Korean Politics

Korea was one of the last countries in Asia to be visited by Westerners, and its borders have remained largely unchanged since it was unified in the seventh century. Though it is one of the world's oldest and most ethnically homogeneous states, Korea was not born in a vacuum. Geographically isolated, the country was heavily influenced by powerful China and was often used as a bridge to the mainland by Japan. Calling themselves as "a shrimp among whales", Koreans borrowed elements of government, culture, and religion, all the while fiercely fighting to maintain independence.

Yeonmi Park was not dreaming of freedom when she escaped from North Korea. She didn't even know what it meant to be free. All she knew was that she was running for her life, that if she and her family stayed behind they would die - from starvation or disease or even execution.

Whether you're a lover of mythology, a student of Korean culture, or simply in search of a mesmerizing listen, this collection offers a treasure trove of stories that have withstood the test of time. Delve into this book and let the magic of Korean mythology enchant you.

An extraordinary insight into life under one of the world's most ruthless and secretive dictatorships - and the story of one woman's terrifying struggle to avoid capture/repatriation and guide her family to freedom. As a child growing up in North Korea, Hyeonseo Lee was one of millions trapped by a secretive and brutal communist regime. Her home on the border with China gave her some exposure to the world beyond the confines of the Hermit Kingdom....

North Korea is one of the most troubled societies on earth. The country's 24 million people live under a violent dictatorship led by a single family, which relentlessly pursues the development of nuclear arms, which periodically incites risky military clashes with the larger, richer, liberal South, and which forces each and every person to play a role in the "theater state" even as it pays little more than lip service to the wellbeing of the overwhelming majority.

After defecting from North Korea, Yeonmi Park found liberty and freedom in America. But she also found a chilling crackdown on self-expression and thought that reminded her of the brutal regime she risked her life to escape. When she spoke out about the mass political indoctrination she saw around her in the United States, Park faced censorship and even death threats.

Few American television series are as deeply entrenched in twentieth-century popular culture as M*A*S*H, a Korean War medical comedy characterized by its dark tone and finesse in tackling serious social and political issues. By the end of its run, M*A*S*H had been a mainstream hit for several seasons and won fourteen Emmys, leading it to be called, "the most popular pre-Seinfeld series in television history." In this comprehensive study of M*A*S*H, David Scott Diffrient analyzes the series' contextual issues such as its creation, reception, and circulation as well as textual issues like its formal innovations, narrative strategies, and themes.

From master storyteller and historian H. W. Brands comes the riveting story of how President Harry Truman and General Douglas MacArthur squared off to decide America's future in the aftermath of World War II.

Henry Park has spent his entire life trying to become a true American—a native speaker. But even as the essence of his adopted country continues to elude him, his Korean heritage seems to drift further and further away. Park's harsh Korean upbringing has taught him to hide his emotions, to remember everything he learns, and most of all to feel an overwhelming sense of alienation. In other words, it has shaped him as a natural spy.

Every Falling Star, the first book to portray contemporary North Korea to a young audience, is the intense memoir of a North Korean boy named Sungju who is forced at age 12 to live on the streets and fend for himself. To survive, Sungju creates a gang and lives by thieving, fighting, begging, and stealing rides on cargo trains. Sungju richly recreates his scabrous story, depicting what it was like for a boy alone to create a new family with his gang, his "brothers".

In the early 2000s, Adrian Hong was a soft-spoken Yale undergraduate looking for his place in the world. After reading a harrowing account of life inside North Korea, he realized he had found a cause so pressing that he was ready to devote his life to it. What began as a trip down the safe and well-worn path of organizing soon morphed into something more dangerous. Hong journeyed to China, outwitting Chinese security services as he helped ferry asylum-seeking North Korean escapees to safety.

JTBC 대표 시사교양 프로그램이자, 불통의 시대를 지나 더 이상 침묵하지 않는 질문의 시대를 이끌어갈 대표 교양 도서 『차이나는 클라스』가 출간됐다. 국가·법·리더·역사 분야를 대표하는 9명의 강연자(문정인, 조한혜정, 조영태, 박준영, 이국운, 김준혁, 김종대, 한명기, 황석영)들은 중국과 미국의 패권 사이에서 우리가 어떤 선택을 해야 하는지, 저출산 위기 속에서 우리는 어떤 미래를 준비해야 하는지, 헌법에 담긴 국가의 정체성과 기본권은 무엇인지, 법의 진정한 주인은 누구인지, 국가를 이끄는 지도자들이 갖춰야 할 미덕은 무엇인지, 외세침략과 민주화의 역사를 통해 우리가 가슴 깊이 새겨야 할 것은 무엇인지 등 지금 우리에게 필요한 생존의 해법을, 질문자들과 함께 쌍방향 토론식 수업을 통해 모색한다.

메디치미디어는 2020년 6월에 제2회 '메디치포럼-힘의 역전2, 달라진 세계'를 개최하여 세상의 변화에 어떻게 적응할 지에 대한 고민을 뛰어넘어, 팬데믹을 어떤 분기점으로 만들 것인가라는 문제를 던진 바 있다. 바야흐로 변화를 향한 의지의 방향을 찾으려는 것이다. 완전히 달라진 세계에서 우리가 만들어야 할 미래와 우리의 과제는 무엇일까. 각 분야의 '힘의 역전'을 위해 필요한 태도와 전략을 제안하는 문정인, 다니엘 튜더, 김세연, 유명희, 김동환, 민금채, 이원재의 포럼 발표와 인터뷰를 이 책에 담았다.

취업 출산 결혼을 포기했다고 해서 '삼포세대'라는 말이 생기고, 결혼하는 사람보다 이혼하는 사람들이 많아지는 세상에 '결혼해도 괜찮다?' 결혼 45년차 여성학자 박혜란은 결혼에 대해 무슨 이야기를 할까? 이제는 이적 엄마로 더 많이 알려진 베스트셀러 저자 박혜란은 특유의 유쾌한 글쓰기로 결혼을 비틀기 한다. "결혼이 진흙탕이라고? 그래! 진흙탕 맞아, 근데 너만 빠진 거 아니잖아. 너만 빠지면 불행하지만 모두가 함께 빠지면 진흙탕도 놀이터가 될 수 있어."

Ian McAllister has searched the world over, hunting for that all-elusive perfect photograph. He finds it on a tourist trip to North Korea when he stumbles upon a young street kid foraging for roots. Unaware that this single act will brand him a spy and cost his freedom, Ian takes the shot. Now, he must pay the penalty.

The weekly column Ask a North Korean, published by NK News, invites readers from around the world to pose questions to North Korean defectors. By way of these fascinating interviews, the North Koreans themselves provide authentic firsthand testimonies about what is happening inside the "Hermit Kingdom." This book sheds critical light on all aspects of North Korean politics and society and shows that even in the world's most authoritarian regime, life goes on in ways that are very different from what you may think.

The Cold War dominated international life from the end of World War II to the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. But how did the conflict begin? Why did it move from its initial origins in Postwar Europe to encompass virtually every corner of the globe? And why, after lasting so long, did the war end so suddenly and unexpectedly? Robert McMahon considers these questions and more, as well as looking at the legacy of the Cold War and its impact on international relations today.

2020년 코로나 19라는 초유의 사태로, 일찍이 경험해 보지 못한 일들이 잇달아 일어나고 있다. 모든 것이 그 이전과는 다른, 우리가 경험해보지 못한 '달라진 세계'에 대한 전망과 담론장이 폭발하고 있다. 하지만 그런 담론의 범람 속에서 고민의 '방향'을 함께 질문하려는 시도가 드문 것이 사실이다.

메디치미디어는 2020년 6월에 제2회 '메디치포럼-힘의 역전2, 달라진 세계'를 개최하여 세상의 변화에 어떻게 적응할 지에 대한 고민을 뛰어넘어, 팬데믹을 어떤 분기점으로 만들 것인가라는 문제를 던진 바 있다. 바야흐로 변화를 향한 의지의 방향을 찾으려는 것이다. 완전히 달라진 세계에서 우리가 만들어야 할 미래와 우리의 과제는 무엇일까. 각 분야의 '힘의 역전'을 위해 필요한 태도와 전략을 제안하는 문정인, 다니엘 튜더, 김세연, 유명희, 김동환, 민금채, 이원재의 포럼 발표와 인터뷰를 이 책에 담았다.

메디치미디어는 2020년 6월에 제2회 '메디치포럼-힘의 역전2, 달라진 세계'를 개최하여 세상의 변화에 어떻게 적응할 지에 대한 고민을 뛰어넘어, 팬데믹을 어떤 분기점으로 만들 것인가라는 문제를 던진 바 있다. 바야흐로 변화를 향한 의지의 방향을 찾으려는 것이다. 완전히 달라진 세계에서 우리가 만들어야 할 미래와 우리의 과제는 무엇일까. 각 분야의 '힘의 역전'을 위해 필요한 태도와 전략을 제안하는 문정인, 다니엘 튜더, 김세연, 유명희, 김동환, 민금채, 이원재의 포럼 발표와 인터뷰를 이 책에 담았다.