KJC Korea
Journal Central

This study analyzes the path to the institutionalization of the alliance in the two Koreas’ state formation processes after liberation from the Japanese colonial rule. The ROK-US and DPRK-PRC alliances, both still in effect, have formed the regional order around Northeast Asia. This paper argues that the ROK and DPRK institutionalized their alliances in different models of “internal state formation” and “external relationship.” Firstly, this paper explains the critical junctures of internal state formation of the two Koreas, the establishments of divided governments, the Korean War, the processes of state builders’ consolidation of their power during and after the war. Secondly, this paper analyzes the external ordering of the states around the Korean Peninsula as the external relationship structure and the influence of this ordering on the paths to institutionalization of the alliances. Regarding the implications of the alliances, it points out that South Korea became dependent on the US and North Korea started to carry its multilateral policy. At the regional level, the continuation of the alliances has intensified the regional division and it functions as an obstacle to Northeast Asian regional integration and cooperation.

Recently North Korea continues to assert its position as a nuclear power and escalates military tensions on the Korean peninsula. As the Korean security situations are worsening, it is necessary for the two Koreas to pursue an arms control agreement with each other and to institutionalize a settlement of peace. For the peace of the Korean peninsula, we should be worthy of notice the 3-stage strategic model including passive peace, active peace and perpetual peace. The perspective of active peace is a strategy to solve a current Korean Questions. Active peace strategy is as a part of plans to reduce a possibility of new Korean war and remove a cause of new Korean war structurally. We should prepare to security incentives to clean up North Korean security concerns. Furthermore, we should also prepare to pursue Korean peace treaty with Inter-korean arms control as the security incentives. There are two scenarios which achieve the Korean peace treaty finally such as 2-stage scenario including Inter-Korean basic agreement and 3-stage scenario including Inter-Korean agreement and Inter-Korean peace agreement. Considering the changed security situations around Korean peninsula such as North Korea’s nuclear weapons and severe competitions among Great powers in the North-east Asia, the later 3-stage scenario would be more reliable approach.

This paper critically analyzes North Korean history, unification discussion, and inter-Korean relations described in the high school Korean history textbook 2014 edition. The historical recognition reflected in the description of the North Korean history seems to be stemming from the confrontation of the structures and the superior or inferior way of thinking. It is focused on the critical descriptions of the situation and raising questions rather than stressing the internal context of the North Korean historical development. These cold war-like, friend-or-enemy descriptions acted as a problem limiting the following unification discussions and inter-Korean relations description. For the description regarding the unification discussions, it is focused on discussions of economical values. It is a reflection of the discussions mainly led by the government and press after the post-cold war era. As for the Korean history textbook, wide historical description is demanded about the various unification discussions and the North-South unification policies after the division. Inter-Korean relations part is centered on the major agreements the North and South have made. For some parts, not only were core contents and educational focus inaccurate, but the successive governments’ relaxed descriptions of unification policies were also found. Before anything else, unilateral descriptive method of the inter-Korean relations can be pointed to as a problem. More of an objective description of interactive influence of both parties is needed. From the future oriented viewpoint for overcoming the division, it still fundamentally has not overcome the limits of past government designated textbooks.

Green detente refers to ‘achieving the tension relief and peace through the cooperation between South and North Korea in the field of environment.’ Green detente is significant in that it tries to resolve the inter-Korean relationship through environmental cooperation; a non political method. Environmental cooperation is evaluated as a positive way that can serve as a decisive turning point in improving inter-Korean relations, as the necessity and importance of environmental protection over national borders have been recently highlighted. The environment is a field where mutual cooperation begins naturally and where there is high possibility that cooperation can be expanded to other fields such as politics and military. Green detente, the field in which the government expresses its interest, includes such projects as cooperative research activities on the border areas and the DMZ and utilization of their outcomes; projects on flood protection and water quality improvement, agricultural cooperation and devastated forest restoration and so on. While such projects are evaluated to have a meaning as the base for realizing mutual development and environmental community, there exist different views on the terms of North Korea’s acceptability, possibility of reaching an agreement between the two Koreas and its feasibility. Among them, the area of forest cooperation shows a high possibility of North Korea’s acceptance, in consideration of the current deforestation situation in North Korea, North Korea’s expressing its enhanced will to restore the forest, and the forest’s closeness to public livelihood. What also heightens the possibility of realizing the green detente is that it has wide options ranging from supporting tree planting, building tree nurseries, and protecting forests, to the activation of forest village’s economy, so that pragmatic and sensible solutions which suit the site’s situation can be provided.

This study is to analyze the operational and institutional integration issues of South-North Korean social welfare. Meanwhile, a summary of the direction of the integration of South and North Korean social welfare system, immediately following reunification as a focal point, would be as follows: ① Using South Korean institutions as a standard in gradual, and eventual introduction and application; ② South Korean institutional application accepted on premise, but with a separate payment standard (or a recalculation) immediately applied; ③ North Korean institutions are temporarily maintained and then later, South Korean institutions are then transferred and applied and introduced; ④ Apart from a specific institution, an immediate and special emergency relief (temporary) institution is introduced; ⑤ Conducted, and introduced in conjunction with specific institutions. Also, strategic tasks of South-North Korean social welfare ‘institutional integration’ can be summarized as follows. First, draw a realistic and rational integration strategy which is connected with labor and income. Second, minimize national anxiety towards the social welfare system in the aftermath of reunification. Third, prepare, in advance, an integration method/model by system, step, and target and scenario; relief-stability-enforcement- consolidation. Fourth, make a solution to meet South-North Korean people’s hopes and reduce their anxiety and financial burden. Fifth, expand the social safety net for the people of South and North Korea and to support to stabilize the livelihood of the North Koreans. Sixth, research and suggest a social welfare model for a reunified Korea.

This study focused on the process of extermination concerning communists in the South Korean territory from 1945 to 1950. In accordance with the internationally recognized theory on the universal “stages of genocide,” this study examined how the communists in the southern Korean peninsula were collectively alienated and denationalized and in the end, exterminated by genocide. This study argued that the communists in the southern portion of the Korean peninsula had gained a strong political influence and public support directly after liberation. The communists, however, soon went through eight stages of genocide and were exterminated within the South Korean society. The eight stages of genocide are as follows: ① stigmatization and alienation, ② organization ③ local mass murder ④ ghettoization ⑤ symbolization ⑥ treatment of the infected ⑦ extermination ⑧ repression of memories. This case in Korea follows the same pattern as the four stages of genocide (alienation, preliminary extermination, full-scale extermination and denial) shown in cases from other countries. As former research on the stages of genocide equally suggest, the alienation or denationalization of a certain group of people which, in this case, is communists, was pivotal in justifying and legalizing the nation’s use of indiscriminate violence on its people.

Jeju has spent the last 10 years making suggestions and trying to implement new visions and policies for the future of Jeju. These are: “Jeju Free International City,” in 2002, “Jeju Island of World Peace,” in 2005, “Jeju Special Self-Governing Province,” in 2006, and “Jeju World Environmental Hub,” in 2007. While these are seeking for visions that are challenging, dramatic and future-oriented, they are movements that undertake contradictive goals, for example, democracy, peace, well-being, ecology, and prosperity on the multiple space of East Asia-Korean Peninsula-South Korea-Jeju Island. These visions are pursued with sincere but fierce debate on the perspectives, feasibilities, and methods. There are a lot of trials and errors, followed by upgraded reflection as well as alternatives put forward by the Jeju residents. This article is an attempt to tap into the feasibility of new and transformative vision of future Jeju while reflectively examining the last 10 years’ performance and awareness of the Jeju people. This relies on the participation and responsiveness of Jeju’s grassroots for measuring the outcomes of official visions as well as exploring the possibility of alternative visions of Jeju since any visions would doom to fail unless the supports of grassroots were mobilized. The article concludes that Jeju is sailing towards the future as an ‘Island of Eco-Peace,’ in which a lot of social-economical-ecological problems of poverty, discrimination, repressiveness, pollution, etc. will be tackled, reduced and resolved under the flag of grassroots democracy and social economy.

This study aims not only to grasp the post-economic difficulty of reformation of marketization and its consequent phase of governing discourse, but also to inquire into its representative characteristics. For the purpose of this study, first of all, the concepts and theories of mercantilism, corporatism and patrimonialism are respectively introduced to define national strategy and ruling system of North Korea. Furthermore, considering that the characteristics of North Korea’s national strategy and ruling system have been transformed, according to the times, from corporatist mercantilism into patrimonialist mercantilism, this study will inquire about the composition of content and form of the governing discourse of “anti-capitalism” accordingly. The text as a subject of analysis corresponds to materials of internal lecture script of North Korea, in which the metaphor of capitalism as a “disease” is mainly detected. In conclusion, the “metaphor of disease” is designed to accumulate fear and hatred of capitalism, in addition, this metaphor reveals that it is a discourse strategy for preventing North Korea’s change from proceeding toward internal alteration.

Kim Jung-Eun has been implementing ‘Open music politics’ through Moranbong band. The band was formed in July 2012 by Kim Jung-Eun and they appeared at important events and anniversaries after their extraordinary performance. Now they became the ‘Role Group’ of North Korean Arts. ‘New Music Concert’ was a notable performance given on September 2014. The Concert was only composed of songs which were written in Kim Jung-Eun’s era and it had special features that did not celebrate a particular event. It shows that we can clearly see a glimpse of Kim Jung-Eun’s era through the songs and concert performances of the ‘New Music Concert’. This study analyzes the contents and composition of the new songs which were performed at the concert and find the implications. The study is looking for the political implications of the new songs and the concert performances and to link the characteristics of the North Korean regime with implications. Performed songs can be categorized into four parts. First, songs that contain praise and pledge allegiance to Kim Jung-Eun. Second, songs that reflect the party’s policy. Third, songs that improve the solidarity of the North Korean regime. Finally, songs that remind people of the revolutionary struggle in North Korean history. Through these categories, the concert intends to emphasize Kim Jung-Eun’s governing legitimacy and thought.