, I thought it would provide some nice distance from the unprecedented levels of success they were achieving as a group a few years back. And so we explored different things together: When did they first discover BTS? What was the performance...
Nov 02, 2024•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 92
Zeljana Zmire, Ph.D. in International Studies and Korean Studies, is a lecturer at Hanyang University in Seoul. Her research interests include multiculturalism, immigration policy, comparative politics, international politics and other. She can be reached via zeljana@hanyang.ac.kr . You can also find her on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zeljana-zmire-2927307b/ Members Thank you again to the paid Patreon member Bhavya. Discussion Outline 0:00 Defining Multiculturalism 6:00 Korea's Homogen...
Oct 19, 2024•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 91
Carlos Gorito is many things but most in Korea would have first come across him when he appeared on the hit television show 비정상회담 in 2015. Discussing a wide-range of topics in Korean, his personality and passion saw him gain many fans and win respect from the nation. He has worked with the Brazilian Embassy in South Korea and does a fabulous job of promoting relations between the two countries. When you listen to him speak, he says "us" and "we" when talking about Korea, and is now a public rela...
Sep 28, 2024•1 hr 19 min•Ep. 90
Jocelyn Clark is a performer and scholar. Before becoming a professor at Pai Chai (培材) University in South Korea, she founded and directed the CrossSound new music festival in Alaska, and the new music touring ensemble IIIZ+ (guzheng, koto, gayageum, and percussion), organizations through which she commissioned and/or premiered over 30 new works for Korean gayageum. Next to her work in contemporary music she is the first foreigner without Korean heritage to become an official government disciple...
Sep 21, 2024•1 hr 40 min•Ep. 89
Jihoon Suk received his BA and MA on Korean modern history from Yonsei University and studied Korean Studies briefly at the University of Michigan. Now, a Ph.D. candidate at Yonsei University, he is doing extensive research on the colonial-era cultural history of Korea, with a special focus on the presence and popularity of modern audiovisual media (sound recordings, films, radio) during that time. He had published a number of articles and research papers in collaboration with various institutio...
Sep 14, 2024•2 hr 24 min•Ep. 88
Peter Yoonsuk Paik is a Professor at Yonsei University in the Department of English Language and Literature. His academic writing on a variety of subjects can be found here: https://yonsei.academia.edu/PeterPaik Discussion Outline 0:00 On Greatness 14:20 What Kind of World Do We Live In? 20:00 The Necessity of Spirituality 24:40 Equality and Liberty 30:00 The Modern University Classroom 40:10 On the East and West 50:00 On Korean Education 54:10 Burning (Korean Movie) 1:00:40 On Korean Society 1:...
Aug 31, 2024•1 hr 21 min•Ep. 87
Professor Moon Seungsook is a political and cultural sociologist, scholar of gender studies, and East Asianist specializing in South Korea. She grew up in Seoul, Korea and lived and worked in Boston and Cambridge, MA before moving to Vassar College. Her research evolved from feminist critiques of nationalism, militarism, democratization, and citizenship to globalization and transnationalism shaping militarism and civic agency, production and consumption of food and masculinities. She is a recipi...
Aug 25, 2024•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 85
The Space Out Competition in Seoul, South Korea, is a unique and quirky event that challenges participants to do... nothing. The goal of the competition is to simply sit still, remain calm, and "space out" for 90 minutes without any distractions. In a society like South Korea's, where work culture can be intense and people often feel pressured to be constantly productive, the Space Out Competition offers a refreshing contrast. It emphasizes the importance of mental health and the need to slow do...
Aug 10, 2024•1 hr 29 min•Ep. 85
Is Korea racist? Is Korea homophobic? How do media representations affect people's lives here? We brought two Korean people and two foreigners together to discuss life here in South Korea, exploring the topics of beauty, dating, race, sexuality, social media, and more. Aaliyah, Thomas and I had just spent 6 hours a day together for the last 4 weeks at the Hanyang University Summer program studying Korean culture. We’ve missed Yunseo for the last 6 episodes but she is back with us now. She’s also...
Jul 28, 2024•1 hr 36 min•Ep. 84
Andrew Salmon, MBE, is the Seoul-based Asia editor of Washington Times, where he specializes in regional security, geopolitics and macro. He is the author of five books, including the award-winning Korean War combat histories, "To the Last Round" and "Scorched Earth, Black Snow." Those works have won awards from the ROK and UK governments, and have been translated into both Korean and Chinese. Andrew's Books To The Last Round: https://www.amazon.com/Last-Round-British-Stand-Imjin/dp/1845135334 S...
Jun 24, 2024•2 hr 2 min•Ep. 83
David Kim is many things but is perhaps best known for his Korean content on Youtube. He has been a huge part of three popular programs over the last seven years: DKDKTV, Ramyun and Chill, and, now, Korean Pizza Club. His content has reached millions and is driven by his positive and generous outlook on life, something even more evident when meeting him in person. We spoke about how hallyu has changed, whether K-pop is still cool, Korean dating culture, and life here in Seoul. We even got politi...
Jun 16, 2024•1 hr 40 min•Ep. 82
Park Nohae emerged as a powerful literary voice in South Korea during the tumultuous 1980s, though at the time few knew who he actually was. He was the faceless poet. The voice of the many. Working various manual labor jobs which exposed him to the harsh realities faced by the working class, he became a champion of labor rights and social justice. His collection of poems "노동의 새벽( Dawn of Labor)" published in 1984 sold over a million copies. However, his call for change and a new sky over the Sou...
Jun 11, 2024•2 hr 8 min•Ep. 81
