@article{ART003241924},
author={MinJu Park},
title={Learning in Reverse: The Regressive Recurrence of North Korea’s Correspondence University and Its Dual Governmentality},
journal={The Journal of Northeast Asia Research},
issn={2005-4432},
year={2025},
volume={40},
number={2},
pages={153-182},
doi={10.18013/jnar.2025.40.2.005}
TY - JOUR
AU - MinJu Park
TI - Learning in Reverse: The Regressive Recurrence of North Korea’s Correspondence University and Its Dual Governmentality
JO - The Journal of Northeast Asia Research
PY - 2025
VL - 40
IS - 2
PB - The Institute for Northeast Asia Research
SP - 153
EP - 182
SN - 2005-4432
AB - This study analyzes the institutional trajectory and cyclical recurrence of North Korea’s correspondence universities through the lens of Foucault’s concept of governmentality. Introduced in 1948, the correspondence university ostensibly provided higher education opportunities to workers. However, rather than fostering autonomous learning, the system repeatedly reverted to the ”on-site study group” format. In a context lacking techno-social appropriateness, this recurrence reflects not institutional failure but strategic recalibration to sustain state control. Compared to another authoritarian regime, China, North Korea’s model reveals a more explicit dual structure of governmentality. While discourse on autonomous learners remains minimal, mechanisms of worker-student control are overtly emphasized. Thus, despite its appearance as a modern educational system, the correspondence university has historically functioned as a governance tool. The post-COVID resurgence of this model suggests that future developments will likely reinforce coercive, rather than autonomous, structures.
KW - Distance University;Dual Governmentality;Regression;North Korea;Adult Higher Education;Remote University
DO - 10.18013/jnar.2025.40.2.005
ER -
MinJu Park. (2025). Learning in Reverse: The Regressive Recurrence of North Korea’s Correspondence University and Its Dual Governmentality. The Journal of Northeast Asia Research, 40(2), 153-182.
MinJu Park. 2025, "Learning in Reverse: The Regressive Recurrence of North Korea’s Correspondence University and Its Dual Governmentality", The Journal of Northeast Asia Research, vol.40, no.2 pp.153-182. Available from: doi:10.18013/jnar.2025.40.2.005
MinJu Park "Learning in Reverse: The Regressive Recurrence of North Korea’s Correspondence University and Its Dual Governmentality" The Journal of Northeast Asia Research 40.2 pp.153-182 (2025) : 153.
MinJu Park. Learning in Reverse: The Regressive Recurrence of North Korea’s Correspondence University and Its Dual Governmentality. 2025; 40(2), 153-182. Available from: doi:10.18013/jnar.2025.40.2.005
MinJu Park. "Learning in Reverse: The Regressive Recurrence of North Korea’s Correspondence University and Its Dual Governmentality" The Journal of Northeast Asia Research 40, no.2 (2025) : 153-182.doi: 10.18013/jnar.2025.40.2.005
MinJu Park. Learning in Reverse: The Regressive Recurrence of North Korea’s Correspondence University and Its Dual Governmentality. The Journal of Northeast Asia Research, 40(2), 153-182. doi: 10.18013/jnar.2025.40.2.005
MinJu Park. Learning in Reverse: The Regressive Recurrence of North Korea’s Correspondence University and Its Dual Governmentality. The Journal of Northeast Asia Research. 2025; 40(2) 153-182. doi: 10.18013/jnar.2025.40.2.005
MinJu Park. Learning in Reverse: The Regressive Recurrence of North Korea’s Correspondence University and Its Dual Governmentality. 2025; 40(2), 153-182. Available from: doi:10.18013/jnar.2025.40.2.005
MinJu Park. "Learning in Reverse: The Regressive Recurrence of North Korea’s Correspondence University and Its Dual Governmentality" The Journal of Northeast Asia Research 40, no.2 (2025) : 153-182.doi: 10.18013/jnar.2025.40.2.005
