Korea Deconstructed

Korea is a country of skyscrapers and semiconductors, but if you go south, far south, you find a different version of the country. you find Jeju Island and the Haenyeo (해녀). They are women who have outlasted empires, Japanese occupation, and the modern world's desperate attempt to turn them into a souvenir.

Kylie Genter decided to join them and now shares stories about the realities, the community, the humor, and the people. Together, we give these ladies their flowers and, most importantly, see them as human beings.

Find Kylie Online

Kylie's Instagram: instagram.com/migookhaenyeo

Haenyeo Hangout Podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/haenyeohangout

Haenyeo Hangout YouTube: youtube.com/@HaenyeoHangout

Discussion Outline

0:00 Introduction to Jeju Island

8:30 The Haenyeo (해녀)

22:15 An American Haenyeo

28:40 A Day in the life of a Haenyeo

38:00 The Rules of the Sea

54:30 Haenyeo Etiquette

A huge thanks to Patreon members: Bhavya, Roxanne Murrell, Sara B Cooper, Anne Brennels, Ell, Johnathan Filbert, Daniela Körppen, Cody Schuman, Christopher Futter, Andreas Wendtland. You are stars!! Join Our Patreon Community Here: https://www.patreon.com/c/user?u=6204...

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.

▶ David's Insta: @datizzard

▶ KD Insta: @koreadeconstructed

These podcasts are recorded live in Seoul. Big thanks to the studio owner and my friend 한정철: /https://www.instagram.com/the_story_from_you/ Listen to Korea Deconstructed

▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/kr/podcast...

▶Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5zdXkG0...

▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com

Dr. Alexander Douglas serves as a Senior Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of St. Andrews. His work navigates Eastern and Western thought, focusing on the philosophy of religion, Spinoza, and early Daoism. In his latest book, Against Identity: The Wisdom of Escaping the Self, he draws a line between the Zhuangzi, Spinoza, and René Girard to argue that our obsession with a fixed self is the root of social pathology, and that liberation lies in embracing uncertainty and ambiguity.

Find Alex and his work online

Against Identity (book): https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/456203/against-identity-by-douglas-alexander/9781802063318

Alex's Substack: https://axdouglas.substack.com/

Discussion Outline

0:00 The Story of Hundum

4:52 The Zhuangzi

11:30 The Self and Identity in Modernity

21:15 Confucius and Zhuangzi

26:00 Explaining the Tao

33:30 Rejecting Identity

37:50 Are We Gods?

41:10 Rene Girard and Mimetic Desire

49:15 A Brave New World

59:35 Living without Identity A huge thanks to Patreon members: Bhavya, Roxanne Murrell, Sara B Cooper, Anne Brennels, Ell, Johnathan Filbert, Daniela Körppen, Cody Schuman, Christopher Futter, Andreas Wendtland. You are stars!! Join Our Patreon Community Here: https://www.patreon.com/c/user?u=62047873

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.

▶ David's Insta: @datizzard

▶ KD Insta: @koreadeconstructed These podcasts are recorded live in Seoul. Big thanks to the studio owner and my friend 한정철: https://www.instagram.com/the_story_from_you/

Dr. Remco Breuker, one of the world's leading scholars of pre-modern Korea, joins us to explore the Samguk Yusa, a treasure trove of Korean myth, history, and folklore. We dive into the kingdom of Goryeo, its ruling elites, the position of women, the reality of slavery in old Korea, and why this period remains so misunderstood today. From women tigers to creation myths, from royal power struggles to the everyday lives of commoners, and court poets who drink too much, there should be something in here for everyone.

Find Remco and his work online

Vestiges of the Three Kingdoms of Ancient Korea: A Translation of the Samguk yusa : https://uhpress.hawaii.edu/title/vestiges-of-the-three-kingdoms-of-ancient-korea-a-translation-of-the-samguk-yusa/

Yi Kyubo: https://uhpress.hawaii.edu/title/not-everything-unfolds-as-anticipated-selections-from-yi-kyubos-tongguk-yi-sangguk-chip/

https://www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/humanities/institute-for-area-studies/korean-studies

Discussion Outline

0:00 The Samguk Yusa

5:20 The Monk Iryeon

2:20 The Language of Goryeo

18:18 Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism

31:34 The Ruling Family of Goryeo

38:30 The Position of Women

42:10 Slavery in Old Korea

46:50 Translating the Samguk Yusa

1:01:52 The Stories of Samguk Yusa

1:10:45 Yi Gyu-bo

1:15:10 Recommendations

A huge thanks to Patreon members: Bhavya, Roxanne Murrell, Sara B Cooper, Anne Brennels, Ell, Johnathan Filbert, Daniela Körppen, Cody Schuman, Christopher Futter, Andreas Wendtland. You are stars!!

Join Our Patreon Community Here: https://www.patreon.com/c/user?u=62047873

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.

▶ David's Insta: @datizzard

▶ KD Insta: @koreadeconstructed

These podcasts are recorded live in Seoul. Big thanks to the studio owner and my friend 한정철: https://www.instagram.com/the_story_from_you/

South Korea's first presidents are often remembered as either heroes or villains. But history is rarely that simple. Historian Jihoon Suk joins Korea Deconstructed to explore the country's first five leaders, the social and cultural times they inhabited, and how their legacies continue to shape Korea today.

Jihoon Suk is a historian and PhD candidate at Yonsei University specializing in modern Korean history. His research focuses on Korea's colonial period, particularly how film, radio, and recorded sound shaped Korean culture and ideas of tradition. He has worked with institutions including the Korean Film Archive, the National Museum of Contemporary Korean History, the Seoul Museum of History, and the National Gugak Center.

Find Jihoon and his work online Insta: https://www.instagram.com/idea0853

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jihoon.suk.1

This is his second time on the podcast. Find the first conversation here: https://youtu.be/fjIUd-PiMQI?si=Q6cZUu4oictfmlyb

Discussion Outline

0:00 Introduction

3:27 Syngman Rhee (이승만)

16:00 Francesca Donner

25:22 Park Chung-hee (박정희)

44:30 Yun Poson (윤보선)

51:20 Government Atrocities

54:30 Sasanggye and Chang Chun-ha

1:06:44 Choi Kyu-ha (최규하)

1:12:33 Chun Doo-hwan (전두환)

1:21:00 Purification of Society (사회정화)

1:25:43 Gwangju (광주)

1:33:50 History Deconstructed

A huge thanks to Patreon members: Bhavya, Roxanne Murrell, Sara B Cooper, Anne Brennels, Ell, Johnathan Filbert, Daniela Körppen, Cody Schuman, Christopher Futter, Andreas Wendtland. You are stars!!

Join Our Patreon Community Here: https://www.patreon.com/c/user?u=62047873

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.

▶ David's Insta: @datizzard

▶ KD Insta: @koreadeconstructed

These podcasts are recorded live in Seoul. Big thanks to the studio owner and my friend 한정철: https://www.instagram.com/the_story_from_you/

When we think of Confucianism in the West, we often box it into a category alongside world religions like Christianity or Buddhism: a neat, systematic philosophy created by a single figure. But as I've learned through my time in Korea and my own deep dives into the tradition, this is a fundamental misnomer that actually obscures the truth. In this episode, we strip away the Western labels to look at what Confucianism—or as it's known in the East, Rujia or Yugyo—actually is. It isn't a religion of divine revelation; it is a scholarly tradition, a social ethic, and a political ideology that prioritizes the lived reality of human relationships. Confucius wasn't a prophet; he was a teacher of humanity who believed that by mastering the art of being human, we don't just improve our own lives, we manifest heaven on earth.

In this episode:

- Why Confucianism doesn't fit the Western "religion" box

- The difference between Rujia, Yugyo, and "Confucianism"

- How Confucian thought shapes Korean society today

- What it means to "master the art of being human"

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.

▶ David's Insta: @datizzard

▶ KD Insta: @koreadeconstructed

Thanks to Patreon members: Bhavya, Roxanne Murrell, Sara B Cooper, Anne Brennels, Ell, Johnathan Filbert, Daniela Körppen, Cody

Join Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/user?u=62047873

Dr. Minsoo Kang is a historian and writer. Currently, he is an associate professor of European intellectual history in the Department of History at the University of Missouri–St. Louis.

Find Minsoo and his work online

Against Han: https://aeon.co/essays/against-han-or-why-koreans-are-not-defined-by-sadness

The Story of Hong Gildong: https://www.amazon.com/Story-Hong-Gildong-Penguin-Classics/dp/0143107690

The Melancholy of Untold History: https://www.amazon.com/Melancholy-Untold-History-Novel/dp/0063337509

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minsoo_Kang

This is his second time on the podcast. Find the first conversation here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=queE_0_mWeo

Discussion Outline

0:00 Introduction

2:35 The Story of Tangun

8:31 The Truth of Tangun

16:00 Important Korean Myths

19:40 The King From Elsewhere

25:08 5,000 Years of Korean Dynasty

32:00 Chinese Influence on Korea

36:19 Confucianism in East Asia

42:05 Asadal

47:30 Wi Man

52:50 Kim Bu Sik

59:16 Korea-China Relations

1:05:20 When Did Koreannes Begin?

1:16:30 Korean Ethnonationalism

1:32:56 North Korea

1:48:05 National Foundation Day and Daejonggyo

1:54:05 The King's Warden Analysis

Timeline of Korean History

Gojoseon 2333 to 108 BCE

Goguryeo 37 BCE to 668 CE

Baekje 18 BCE to 660 CE

Silla 57 BCE to 935 CE (unified the peninsula in 668)

Balhae 668 to 935 CE

Goryeo 918 to 1392 CE

Joseon 1392 to 1897 CE

Korean Empire 1897 to 1910 CE

ROK 1948 – present

Thanks to Patreon members: Bhavya, Roxanne Murrell, Sara B Cooper, Anne Brennels, Ell, Johnathan Filbert, Daniela Körppen, Cody

Join Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/user?u=62047873

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.

▶ David's Insta: @datizzard

▶ KD Insta: @koreadeconstructed Listen to Korea Deconstructed

▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/kr/podcast/korea-deconstructed/id1587269128

▶Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5zdXkG0aAAHnDwOvd0jXEE

▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com

Who was Ahn Chang-ho, and what is the real legacy of one of Korea's most revered independence activists? In this episode of Korea Deconstructed, we sit down with his grandson, Philip Ahn Cuddy, to explore the human story, the fight against Japanese colonization, and the enduring impact of the Dosan legacy.

Philip Ahn Cuddy served as the founding director of the Korean American Museum in LA and is the administrator of the Dosan Ahn Chang-ho · Susan Ahn Cuddy Archives.

Learn more about the archives and legacy: https://www.dosan.org/

Discussion Outline

0:00 Introduction

2:25 The Lineage

6:50 Dosan Ahn Chang Ho

22:20 The Colonization of Korea

32:00 Journey to America

42:11 The Provisional Government

52:45 The Challenge of Unity

1:15:03 Park Chung Hee

1:17:50 Meeting Korean Presidents

1:20:50 North Korea

Thanks to Patreon members: Bhavya, Roxanne Murrell, Sara B Cooper, Anne Brennels, Ell, Johnathan Filbert, Daniela Körppen, Cody

Join Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/user?u=62047873

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.

▶ David's Insta: @datizzard

▶ KD Insta: @koreadeconstructed

Colin Marshall is a Seoul-based essayist, broadcaster, and public speaker focusing on cities, language, and culture. Through his Substack newsletter, Books on Cities, he writes long-form essay-reviews exploring those very themes. He is the author of the Korean essay collection "한국 요약 금지" (No Summarizing Korea) and "Korean Newtro: Where Youth Meets Tradition". Additionally, he recently contributed a story to the Seoul-set mystery anthology "그날, 서울에서는 무슨 일이." He currently writes a column for the Korean newspaper 동아일보.

His essays have appeared in a wide range of outlets, including The New Yorker, Guardian Cities, Open Culture, the Times Literary Supplement, and the Los Angeles Review of Books (where he authored the Korea Blog for six years).

Find Him Online

Email: colinjmarshall@gmail.com

Twitter: https://x.com/colinmarshall

Korean Newtro: https://www.amazon.com/Korean-Newtro-Where-Youth-Tradition/dp/156591533X

No Summarizing Korea: https://product.kyobobook.co.kr/detail/S000212263515

Discussion Outline

0:00 Introduction

5:30 Writing in Korean for Koreans

13:05 The Korean Language

17:25 Korean Language and Translation

24:30 Park Chan-wook and Spacelessness

34:35 Korean Newtro Book

46:00 Seeing Korean 촌스러워

56:25 The Dabang

1:05:20 Korean Social Taboos

1:19:10 Consumption of Culture

1:25:45 Advice for Korea

Thanks to Patreon members: Bhavya, Roxanne Murrell, Sara B Cooper, Anne Brennels, Ell, Johnathan Filbert, Daniela Körppen, Cody

Join Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/user?u=62047873

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.

▶ David's Insta: @datizzard

▶ KD Insta: @koreadeconstructed

How do dragons affect Korean culture, philosophy, and cosmology? I brought my friend Professor David Mason back into the studio to explore the differences between Asian and Western dragons. The "Dragon King's" role in Buddhism, Shamanism, and Taoism. Why East Asian cosmology views the world without a concept of absolute evil. And how these ancient symbols can still offer solutions to modern life. Learn about history, pansori, Korean temples, and the hidden "Tao" behind it all.

The Guest David A. Mason recently retired as a Professor of Korean Cultural Tourism at Kyung Hee & Sejong Universities for 17 years, and is a longtime researcher on the deep religious characteristics of Korea's mountains. Prior to this, he served as a consultant for the national Ministry of Culture and Tourism for five years. Mason earned a Masters' Degree in the History of Korean Religions from Yonsei University in 1997, and was appointed the national Honorary Ambassador of the Baekdu-daegan Ranges in 2011. He has authored and edited ten books on Korean culture and tourism. He is now a tour-guide and public-speaker, based in Seoul. A native of the USA, he has been living in South Korea for 40 years now.

For tours and books, find him online:

mtnwolf@gmail.com

sanshinseon.com

mntnwolf@facebook

Discussion Outline

0:00 Introduction

2:25 Asian Dragons & Western Dragons

8:31 Do Dragons Exist?

17:30 Dragons in Korean Culture

27:40 The Animals of the Zodiac

33:10 The Dragon King in China and Korea

38:44 Dragons in Buddhism and Shamanism

42:05 The Dragon King in Pansori

54:43 No Evil in East Asian Cosmology

57:15 Taoism

1:06:30 Dragons in the Modern World

1:10:55 Life Advice

Thanks to Patreon members: Bhavya, Roxanne Murrell, Sara B Cooper, Anne Brennels, Ell, Johnathan Filbert, Daniela Körppen, Cody

Join Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/user?u=62047873

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.

▶ David's Insta: @datizzard

▶ KD Insta: @koreadeconstructed

▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/kr/podcast/korea-deconstructed/id1587269128

▶Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5zdXkG0aAAHnDwOvd0jXEE

▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com

When you live and work in Korea, it's hard to escape talk around BTS. Their comeback concert in Gwanghwamun generated a huge amount of media attention, both positive and negative. Moreover, the use of traditional elements such as Arirang and Gyeongbuk Palace generated both national pride and a sense of domestic fatigue. I got a group of young adults who have grown up with BTS to talk about their reactions to the showcase, the album, the psychological pressure the group face, and the practice of streaming and fandom in K-pop culture.

I am joined by two young Korean adults, Esha and Namu, as well as two international students living and studying here in Korea, Violet and Alina.

Discussion Outline

0:00 Reacting to the Album

13:48 No. 29 and Korean Philosophy

23:56 The Comeback Concert

46:00 The Psychological Pressure of Being an Idol

55:15 Fan Labour and Streaming

1:07:30 Korean Nationalism and Culture

Thanks to Patreon members: Bhavya, Roxanne Murrell, Sara B Cooper, Anne Brennels, Ell, Johnathan Filbert, Daniela Körppen

Join Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/user?u=62047873

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.

▶ David's Insta: @datizzard

▶ KD Insta: @koreadeconstructed

▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/kr/podcast/korea-deconstructed/id1587269128

▶Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5zdXkG0aAAHnDwOvd0jXEE

▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com

Why do people join cults? The reality is seemingly very complex. In this episode of Korea Deconstructed, I sit down with Peter Daley, a long-term resident of Korea and someone who has spent decades observing and documenting the world of fringe religious movements and cultic groups.

Peter Daley is an Australian who has lived in Korea since 2002. He worked at Keimyung University in Daegu for eight years, teaching English for six years and spending two years working in Keimyung's Office of International Affairs. He has been teaching English at Sookmyung Women's University since 2012.

Find him online: https://peterdaley.net/strangerthings/

https://internationalculticstudies.org/ (ICSA)

Discussion Outline

0:00 Introduction to Cults

7:00 The Unification Church (통일교)

13:00 Church or Cult?

20:00 Who Do Cults Approach?

23:56 Shincheonji

29:00 Christianity

37:20 Influence in Korean Society

40:55 Aum Shinrikyo

46:50 Former Members of Cults

56:30 Scientology

1:06:00 The Necessity of Empathy

1:11:20 Getting People Out of Cults

1:17:02 Are Cults Getting Bigger or Smaller in Korea?

1:20:10 How to Spot Cults?

1:25:55 Mass Weddings

Thanks to Patreon members: Bhavya, Roxanne Murrell, Sara B Cooper, Anne Brennels, Ell, Johnathan Filbert, Daniela Körppen

Join Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/user?u=62047873

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.

▶ David's Insta: @datizzard

▶ KD Insta: @koreadeconstructed

▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/kr/podcast/korea-deconstructed/id1587269128

▶Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5zdXkG0aAAHnDwOvd0jXEE

▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com

How was North Korea, a state that famously mandates atheism, built on a foundation of Christian fervor? In this episode, I sit down with Jonathan Cheng, the Wall Street Journal's China Bureau Chief, to discuss his new book, Korean Messiah: Kim Il Sung and the Christian Roots of North Korea's Personality Cult.

We trace the journey of Pyongyang from the "Jerusalem of the East" to the center of the world's most rigid cult of personality. From the collapse of the Joseon Dynasty's caste system and the arrival of missionaries like Samuel Moffett to Kim Il Sung's own Christian upbringing, we explore how the linguistic and structural tools of the church were co-opted to create a "God on Earth." We cover the Pyongyang Revival and the "Mystical" texts of early Korean Christianity. How the oppression of the Joseon era made the peninsula fertile ground for a new faith. The "Exodus South" and the influential figures like Cho Man-sik. Why Kim Il Sung remains the most pivotal—and misunderstood—figure in modern Korean history.

The Book: https://koreanmessiah.com/

Find Jonathan onlie

Twitter: @jchengwsj

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-cheng-546b703/

Discussion Outline

0:00 Introduction

5:15 The Joseon Dynasty

11:25 The Erasure of Kija

14:45 Christianity's Arrival in Korea

19:25 Samuel Moffett and the Jerusalem of the East

30:00 The Figures of Pyongyang's Church

37:15 Jeonggamnok (정감록, 鄭鑑錄)

43:50 Kim Il Sung's Christian Upbringing

50:00 Cho Man Sik (조만식) - the Gandhi of Korea

56:00 The Legend of Kim Il Sung

59:40 The Christian Exodus South

1:04:25 Cults in Modern Korea

1:16:25 Recommendations

Thanks to Patreon members: Bhavya, Roxanne Murrell, Sara B Cooper, Anne Brennels, Ell, Johnathan Filbert, Daniela Körppen

Join Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/user?u=62047873

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.

▶ David's Insta: @datizzard

▶ KD Insta: @koreadeconstructed

▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/kr/podcast/korea-deconstructed/id1587269128

▶Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5zdXkG0aAAHnDwOvd0jXEE

▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com

What happens when you take the wrong camera to a Day6 K-pop concert? In this episode of Korea Deconstructed, we explore the recent "SEAbling War". Discussing viral memes to deeply uncomfortable conversations about race and history, our four guests demonstrate why this is about much more than just social media comments. For them, it's also a lived experience and connected to their own identity as individuals bridging multiple cultures.

The Guests

1) Gabby https://www.instagram.com/gabrielaimanuels/

2) Yelynn

3) Dabin https://www.instagram.com/dabinnjung

4) Nuri https://www.instagram.com/nurichoii/

Discussion Outline

0:00 Introduction

3:25 What Happened at the Day6 Concert?

7:30 The SEAblings Internet War Begins

11:27 Nouveau-riche Nationalism

15:30 Lived Experience in Korea

19:15 The Influence of Media: Racket Boys (라켓소년단)

23:50 Online Behavior

33:58 Indonesian Culture in Korea

53:50 Looking Forward

Thanks to Patreon members: Bhavya, Roxanne Murrell, Sara B Cooper, Anne Brennels, Ell, Johnathan Filbert, Daniela Körppen

Join Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/user?u=62047873

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.

Connect with us:

▶ Get in touch: datizzard@swu.ac.kr

▶ David's Insta: @datizzard

▶ KD Insta: @koreadeconstructed Listen to Korea Deconstructed

▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/kr/podcast/korea-deconstructed/id1587269128

▶Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5zdXkG0aAAHnDwOvd0jXEE

▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com

What does it mean to be queer in a society often defined by its rigid traditions, colonial scars, and rapid neoliberal transformation? In this episode of Korea Deconstructed, we sit down with Dr. Samuel Perry from Brown University to challenge the common misconception that LGBT issues are a "new" or "Western" import to the Korean peninsula.

Through his new anthology, A Century of Queer Korean Fiction, Dr. Perry reveals a long-standing tradition of diverse sexualities and gender expressions that have navigated censorship, war, and dictatorship for over a hundred years. We explore the coding of literature during oppressive eras, the dangers of using Western yardsticks to measure Korean resistance, and how the rise of neoliberalism has impacted social visibility versus true acceptance. From figures like Yi Gwangsu to the gritty, three-dimensional characters of modern writers like Sang Young Park, we explore a literary history that is as complex but, at the same time, beautiful.

About the Guest: Samuel Perry is an Associate Professor of East Asian Studies at Brown University. A specialist in Japanese and Korean history, culture, and literature, he is the author of Recasting Red Culture in Proletarian Japan: Childhood, Korea, and the Historical Avant-garde. His most recent work includes the dual-language anthologies A Century of Queer Korean Fiction and 한국의 퀴어 문학: 한 세기 (2023).

Public Profiles

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emersonius/

Publications: https://sites.brown.edu/samuelperry/publications/

Brown Profile: https://vivo.brown.edu/display/sperry

Find the book here: https://mngbookshop.co.uk/9781603296274/a-century-of-queer-korean-fiction/

Discussion Outline

0:00 Introduction

7:00 Queer Issues are Not Modern

13:30 Yi Kwangsu and Colonial Queerness

18:30 Does Modernity Oppress Queerness?

25:00 What is Korean Literature?

31:00 Sang Young Park

44:00 Yi Seoyoung

48:00 Changing Language

54:00 The Future of Queer Literature

Thanks to Patreon members: Bhavya, Roxanne Murrell, Sara B Cooper, Anne Brennels, Ell, Johnathan Filbert

Join Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/user?u=62047873

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 two decades. He can be reached at datizzard@swu.ac.kr.

▶ Get in touch: datizzard@swu.ac.kr

▶ David's Insta: @datizzard

▶ KD Insta: @koreadeconstructed

▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/kr/podcast/korea-deconstructed/id1587269128

▶Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5zdXkG0aAAHnDwOvd0jXEE

▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com

What happens when a democracy is pushed to the brink? In this episode, we are joined by Dr. Ben Engel to explore the outrageous martial law declaration, the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol, the life sentence, and the rise of the far-right in South Korea. We also explore the powerful concept of Min-sim (민심) and how ethno-nationalism is reshaping the country's democratic future.

About the Guest: Benjamin Engel is an assistant professor of Korean Studies at Dankook University. He received his Ph.D. and Master's in International Studies from the Graduate School of International Studies, Seoul National University. He previously worked as a research professor at the Institute of International Affairs at Seoul National University and as a researcher at the Institute of Peace and Unification Studies and at the East Asia Institute. His recent academic publications include "Koreagate Revisited: ROK Government Lobbying on the Human Rights Issue" in Cold War History (2024) and "Making Amends: U.S. Public Diplomacy Efforts in the late 1980s to Address the Gwangju Democracy Movement" in Korea Journal (2024). Additionally, he has written several articles linking history to current affairs and analyses of US-ROK relations in various publications including East Asia Forum, The Diplomat, and Korea Pro and has been quoted in various media outlets including the Washington Post, Financial Times, and Korean Herald. Originally from United States and a graduate of the University of Missouri, he has been living and researching in South Korea since 2010.

Public Profiles

https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjamin-engel-73178443/

https://bsky.app/profile/benjaminaengel.bsky.social

Discussion Outline

0:00 Explaining What Happened

5:00 How Dangerous Was It?

7:10 Why Did Yoon Do It?

11:40 Sentencing the President

16:40 Explaining Minsim

23:10 Ideology in Korea

27:25 Ethnonationalism in Korea

33:00 Gender and Demographics

37:00 Assessing Lee Jae Myung

43:00 Democratic Lessons for the US

47:15 Korean Culture

51:40 How Did Korea Become Democratic?

58:15 Recommendations

Thanks to Patreon members: Bhavya, Roxanne Murrell, Sara B Cooper, Anne Brennels, Ell, Johnathan Filbert

Join Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/user?u=62047873

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.

Connect with us:

▶ Get in touch: datizzard@swu.ac.kr

▶ David's Insta: @datizzard

▶ KD Insta: @koreadeconstructed Listen to Korea Deconstructed

▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/kr/podcast/korea-deconstructed/id1587269128

▶Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5zdXkG0aAAHnDwOvd0jXEE

▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com

Episode Summary:

What defines a neighborhood? In this episode, we are joined by Mi-young Kim, a writer and essayist who has written about the unique culture and practices of Itaewon in Seoul. We dive into her latest book, Itaewon Is My Home (이태원에 삽니다), and explore how "place" shapes our sense of self.

About the Guest:

Mi-young Kim is an essayist and the Korean Director of the International Comedy Association. Having majored in Philosophy and Arts Management, Mi-young explores the intersections of identity and place. She is the author of the essay Bellefleur's Dream and her newest work, Itaewon Is My Home (이태원에 삽니다). Beyond her writing, Mi-young leads a community of creators through writing groups focused on self-discovery and healing.

Miyoung's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bellefleur_de_france/

이태원에 삽니다: https://www.yes24.com/product/goods/172736056

Discussion Outline

0:00 Introduction

2:30 Who is Kim Mi-young?

10:55 Moving to Itaewon

28:54 Being a Writer

33:22 Meditation

39:00 Discovering the Self

48:10 The Importance of the Book

Thanks to Patreon members: Bhavya, Roxanne Murrell, Sara B Cooper, Anne Brennels, Ell, Johnathan Filbert

Join Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/user?u=62047873

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.

Connect with us:

▶ Get in touch: datizzard@swu.ac.kr

▶ David's Insta: @datizzard

▶ KD Insta: @koreadeconstructed Listen to Korea Deconstructed

▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/kr/podcast/korea-deconstructed/id1587269128

▶Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5zdXkG0aAAHnDwOvd0jXEE

▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com

Anthony Curtis Adler is professor of German and Comparative Literature at Yonsei University's Underwood International College, where he has taught since 2006. His present research interests span modern and Classical literature, literary theory, continental philosophy, media studies, and German idealism.

Academia : https://yonsei.academia.edu/AnthonyCurtisAdler

Bong Joon Ho book: https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/bong-joon-ho-9781350414655/

Celebricities: https://www.amazon.com/Celebricities-Culture-Phenomenology-Commodity-Inventing/dp/0823270807/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0

Discussion Outline

0:00 The Blandness of Face

2:45 Bong Joon Ho's Reputation

9:30 Categorizing Bong's Movies

12:25 Barking Dogs Never Bite (2000)

22:20 Memories of Murder (2003)

41:10 Mother (2009)

48:50 Morality and Anti-Americanism in Bong's Movies

52:50 The Host (2006)

1:01:15 Okja (2017) and Snowpiercer (2013)

1:11:45 Parasite (2019)

1:25:45 Recommendations

Thanks to Patreon members: Bhavya, Roxanne Murrell, Sara B Cooper, Anne Brennels, Ell, Johnathan Filbert

Join Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/user?u=62047873

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.

▶ David's Insta: @datizzard

▶ KD Insta: @koreadeconstructed

▶ Listen on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/kr/podcast/korea-deconstructed/id1587269128

▶Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5zdXkG0aAAHnDwOvd0jXEE

▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com

In this episode of Korea Deconstructed, we explore Korean indie music, its culture, artists, and how capitalism and technology is reshaping the K-indie scene. Joined by Zuza Sołtykowska, a Polish writer and academic based in London, we discuss Korean language studies, underground music culture, and the tensions between art, industry, and economic growth.

Zuza is a Polish writer and academic currently based in London. Her work spans Korean indie music, film, and art, with a particular focus on gender, cultural identity, and economic equality.

Find her online https://www.instagram.com/zuzasoltykowska/

https://www.koreanindie.com/author/zuza/

Discussion Outline

0:00 Discovering the Korean Language

7:20 Identity and Being Polish

9:05 Introduction to Korean Indie Music

15:40 Writing and Researching K-Indie

21:20 Capitalism and the Indie Music Industry

33:30 The Growth of Korean Indie Music

40:00 Ideology and Meaning in K-Indie

47:12 Rethinking the Korean Music Industry

51:36 The Beauty of Korean Indie + Artist Recommendations

Thanks to Patreon members: Bhavya, Roxanne Murrell, Sara B Cooper, Anne Brennels

Join Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/user?u=62047873

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.

Connect with us:

▶ David's Insta: @datizzard

▶ KD Insta: @koreadeconstructed

▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/kr/podcast/korea-deconstructed/id1587269128

▶Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5zdXkG0aAAHnDwOvd0jXEE

▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com

What's it really like to study in South Korea? In this episode, I sit down with four exchange students from around the world to talk honestly and openly about their experiences at Korean universities. We cover everything from first impressions and making Korean friends to campus culture, visa challenges, professors, trends, expectations, and the toughest parts of living here as a foreigner.

Dillon

Lia (https://www.instagram.com/lia_nana9/)

Zhaniya

Joana

Topics & Timestamps

0:00 Expectations Before Coming to Korea

10:10 First Impressions

20:00 Interacting with Korean People

30:00 Making Friends in Korea

40:00 Studying in Korea

48:20 Korean Professors

1:07:00 Korean University Campus

1:13:20 Working on a Student Visa

1:21:20 Korean Trends

1:41:15 Hardest Thing About Being a Foreigner

1:56:05 Advice for Studying in Korea

Thanks to Patreon members: Bhavya, Roxanne Murrell, Sara B Cooper, Anne Brennels

Join Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/user?u=62047873

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.

Watch this video next: https://youtu.be/vIbpLfWJoZM?si=srRVQ1vRkLvCV076

Subscribe to the channel: @DavidTizzard/videos

Music by Jocelyn Clark

Thank you to 한종철 for helping me record this.

▶ Get in touch: datizzard@swu.ac.kr

▶ David's Insta: @datizzard

▶ KD Insta: @koreadeconstructed Listen to Korea Deconstructed

▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/kr/podcast/korea-deconstructed/id1587269128

▶Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5zdXkG0aAAHnDwOvd0jXEE

▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com

In this episode of Korea Deconstructed, David Tizzard speaks with Dr. Roald Maliangkay about the forces that shaped modern Korea, its culture, speed, identity, and contradictions. We explore Korea in the 1980s; North Korean pro wrestling; the rise of gossip magazines; the banning of Chinese characters; the manufacturing of Korean heritage; and the origins of Korea's bballi-bballi (빨리빨리) culture. We also dive into folk music, Sino-Korean relations, Korea's global image, and the evolving future of Korean Studies. Roald's work uncovers how cultural narratives are made, forgotten, and reinvented. This is a conversation for anyone interested in Korean history, identity formation, and the cultural mechanics behind modern Korea.

Roald's Book: https://www.amazon.com/Broken-Voices-Postcolonial-Entanglements-Preservation/dp/0824866657

Discussion Outline

0:00 Korea in the 1980s

10:30 North Korean Pro Wrestling

17:18 South Korean Gossip Magazines

24:00 Banning the Chinese Script

26:26 Manucfacturing Korean Heritage

35:30 The emergence of Bballi Bballi

49:20 Exploring Folk Music

1:02:15 Korea and China

1:14:25 Korea's Image Abroad

1:29:10 The Future of Korean Studies

1:36:20 Closing Idea

Thanks to Patreon members: Bhavya, Roxanne Murrell, Sara B Cooper, Anne Brennels

Join Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/user?u=62047873

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.

Watch this video next: https://youtu.be/vIbpLfWJoZM?si=srRVQ1vRkLvCV076

Subscribe to the channel: @DavidTizzard/videos

Music by Jocelyn Clark

Thank you to 한종철 for helping me record this.

Connect with us:

▶ Get in touch: datizzard@swu.ac.kr

▶ David's Insta: @datizzard

▶ KD Insta: @koreadeconstructed

▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/kr/podcast/korea-deconstructed/id1587269128

▶Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5zdXkG0aAAHnDwOvd0jXEE

▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com

Many Korean women face both institutional barriers and everyday cultural expectations. Life often feels mapped out in advance, and those who deviate from that path meet resistance or worse. Meanwhile, the media tends to celebrate only the rich and famous, making it harder to see the everyday heroes and role models who truly reflect women's lives in Korea.

In this episode, I'm joined by Minyoung Kim, Victoria Yi, Sarah Soeun Lee, and Sangeun Kim — a team of writers behind a recently published bilingual book that shares real stories of women's experiences in Korea: their challenges, frustrations, families, dreams, and triumphs. Together, we talk about what it means to live honestly in a society that often prefers silence.

Apologies for the sound issues in this one. It was a new set-up and mistakes were made. Hopefully you can still find value in the courage and ideas of the four women.

Book Links

📘 Amazon: https://a.co/d/hCzXIyF (Currently only the eBook is available.)

📗 The printed edition will be officially released on major global retailers such as Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and others on December 19th.

If you can't wait, you can purchase the printed version directly through BookBaby: https://store.bookbaby.com/book/bethekey

Discussion Outline:

0:00 Introduction

8:05 Beyond Stereotypes

15:40 The Power of Community

28:05 Writing a Book

42:00 On Feminism

56:52 Hierarchical Korean Language

1:06:50 Changes in Korean Society

1:27:00 Hope for the Future

1:40:40 Recommendations

Thanks to Patreon members: Bhavya, Roxanne Murrell, Sara B Cooper, Anne Brennels

Join Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/user?u=62047873

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.

Watch this video next: https://youtu.be/vIbpLfWJoZM?si=srRVQ1vRkLvCV076

Subscribe to the channel: @DavidTizzard/videos

Music by Jocelyn Clark

Thank you to 한종철 for helping me record this.

Connect with us:

▶ Get in touch: datizzard@swu.ac.kr

▶ David's Insta: @datizzard

▶ KD Insta: @koreadeconstructed

▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/kr/podcast/korea-deconstructed/id1587269128

▶Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5zdXkG0aAAHnDwOvd0jXEE

▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com

Liss Anda is a clincal psychologist and associate professor working at the University of Stavanger, Norway. Her research currently centers on perinatal mental health. She is especially interested in how cultural understandings and practices of maternity interact with mental wellbeing in new mothers. She also receives clients in a private practice as a therapist, where she takes a humanist and eclectic approach.

She has two kids, two cats, nine fish and some shrimp, has fully renovated two traditional wooden houses from 1908, the latter of which also just about fits her husband. She loves travelling, reading, cinema, eating and laughing. She is a Korean adoptee, born in Busan.

Find Liss online

Insta: https://www.instagram.com/psykologliss/

Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@psykologliss

Her book: https://enkelbutikk.no/psykolog-liss-anda

Discussion Outline

0:00 Postpartum depression

5:39 Baby wearing

11:50 Is motherhood innate?

16:50 Are attitudes to children changing?

21:10 Are we better educated?

31:00 Are parents different from non-parents?

35:50 Korean motherhood

50:40 Teenage Mothers and Exporting Children

58:00 Changing gender attitudes

1:08:55 Is the collective unconsciousness real?

1:19:00 Love in Korean society

1:36 Advice for parents

Appendix and Glossary of Terms: https://www.patreon.com/posts/141703371

Thanks to Patreon members: Bhavya, Roxanne Murrell, Sara B Cooper, Anne Brennels

Join Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/user?u=62047873

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.

Watch this video next: https://youtu.be/vIbpLfWJoZM?si=srRVQ1vRkLvCV076

Subscribe to the channel: @DavidTizzard/videos

Music by Jocelyn Clark

Thank you to 한종철 for helping me record this.

Connect with us:

▶ Get in touch: datizzard@swu.ac.kr

▶ David's Insta: @datizzard

▶ KD Insta: @koreadeconstructed

Listen to Korea Deconstructed

▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/kr/podcast/korea-deconstructed/id1587269128

▶Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5zdXkG0aAAHnDwOvd0jXEE

▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com

Born in Taegu with roots in Jeju, Juhee then immigrated to the U.S. at age eight. As a 16-year-old Korean American girl, she ran away from home in Queens, New York, to become an architect. Having fulfilled that ambition, she returns to South Korea to reconcile with her abandoned heritage, resolve the family trauma, and achieve a sense of han puri. Find Juhee Online Personal Website: https://www.jleehartford.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jleehartford The Fortune Teller Story: https://ghll.truman.edu/juhee-lee-hartford-the-fortune-teller/ Discussion Outline 0:00 Rejecting Korean Identity (The death of a mother and Park Chung-hee on the same day)

8:52 Korean Architecture

19:30 Shamanism

23:05 Modern Korean Living

32:45 How Our Houses Shape Us

40:00 Jeju – The Land of Exile

43:25 Korea as an Emotional Land

48:50 Architecture as Class

54:00 Han Puri

1:01:34 Recommendations

Episode Glossary (New!): https://www.patreon.com/posts/episode-appendix-140730565?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link

Thanks to Patreon members: Bhavya, Roxanne Murrell, Sara B Cooper, Anne Brennels

Join Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/user?u=62047873

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.

Watch this video next: https://youtu.be/vIbpLfWJoZM?si=srRVQ1vRkLvCV076

Subscribe to the channel: @DavidTizzard/videos

Music by Jocelyn Clark

Connect with us:

▶ Get in touch: datizzard@swu.ac.kr

▶ David's Insta: @datizzard

▶ KD Insta: @koreadeconstructed

Listen to Korea Deconstructed

▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/kr/podcast/korea-deconstructed/id1587269128

▶Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5zdXkG0aAAHnDwOvd0jXEE

▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com

Jun Bum Sun joins me to talk about Korea's unique energy, pungryu, its history, and the healing power of music. We cover Choi Chi Won, Tangun, the Hwarang, Shamanism, Choe Je-u, Tongdo Sogi, AI, K-pop, North Korea, Taoism, and the world ahead.

This episode was recorded in Bum Sun's book shop in Haebangchon. Find the video online and you can see the wonderful setting we recorded in as well as his dog 왕손 walking around.

Find Him Online

Jun Bum Sun: https://www.instagram.com/junbumsun/

The Yangbans: https://www.instagram.com/yangbansmusic/

Discussion Outline

0:00 History as Therapy

9:33 The Taeguk

17:35 Where Do We Come From?

26:30 The Power of Music

40:20 Confucianism

48:40 Tangun as a Shaman

55:30 Wind and Flow (Pungryu)

59:40 The Donghak

1:13:10 Patriotism and Cosmopolitanism

1:20:25 North Korea

1:38:40 The Samguk Yusa

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.

Watch this video next: https://youtu.be/vIbpLfWJoZM?si=srRVQ1vRkLvCV076

Subscribe to the channel: @DavidTizzard/videos

Thanks to Patreon members: Bhavya, Roxanne Murrell, Sara B Cooper

Join Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/user?u=62047873

Music by Jocelyn Clark

Connect with us:

▶ Get in touch: datizzard@swu.ac.kr

▶ David's Insta: @datizzard

▶ KD Insta: @koreadeconstructed

Listen to Korea Deconstructed

▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/kr/podcast/korea-deconstructed/id1587269128

▶Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5zdXkG0aAAHnDwOvd0jXEE

▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com

While much of the world focuses on the beauty standards of Korea's rich and famous, its K-Pop stars, actors, and influencers, we are left wondering how much of this actually applies to real life. Do regular Korean citizens face the same scrutiny around weight, fashion, surgery, and tattoos? I brought 4 Korean adults together to talk about these ideas and also to reveal some things about their own lives.

Today's Guests

Sage https://www.instagram.com/twopercensage/

Jeoung https://www.instagram.com/jjong___s2/

Nuri https://www.instagram.com/nurichoii/

AJohn https://www.instagram.com/ft.ajohn/ / https://www.youtube.com/@ftajohn

Discussion Outline

0:00 Nail culture

7:40 Pretty Privilege in Korea

18:00 Showing Skin

24:45 Does K-Pop Affect People?

37:40 Fashion Turnoffs

42:05 What's Hot?

46:25 Weight and Fitness

57:10 Men's Hair

1:03:05 Skin Color / Being White

1:08:35 Tattoos

1:16:28 Plastic Surgery

1:25:00 K-Beauty and Cosmetics

1:30:22 A Message about Beauty

1:36:20 Recommendations

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.

Watch this video next: https://youtu.be/vIbpLfWJoZM?si=srRVQ1vRkLvCV076

Subscribe to the channel: @DavidTizzard/videos

Thanks to Patreon members: Bhavya, Roxanne Murrell

Join Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/user?u=62047873

Music by Jocelyn Clark

Connect with us:

▶ David's Insta: @datizzard

▶ KD Insta: @koreadeconstructed

Joseph Bengivenni is an artist and photographer who has spend most of the past twenty years living in and exploring South Korea. The Korean mountains and temples have captured his heart and mind, as he obsessively searches for scenic areas to photograph and auspicious places to practice Dharma.

You can follow his journey

on Instagram: @oxherder_photography

The history of Korean Buddhism: koreanbuddhism.wordpress.com.

Photos: https://oxherder.smugmug.com/

Discussion

0:00 Introduction to Buddhism

34:00 Seosan, Korea

45:48 Meditation and Hwadu

1:01:20 Gyeongheo

1:19:20 An Ox with No Nostrils

1:27:48 Daehaeng Kun Sunim

1:38:00 Recommendations

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.

Watch this video next: https://youtu.be/vIbpLfWJoZM?si=srRVQ1vRkLvCV076

Subscribe to the channel: @DavidTizzard/videos

Thanks to Patreon members: Bhavya, Roxanne Murrell

Join Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/user?u=62047873

Music by Jocelyn Clark

Connect with us:

▶ Get in touch: datizzard@swu.ac.kr

▶ David's Insta: @datizzard

▶ KD Insta: @koreadeconstructed

Listen to Korea Deconstructed

▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/kr/podcast/korea-deconstructed/id1587269128

▶Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5zdXkG0aAAHnDwOvd0jXEE

▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com

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 and Japan

1:15:50 The International Order 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. Watch this video next: https://youtu.be/vIbpLfWJoZM?si=srRVQ1vRkLvCV076 Subscribe to the channel: @DavidTizzard/videos Thanks to Patreon members: Bhavya, Roxanne Murrell Join Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/user?u=62047873

Music by Jocelyn Clark

Connect with us:

▶ David's Insta: @datizzard

▶ KD Insta: @koreadeconstructed Listen to Korea Deconstructed

▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/kr/podcast/korea-deconstructed/id1587269128

▶Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5zdXkG0aAAHnDwOvd0jXEE

▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com

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 also reflects on his mentorship of Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun, two presidents who helped usher in Korea's democratic era, and with whom he later served in high positions as well as in the role of Ambassador of the ROK in the United Kingdom (2001 - 2003) and Ambassador of the ROK in Japan (2004-2007)

The Baekbong Political Culture Research Institute: http://bbi.or.kr/

Inside North Korea's Theocracy (book): https://www.amazon.com/Inside-North-Koreas-Theocracy-Song-thaek/dp/1438473729

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ra_Jong-yil

Thank you to Han Jong-chul for helping me record on location: https://www.instagram.com/the_story_from_you/

Discussion Outline

0:00 Korea Under Occupation

9:10 Baekbong Na Yong-kyun (Jong-Yil's father)

22:30 Liberal Democracy in Korea

44:18 On Kim Dae-jung

1:07:17 On Roh Moo-hyun

1:27:05 On Compassion, Books, and Myths

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.

Subscribe to the channel: @DavidTizzard/videos

Thanks to Patreon members: Bhavya, Roxanne Murrell

Join Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/user?u=62047873

Music by Jocelyn Clark

Connect with us:

▶ Get in touch: datizzard@swu.ac.kr

▶ David's Insta: @datizzard

▶ KD Insta: @koreadeconstructed Listen to Korea Deconstructed

▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/kr/podcast/korea-deconstructed/id1587269128

▶Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5zdXkG0aAAHnDwOvd0jXEE

▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com

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 Reactions to K-pop

25:00 Airbnb and SEVENTEEN

28:35 Toxicity in K-pop Online

32:00 Parasocial Relationships

36:00 Objectivity in Music Reviews

40:00 The Producers of K-pop

43:30 Jay Park

45:40 DPR IAN

48:22 How Big Is Hallyu in Italy?

53:46 K-Beauty 57:00 Being in Korea

1:01:40 Italian and Korean Culture

1:04:10 Where Is the Modern World Going?

1:14:40 Recommendations

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.

Watch this video next: https://youtu.be/vIbpLfWJoZM?si=srRVQ1vRkLvCV076

Subscribe to the channel: @DavidTizzard/videos

Thanks to Patreon members: Hee Ji Jacobs, Bhavya, Roxanne Murrell

Join Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/user?u=62047873

Music by Jocelyn Clark

Connect with us:

▶ Get in touch: datizzard@swu.ac.kr

▶ David's Insta: @datizzard

▶ KD Insta: @koreadeconstructed

▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/kr/podcast/korea-deconstructed/id1587269128

▶Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5zdXkG0aAAHnDwOvd0jXEE

▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com

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 rediscovery, passion, and why Korea speaks to so many hearts around the world. She also reflects on her experiences as a Muslim in Korea and how she is able to navigate these spaces.

Rania: https://www.instagram.com/the_lebanese_londoner/

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.

Watch this video next: https://youtu.be/vIbpLfWJoZM

Subscribe to the channel: @DavidTizzard/videos

Thanks to Patreon members: Hee Ji Jacobs, Bhavya, Roxanne Murrell

Join Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/user?u=62047873

Discussion Outline

0:00 Korea Deconstructed

2:45 Meaning in modern life

31:00 The importance of class

1:01:20 The struggles of capitalism

1:08:30 K-dramas and the love of the country

1:26:40 Being a Muslim in Korea

1:37:00 How to foster connection

1:46:45 Recommendations

Music by Jocelyn Clark

Connect with us:

▶ Get in touch: datizzard@swu.ac.kr

▶ David's Insta: @datizzard

▶ KD Insta: @koreadeconstructed

Listen to Korea Deconstructed

▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/kr/podcast/korea-deconstructed/id1587269128

▶Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5zdXkG0aAAHnDwOvd0jXEE

▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com

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 this all mean for those of us living in a world still shaped by the ghosts of his decisions?

Buy Fyodor's latest book here: https://www.amazon.com/Accidental-Tyrant-Life-Kim-sung/dp/0197800882

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.

Watch this video next: https://youtu.be/vIbpLfWJoZM

Subscribe to the channel: @DavidTizzard/videos

Thanks to Patreon members: Hee Ji Jacobs, Bhavya, Roxanne Murrell Join Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/user?u=62047873

Discussion Outline

0:00 Who was Kim Il Sung?

9:00 Japanese colonization of Korea

13:40 Kim Il Sung's early life

22:30 What is communism?

27:30 Kim Il Sung the anti-Japanese guerrilla fighter

35:15 How the Soviet Union created North Korea

44:10 Why was Kim Il Sung chosen to lead?

52:40 Planning the Korean War

58:30 Who was Mun Il?

1:05:10 Chairman Mao

1:15:20 Kim Il Sung's economic policies

1:22:40 The succession policies of North Korea

1:41:50 How people misunderstand Juche

1:54:00 Recommendations

Music by Jocelyn Clark

Connect with us:

▶ Get in touch: datizzard@swu.ac.kr

▶ David's Insta: @datizzard

▶ KD Insta: @koreadeconstructed Listen to Korea Deconstructed

▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/kr/podcast/korea-deconstructed/id1587269128

▶Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5zdXkG0aAAHnDwOvd0jXEE

▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com

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 always seem built for them. Korea Deconstructed #105 Big thank you to these wonderful people: Yunseo (https://www.instagram.com/y_jeon_s/) Jennie (https://www.instagram.com/isojeong512/) Andrew (https://www.instagram.com/andrew__ko/) Ray 한종철 (https://www.instagram.com/the_story_from_you/) 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. Watch this video next: https://youtu.be/vIbpLfWJoZM Subscribe to the channel: @DavidTizzard/videos Thanks to Patreon members: Hee Ji Jacobs, Bhavya, Roxanne Murrell Join Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/user?u=62047873 Discussion Outline 0:00 What did election day feel like? 8:15 Analyzing the candidates 15:40 Can you talk about politics in Korea? 23:50 What matters to you in politics? 27:15 Gender and military service 32:00 Japan, America, China, and North Korea 43:35 Produce (Politics) 101 46:40 Young people's politics 57:35 Kwon Young-guk 1:05:40 The future of Korea 1:18:30 Message to the new president 1:21:55 Recommendations Music by Jocelyn Clark Connect with us: ▶ Get in touch: datizzard@swu.ac.kr ▶ David's Insta: @datizzard ▶ KD Insta: @koreadeconstructed Questions or Topic Suggestions? Write in the Comments Below! #KoreaDeconstructed #korea #koreanculture #southkorea Listen to Korea Deconstructed ▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/kr/podcast/korea-deconstructed/id1587269128 ▶Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5zdXkG0aAAHnDwOvd0jXEE ▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com

Haley Yang is a culture reporter at the Korea JoongAng Daily specializing in K-pop, Korean society and multiculturalism. She was also a big fan of K-pop growing up.

She spoke to me about how K-pop began to find its own unique style following the break from J-pop in 2007, the effects of Big Bang on the music scene as OG gender benders despite some of them later being involved in crime rings, and K-pop as a niche musical element inside Korea. Haley also called the fetishization of K-pop idols by international fans the elephant in the room and the subsequent loyalty shown to idols as being the result of the artists replaceability rather than any unique talents. She also drew attention to fan chat services by companies such as SM which encourage parasocial relationships between the fans and the stars. In terms of media reporting, the race for YouTube views is described by Haley as a pissing contest among fans and this is causing platforms to reassess how they measure songs' real popularity. She also explains how a throwaway line on Gag Concert about TVXQ became a turning point for fans' album purchases.

The conversation ends on the subject of mental health, suicide, and social values in the entertainment industry and society more broadly as well as where one can find positivity and hope in K-pop. *I wish the audio of this chat was a bit better because I learned a lot listening to Haley and gained some new perspectives

Heejeon Kim has worked in the Korean movie and television industry as a distributor and producer. Here she offers her own personal opinions on how she survived the toxic masculinity that characterized the early chapters of her career, the Korean film renaissance and why it took place, and the dark nature of Korean movies. She also addresses concepts of identity and what it means to be a Korean amidst all the current success as well as bicultural awareness and the need for TCKs to tell their stories. The main message she focuses on is that authentic local experiences can have global appeal. The conversation closes with some thoughts on Squid Game and the positive and negative reactions to it as well as the subtitles issues.

In this episode of Korea Deconstructed, Kwak Yong-hwan, a certified medical doctor at Soonchunhyang University Hospital, discusses the changing trends in Korean health over time. He also explains how the current system, which benefits the customers and citizens, is based on prices set by the government which often cause hardships for doctors. The result of this is that more and more medical professionals are leaving healthcare and venturing into the aesthetic industry to make more money. Beyond this, he discusses the politics of alternative traditional medicine before going on to suggest what he believes are the most important reasons behind Korea's relatively successful attempts at combating the Covid-19 pandemic. The conversation ends with his views on the popular local medical drama Hospital Playlist and how closely it resembles real life.

In this episode of Korea Deconstructed, Kyungeun Lee discusses how the Korean government allowed adoption to be operated as a private system until 2012, giving its newly-born children no state protections and denying them their human rights. This resulted in 200,000 young Korean children, often under the age of 1, being sent abroad. Truth, justice, and reconciliation are required, but is Korean society ready to do it?

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 Jungian psychology, a woman balancing study and modeling, an ethnic Korean from Uzbekistan (Koryosaram), and someone just embarking on their college life.

Big thank you to these wonderful people:

Celine (@celinesoyoon)

Marina (@marina_tens)

Susan

Ray

한종철

Watch the original video from @Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell https://youtu.be/Ufmu1WD2TSk?si=0RuYZzEe5cr4pQ7p

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.

Watch this video next: https://youtu.be/QJ66Ew2FsOI?si=bSVFz590fd1xQPsM

Subscribe to the channel: @DavidTizzard/videos

Thanks to Patreon members: Hee Ji Jacobs, Bhavya, Roxanne Murrell

Support Korea Deconstructed: https://www.patreon.com/c/user?u=62047873

Discussion Outline

0:00 Reactions to the video

9:43 A spiritual crisis

16:50 Gender conversations

23:40 The popularity of Korean grief

34:20 Generation gaps and the elderly

43:20 Korean education

51:55 Do young Korean people want children?

1:04:10 Is the future bright?

1:20:55 Recommendations

Music by Jocelyn Clark and Radical Gary

Connect with us:

▶ Get in touch: datizzard@swu.ac.kr

▶ David's Insta: @datizzard

▶ KD Insta: @koreadeconstructed

Questions or Topic Suggestions? Write in the Comments!

#KoreaDeconstructed #korea #koreanculture #kurzgesagt #southkorea

Listen to Korea Deconstructed

▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/kr/podcast/korea-deconstructed/id1587269128

▶Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5zdXkG0aAAHnDwOvd0jXEE

▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com

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, farmers reclaimed land, and women demanded rights. It was Korea's "Asian Spring"...an explosion of grassroots energy and possibility. But it didn't last.

Instead of freedom, Koreans faced a new occupying force: the U.S. military government in the South. Kornel walks us through how the American-led administration, fearful of leftist movements and obsessed with anti-communism, sidelined local efforts toward democracy, reinstalled collaborators from the colonial regime, and helped lay the groundwork for division, war, and decades of authoritarian rule. This is a story about who gets to decide the future when the dust of war settles. And it's more important than ever.

Buy A Fractured Liberation: https://www.hup.harvard.edu/books/9780674258433

Kornel Chang is the author of Pacific Connections: The Making of the U.S.-Canadian Borderlands, winner of the Association for Asian American Studies Book Prize in History. He is Associate Professor of History and American Studies and Chair of the History Department at Rutgers University–Newark.

About David A. Tizzard

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.

Watch this video next: https://youtu.be/QJ66Ew2FsOI?si=bSVFz590fd1xQPsM

Subscribe to the channel: @DavidTizzard/videos

Thanks to Patreon members: Hee Ji Jacobs, Bhavya, Roxanne Murrell

Join Patreon: Support Korea Deconstructed: https://www.patreon.com/c/user?u=62047873

Discussion Outline

0:00 From Pyongyang to New York

9:49 The Paths Not Taken

27:48 Why Was Korea Divided?

41:36 Who Could Lead Korea?

52:42 Collaboration with the Japanese

1:04:35 The Lived Experiences of 1945-1948

1:17:14 Using Literature to Centre Ordinary Koreans

1:26:23 On Korean Studies and its Factions

1:37:00 Recommendations

Music by Jocelyn Clark

Connect with us:

▶ Get in touch: datizzard@swu.ac.kr

▶ David's Insta: @datizzard

▶ KD Insta: @koreadeconstructed

Questions or Topic Suggestions? Write in the Comments Below!

#KoreaDeconstructed #korea #koreanhistory #koreanculture

Listen to Korea Deconstructed

▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/kr/podcast/korea-deconstructed/id1587269128

▶Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5zdXkG0aAAHnDwOvd0jXEE

▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com

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 shares practical advice on visas, adapting to Korean norms, and how to find real beauty in your experiences.

Follow Kim Ninja

Instagram: @iamkimninja

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/iamkimninja/

Website: iamkimninja.com

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.

Watch this video next: https://youtu.be/QJ66Ew2FsOI?si=bSVFz590fd1xQPsM

Subscribe to the channel: @DavidTizzard/videos

Thanks to Patreon members: Hee Ji Jacobs, Bhavya, Roxanne Murrell

Join Patreon: Support Korea Deconstructed: https://www.patreon.com/c/user?u=62047873

Discussion Outline

0:00 – Why Choose Korea? (Reasons to live in Korea)

2:45 – K-pop Matters for Asian People (Cultural significance of K-pop)

6:15 – Translating Eastern and Western Culture (Bridging cultural gaps)

10:40 – Living in Korea (Adapting to life in Korea)

25:00 – Avoiding The Negativity of Korea (Focus on positivity in expat life)

45:18 – Korea and Vietnamese Relations and Culture (Exploring the ties between Vietnam and Korea)

55:55 – The Visa Process in Korea (Step-by-step guide to expat visas)

1:04:50 – What Korea Can Improve for Digital Nomads (Suggestions for digital nomads in Korea)

1:10:00 – Final Thoughts (Kim Ninja's advice for future expats)

Music by Jocelyn Clark:

Connect with us:

▶ Get in touch: datizzard@swu.ac.kr

▶ David's Insta: @datizzard

▶ KD Insta: @koreadeconstructed

Questions or Topic Suggestions? Write in the Comments Below!

#KoreaDeconstructed #KimNinja #LifeInKorea #LivingAbroad #ExpatLife #KoreanVisa #DigitalNomads #KoreanCulture

Listen to Korea Deconstructed

▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/kr/podcast/korea-deconstructed/id1587269128

▶Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5zdXkG0aAAHnDwOvd0jXEE

▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com

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 of post-modern Korean cinema. Then, we explore three main themes in Korean cinema across time: Masculinity, femininity, and queer representation. The first section sees us discuss Chilsu and Mansu (1988), Peppermint Candy (1999), A Single Spark (1995), Whale Hunting (1984), Burning (2018), and Parasite (2019). We then turn our attention to Hostess Cinema (1974-1982), Yeong-ja's Heydays (1975), Right Then, Wrong Now (2015), Ballerina (2023), Han Gong Ju (2013), and My Sassy Girl (2001). Finally, we look at King and the Clown (2005), Moonlit Winter (2019), Mine (2021), The Handmaiden (2016) as well as the importance of Seo Dong-jin and Paul B. Preciado. I was particularly impressed by how Nilesh put each section in context, describing the importance of the socio-economic and political conditions of the time.

Nilesh Kumar is from England, of Gujarati-Indian background, and is based in South Korea. He is a Film Curator and co-founder of the Seoul-based underground-movable cinema, STEAK FILM and the sexuality themed, STEAK CINEMA. His topics of writing have included contemporary queer South Korean culture, South Korean 'hostess' cinema (1974-82), and 6th Generation Chinese Cinema.

Selected work: https://novasiagsis.com/author/nileshp/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nilesh5739/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shanti.love.90

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.

Watch this video next: https://youtu.be/L9azQpXZ2Rc

Subscribe to the channel: @DavidTizzard/videos

Thanks to Patreon members: Hee Ji Jacobs, Bhavya, Roxanne Murrell

Join Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/user?u=62047873

Discussion Outline

0:00 Oldboy and Allegory

18:40 Angry Men in Korean New Wave Cinema

44:42 Hostess Cinema and Female Representation

1:12:25 My Sassy Girl (엽기적인 그녀)

1:37:30 The Queers are Here

2:33:46 Recommendations

Music by Jocelyn Clark: https://youtu.be/IWVqqXT3TfY?si=wq2mcIIarE6JTqFS

Connect with us:

▶ Get in touch: datizzard@swu.ac.kr

▶ David's Insta: https://www.instagram.com/datizzard/

▶ KD Insta: https://www.instagram.com/koreadeconstructed/

Questions or Topic Suggestions: Write in the Comments Below

#koreadeconstructed #davidtizzard

Korea Deconstructed by David Tizzard

▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/kr/podcast/korea-deconstructed/id1587269128

▶Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5zdXkG0aAAHnDwOvd0jXEE

▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com

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.

Read more about it in Korean here: https://namu.wiki/w/보도지침(연극)

Go Minjeong, Lee Seoyeon, Nam Sumin, and Park Hayeol are members of the Seoul Women's University theatre group.

Their Insta page: https://www.instagram.com/swutheaterart/

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.

Watch this video next: https://youtu.be/L9azQpXZ2Rc

Subscribe to the channel: @DavidTizzard/videos

Thanks to Patreon members: Hee Ji Jacobs, Bhavya, Roxanne Murrell

Join Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/user?u=62047873

Discussion Outline

0:00 Introduction

3:00 보도지침 (The Play)

9:30 The Parents' Generation

15:00 Reactions to the Play

26:30 Communism and North Korea

33:00 The Importance of Theatre

42:14 Reflections on Korean History

49:25 Recommendations

Connect with us:

▶ Get in touch: datizzard@swu.ac.kr

▶ David's Insta: https://www.instagram.com/datizzard/

▶ KD Insta: https://www.instagram.com/koreadeconstructed/

▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/kr/podcast/korea-deconstructed/id1587269128

▶Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5zdXkG0aAAHnDwOvd0jXEE

▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com

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 and videos expertly organized to allow visitors to discover Korea as it once was and, perhaps, also help some people understand where they came from.

Korean Image Archive: https://www.koreanimage.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/koreanimage

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/koreanimage

Discussion

0:00 My Grandparents in 1950s Korea

9:45 300 color photos of old Korea

27:40 Creating an archive

34:40 Mixed race families in Korean history

54:10 American soldiers and camptown Korean women

1:05:35 Recommendations

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.

Watch this video next: https://youtu.be/L9azQpXZ2Rc

Subscribe to the channel: @DavidTizzard/videos

Thanks to Patreon members: Hee Ji Jacobs, Bhavya, Roxanne Murrell

Join Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/user?u=62047873

Connect with us:

▶ Get in touch: datizzard@swu.ac.kr

▶ David's Insta: https://www.instagram.com/datizzard/

▶ KD Insta: https://www.instagram.com/koreadeconstructed/

▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/kr/podcast/korea-deconstructed/id1587269128

▶Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5zdXkG0aAAHnDwOvd0jXEE

▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com

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, and civilian massacres of the Korean War.

Connect with Jack

Substack: https://ggachi.substack.com/

Twitter: https://x.com/jackwgreenberg

BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/jackwgreenberg.bsky.social

Insta: https://www.instagram.com/jackwgreenberg/

Jack's Work

False Squid Game Links: https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/2025/02/113_390188.html

Brothers Home Adoption Scandal: https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/2025/02/113_392647.html

Togani Review: https://chajournal.blog/2023/05/29/togani/

Watch this video next: https://youtu.be/L9azQpXZ2Rc

Subscribe to the channel: @DavidTizzard/videos

Thanks to Patreon members: Hee Ji Jacobs, Bhavya, Roxanne Murrell

Join Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/user?u=62047873

Discussion Outline

0:00 Shamanism

15:30 Shamanism and Politics

21:50 The Minjung Movement

36:15 North Korean Sympathy and the Korean Left

43:30 The Protests of 2025

53:20 Group Confinement Facilities: 형제복지원

1:01:25 The Truth and Reconciliation Commission

1:09:45 Japanese Collaboration (친일파)

1:20:25 Civilian Massacres in Korea

1:42:00 American Military Comfort Women

1:50:50 Finding Courage

Connect with us:

▶ Get in touch: datizzard@swu.ac.kr

▶ David's Insta: https://www.instagram.com/datizzard/

▶ KD Insta: https://www.instagram.com/koreadeconstructed/

Korea Deconstructed by David Tizzard

▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/kr/podcast/korea-deconstructed/id1587269128

▶Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5zdXkG0aAAHnDwOvd0jXEE

▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com

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?volumeNo=42695436&memberNo=6799533

Her social media: https://www.instagram.com/noir_p90?igsh=czdvc3NiY3ltd2Ru&utm_source=qr

Thanks to Patreon members: Hee Ji Jacobs, Bhavya, Roxanne Murrell

Join Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/user?u=62047873

Discussion Outline

0:00 Introduction

4:35 League of Legends

10:35 Who Plays E-Sports?

15:45 Why are Koreans so good at E-Sports?

18:55 National E-Sports Culture

21:50 PC Bang Culture

25:00 DDOS Attacks

28:15 E-Sports Online Communities: Inven and More

31:00 Zeus Leaving T1 for Hanwha

36:10 E-Sports in the Asian Games and Military Service

40:05 Can it become an Olympic Sport?

44:00 Being an E-Sports Journalist

48:20 E-Sports Fan Culture

1:01:10 Recommendations

Connect with us:

▶ Get in touch: datizzard@swu.ac.kr

▶ David's Insta: https://www.instagram.com/datizzard/

▶ KD Insta: https://www.instagram.com/koreadeconstructed/

▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/kr/podcast/korea-deconstructed/id1587269128

▶Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5zdXkG0aAAHnDwOvd0jXEE

▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com

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 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.

Subscribe to the channel: @DavidTizzard/videos

Thanks to Patreon members: Hee Ji Jacobs, Bhavya, Roxanne Murrell

Join Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/user?u=62047873

Connect with us:

▶ Get in touch: datizzard@swu.ac.kr

▶ David's Insta: https://www.instagram.com/datizzard/

▶ KD Insta: https://www.instagram.com/koreadeconstructed/

▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/kr/podcast/korea-deconstructed/id1587269128

▶Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5zdXkG0aAAHnDwOvd0jXEE

▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com

#koreadeconstructed #davidtizzard

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/videos

Thanks to Patreon members: Hee Ji Jacobs, Bhavya, Roxanne Murrell

Join Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/user?u=62047873

Discussion Outline

0:00 Taekwondo as Korean Wave

4:03 Explaining 천지 (Heaven and Earth)

6:02 The Birth of Taekwondo

12:55 North Korea and Taekwondo

15:12 Olympics Taekwondo

20:00 Martial Arts Deconstructed

32:40 Early Western Interactions with Martial Arts

39:20 Taoism as Asian Philosophy

55:00 The Japanese Origins of Taekwondo

1:04:22 Choi Hong-hi

1:14:50 Taekwondo in Modern Korea

1:20:20 Ethnographic Research

1:26:00 Korean Body Culture

1:32:20 곡선미 (The Beauty of Curved Lines)

1:43:31 단전 호흡 (Korean Breathing)

1:47:48 Korean Aesthetics in Modern K-Pop

1:56:55 Recommendations

Connect with us:

▶ Get in touch: datizzard@swu.ac.kr

▶ David's Insta: https://www.instagram.com/datizzard/

▶ KD Insta: https://www.instagram.com/koreadeconstructed/

#koreadeconstructed #davidtizzard

Korea Deconstructed by David Tizzard

▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/kr/podcast/korea-deconstructed/id1587269128

▶Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5zdXkG0aAAHnDwOvd0jXEE

▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com

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://www.instagram.com/datizzard/

▶ KD Insta: https://www.instagram.com/koreadeconstructed/

#koreadeconstructed #davidtizzard

Korea Deconstructed by David Tizzard

▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/kr/podcast/korea-deconstructed/id1587269128

▶Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5zdXkG0aAAHnDwOvd0jXEE

▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com

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 Yunseo: https://www.instagram.com/y_jeon_s/

▶ Jongmin: https://www.instagram.com/dunchonerd/

Guest Ms. Samantha Afflick-Smith is an associate professor at Hanyang University's Seoul campus. She works for the Centre for Creative Convergence Education's College of English Education Committee (CCCE:CEEC), where she teaches courses from conversation skills, critical analysis, academic writing to professional presentations. She also teaches a vibrant PBL discussion course on South Korean society and its evolving cultural diversity. Samantha is known as an educator, peer and mentor who regularly encourages people to be their best and persevere through challenges with her positive attitude and tireless energy. In her free time, Samantha enjoys reading, writing short stories for her blog – Cacophony of Cerebral Consciousness @c3griot.wordpress.com and learning new skills, such as drawing, and audio editing.

Discussion Outline

0:00 What is (Korean) Feminism?

12:05 Radical Feminism and the Internet

17:25 The Silencing of Men

23:40 Are Women and Men the Same or Different?

33:00 Can Men and Women be Friends?

42:50 Monthly Menstrual Leave

55:20 Transgenderism and Poongja

58:15 Should Women do Mandatory Military Service?

1:17:10 The World's Lowest Birthrate

1:38:40 How to Make the World a Better Place?

1:47:50 Recommendations

#koreadeconstructed #davidtizzard

Korea Deconstructed by David Tizzard

▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/kr/podcast/korea-deconstructed/id1587269128

▶Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5zdXkG0aAAHnDwOvd0jXEE

▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com

▶ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/user?u=62047873

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 or the album that made them fall in love? How has their fandom affected their lives? What's their favorite song? How many of the dances can they do? Who's their favorite member? What makes them stand out from other groups?

Big thanks to the guests: Kit, Aishu, Celine, and Annis

Member

Thank you again to the paid Patreon member Bhavya.

Discussion Outline

0:00 Introduction

1:00 Discovering BTS

5:35 The Evolution of BTS

10:48 What Makes BTS Great?

15:30 The Seven Members

36:35 BTS and Mental Health

43:05 ARMY

52:30 BTS and Politics

1:00:35 BTS and the K-Pop Industry

1:04:20 Recommendations

Korea Deconstructed by David Tizzard

▶ Get in touch: datizzard@swu.ac.kr

▶ David's Insta: https://www.instagram.com/datizzard/

▶ KD Insta: https://www.instagram.com/koreadeconstructed/

▶ Kim Soyoon: https://www.instagram.com/celinesoyoon/

▶ Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=62047873

▶ Watch us on Youtube: www.youtube.com/@UCXcdboOUCnCFnrAOF5dV1sg

▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/kr/podcast/korea-deconstructed/id1587269128

▶Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5zdXkG0aAAHnDwOvd0jXEE

▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com

▶ Song by Radical Gary (David): Savage Penguin

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 Homogeneity

15:35 The Effects of Media

23:11 International Marriages

31:30 Becoming Korean

39:15 Racism in Korea

48:00 Nouveau-Riche Nationalism

53:05 Stereotypes on White Women

56:05 How to Make the World Better

Korea Deconstructed by David Tizzard

▶ Get in touch: datizzard@swu.ac.kr

▶ David's Insta: https://www.instagram.com/datizzard/

▶ KD Insta: https://www.instagram.com/koreadeconstructed/

▶ Jeon Yunseo: https://www.instagram.com/y_jeon_s/

▶ Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=62047873

▶ Watch us on Youtube: www.youtube.com/@UCXcdboOUCnCFnrAOF5dV1sg

▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/kr/podcast/korea-deconstructed/id1587269128

▶Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5zdXkG0aAAHnDwOvd0jXEE

▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com

▶ Song by Radical Gary (David): https://youtu.be/AAkVRbH8eyg?si=FYtMqj2YfmJcmPPI

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 relations ambassador for Jeju Island. I first met him when we were both appointed by the Ministry of Justice to help people acclimatize to life here, a position he still proudly holds.

Find him on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carlosgorito/

Thank you to Bhavya for joining the Patreon as a paid member. I try to put free stuff there for members so you can see things with or without money. Because the studio and everything else involved costs a fair bit, any contribution certainly helps, but is not required.

Discussion Outline

0:00 비정상회담

10:44 The Korean Language

18:20 Korean Culture

25:10 Our 애국심

33:40 Korean History

36:50 North Korea

43:20 Multiculturalism in Korea

51:30 Beauty Standards in Korea

54:55 Misconceptions about Korea

1:05:20 Advice for Coming to Korea

1:11:00 Korean Korea Deconstructed (한국어로...)

Korea Deconstructed by David Tizzard

▶ Get in touch: datizzard@swu.ac.kr

▶ David's Insta: https://www.instagram.com/datizzard/

▶ KD Insta: https://www.instagram.com/koreadeconstructed/

▶ Kim Soyoon: https://www.instagram.com/celinesoyoon/

▶ Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=62047873

▶ Watch us on Youtube: www.youtube.com/@UCXcdboOUCnCFnrAOF5dV1sg

▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/kr/podcast/korea-deconstructed/id1587269128

▶Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5zdXkG0aAAHnDwOvd0jXEE

▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com

▶ Song by Radical Gary (David): https://youtu.be/AAkVRbH8eyg?si=FYtMqj2YfmJcmPPI

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 in the National Heritage system, in the genre gayageum sanjo and byeongchang [伽倻琴散調/竝唱].

As a scholar, Clark has spent over 25 years in Japan, China, and Korea studying traditional musics. She holds a Ph. D. from Harvard University in East Asian Languages and Civilizations where she wrote on the language of pansori, focusing on the tension between its oral transmission/low social standing and its tenuous relationship to Chinese classical poetic texts of the High Tang. Other research interests include music of place, aesthetics, and contemporary "national music" performance practices in Northeast Asia in the age of AI. She has published in academic journals such as The World of Music, Asian Musicology, and Perspectives on Korean Music. She writes an opinion column for the national newspaper the JoongAng Daily.

The introduction music is taken from Jocelyn playing here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAQ6u3-N0YY Discussion Outline

0:00 Starting a Korean Journey

14:05 Understanding Korean Music

22:00 Explaining Pansori

33:45 Pansori, Gender, and Change

38:36 Cultural Transmission and Education

45:15 Concepts and Social Recognition of Korean Culture

51:55 Seopyeonjae (서편제) and The Sound of a Flower (도리화가)

58:30 Korean Sounds

1:04:40 Aesthetics: More than Music

1:17:40 The Korean Language

1:22:30 3 Minutes Speaking Korean

1:25:45 Live Concerts

1:35:10 A Chinese Lesson

Korea Deconstructed by David Tizzard

▶ Get in touch: datizzard@swu.ac.kr

▶ David's Insta: https://www.instagram.com/datizzard/

▶ KD Insta: https://www.instagram.com/koreadeconstructed/

▶ Yunseo Jeon: https://www.instagram.com/y_jeon_s/

▶ Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=62047873

▶ Watch us on Youtube: www.youtube.com/@UCXcdboOUCnCFnrAOF5dV1sg

▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/kr/podcast/korea-deconstructed/id1587269128

▶Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5zdXkG0aAAHnDwOvd0jXEE

▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com

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 institutions, including the National Contemporary History Museum of Korea, Seoul City History Museum, Korean Film Archive, and the National Gugak Center. He also recently published a book (in collaboration with Nate Kornegay) on the history of Scratch Tiles, a type of brick that was popular in the U.S. and East Asia during the first half of the 20th century.

You can follow Jihoon online here: https://www.facebook.com/jihoon.suk.1/

Discussion Outline

0:00 Korean Kisaeng (기생/妓生)

12:27 The Creation of Korean Culture and Music

23:35 Korean Male Prostitution during the Joseon Dynasty / 사당패

33:15 Outlawing Korean Buddhism during the Joseon Dynasty

40:00 Slavery during Traditional Korea

55:30 Korean Palaces and Modern Tourism

1:06:00 Anti-Communism and North Korea

1:17:35 Han, Heung, and Mut (한, 흥, 멋)

1:24:40 The Japanese Colonization of Korea

1:37:48 Listening to Early Records of Arirang

2:14:00 The Lessons of Korean History

2:17:30 Recommendations

Korea Deconstructed by David Tizzard

▶ Get in touch: datizzard@swu.ac.kr

▶ David's Insta: https://www.instagram.com/datizzard/

▶ KD Insta: https://www.instagram.com/koreadeconstructed/

▶ Yunseo Jeon: https://www.instagram.com/y_jeon_s/

▶ Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=62047873

▶ Watch us on Youtube: www.youtube.com/@UCXcdboOUCnCFnrAOF5dV1sg

▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/kr/podcast/korea-deconstructed/id1587269128

▶Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5zdXkG0aAAHnDwOvd0jXEE

▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com/

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

1:09:00 The Future

1:16:45 Recommendations

Korea Deconstructed by David Tizzard

▶ Get in touch: datizzard@swu.ac.kr

▶ David's Insta: https://www.instagram.com/datizzard/

▶ KD Insta: https://www.instagram.com/koreadeconstructed/

▶ Yunseo Jeon: https://www.instagram.com/y_jeon_s/

▶ Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=62047873

▶ Watch us on Youtube: www.youtube.com/@UCXcdboOUCnCFnrAOF5dV1sg

▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/kr/podcast/korea-deconstructed/id1587269128

▶Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5zdXkG0aAAHnDwOvd0jXEE

▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com/

▶ Music: Couldn't Be Your Son - by David Tizzard

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 recipient of notable awards, including a Fulbright Scholars Award (2004-05), an inaugural endowed-chair visiting professorship at Harvard University (2014-15), and the Laboratory Program for Korean Studies Research Grant from the Academy of Korean Studies (2018-23). Her latest book is Civic Activism in South Korea: The Intertwining of Democracy and Neoliberalism (2024).

Civic Activism in South Korea: https://www.amazon.com/Civic-Activism-South-Korea-Neoliberalism/dp/023121149X

Discussion Outline

0:00 Introduction

7:00 The real life effects of neoliberalization

15:40 Life in pre-democratic South Korea

21:00 Neoliberalism and democracy in South Korea

32:53 Citizens' Organizations in South Korea

42:05 Neoliberalization and religion

51:35 The profound irony of individualism

55:05 Multiculturalism in South Korea

1:02:45 Recommendations

Korea Deconstructed by David Tizzard

▶ Get in touch: datizzard@swu.ac.kr

▶ Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=62047873

▶ Watch us on Youtube: www.youtube.com/@UCXcdboOUCnCFnrAOF5dV1sg

▶ Find us on Insta: https://www.instagram.com/koreadeconstructed

▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/kr/podcast/korea-deconstructed/id1587269128

▶Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5zdXkG0aAAHnDwOvd0jXEE

▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com/

▶ Music: Fighting by Disorientalz

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 down, even if just for a little while.

This year's winner was Soa Kwon, a television presenter, announcer, and celebrity in the English-speaking media world of South Korea. Her success brought her even more fame, appearing on television with Yoo Jae-suk and Jo Se-ho as well as CNN. Soa says she could somewhat foresee this success and puts a lot of it down to her habit of writing down her goals and then manifesting them.

Find Soa online:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/soa.kwon/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@tv-tn8cr

In this episode, we are joined by regular co-host Yunseo Jeon and also Hyemin Kim

Yunseo: https://www.instagram.com/y_jeon_s/

Hyemin: https://www.instagram.com/hminimii/

Discussion Outline

0:00 The Queen of Spacing Out

10:25 Manifesting Your Future

20:25 Beauty and Gender in Media

29:35 Celebrity Tea

33:05 Weird Animal Noise Section (lmao)

43:50 German or Korean?

50:05 Evaluating Korean Society

1:04:20 Looking at Hallyu

1:12:55 Becoming a 'Dragon'

1:20:45 Recommendations

Korea Deconstructed by David Tizzard

▶ Get in touch: datizzard@swu.ac.kr

▶ Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=62047873

▶ Watch us on Youtube: www.youtube.com/@UCXcdboOUCnCFnrAOF5dV1sg

▶ Find us on Insta: https://www.instagram.com/koreadeconstructed

▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/kr/podcast/korea-deconstructed/id1587269128

▶Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5zdXkG0aAAHnDwOvd0jXEE

▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com/

▶ Music: Fighting X 3 by Disorientalz

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 meeting Thomas and Aaliyah for the first time. Hongmin, relatively fresh from finishing his military service for the country, joined us to talk about his own experiences. Discussion Outline 0:00 Korea and TikTok

7:40 Beauty and Appearance

24:50 Gaydar in Korea

32:00 Dating Apps and Clubbing

45:55 PDA in Korea

53:00 Cultural Appropriation

1:03:47 Pronouns and Language

1:09:12 Being Gay in the Korean Military

1:13:20 Media Representation and a Better Society

1:27:40 Korea Before and After

1:31:10 BL Dramas

Korea Deconstructed by David Tizzard

▶ Get in touch: datizzard@swu.ac.kr

▶ Yunseo Jeon: y_jeon_s

▶ Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=62047873

▶ Watch us on Youtube: www.youtube.com/@UCXcdboOUCnCFnrAOF5dV1sg

▶ Find us on Insta: https://www.instagram.com/koreadeconstructed

▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/kr/podcast/korea-deconstructed/id1587269128

▶Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5zdXkG0aAAHnDwOvd0jXEE

▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com/

▶ Music: Savage Penguin by David Tizzard (Radical Gary)

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

Scorched Earth, Black Snow: https://www.amazon.com/Scorched-Earth-Black-Snow-Australia/dp/1845136195

The Washington Times: https://www.washingtontimes.com/staff/andrew-salmon/

Discussion Outline

0:00 Introduction

2:25 The Psychological Effects of War on Individuals

15:00 The Forgotten War

19:30 Soldiers' First Impressions of Korea

26:40 Difficult Questions

30:45 The North Korean Offensive

38:10 General Douglas MacArthur

47:20 The Chinese Dragon Awakes

1:00:00 An Ideological War?

1:10:00 Prisoners of War

1:14:55 Derek Kinne: Churchill's Bulldog

1:20:50 The End of the War

1:28:00 Current Military Capabilities

1:36:25 China in the 21st Century

1:44:20 Vladimir Putin

1:49:35 Lessons on War and Human Nature

1:57:35 Recommendations

Korea Deconstructed

▶ Get in touch: datizzard@swu.ac.kr

▶ Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=62047873

▶ Watch us on Youtube: www.youtube.com/@UCXcdboOUCnCFnrAOF5dV1sg

▶ Find us on Insta: https://www.instagram.com/koreadeconstructed

▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/kr/podcast/korea-deconstructed/id1587269128

▶Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5zdXkG0aAAHnDwOvd0jXEE

▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com/

Music: Stranger Danger - Francis Preve Pictures:

A selection of photos and videos have been used in the YouTube version for educational purposes. If any of them are yours and you would like to be credited in the notes here, please let me know.

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 political at the end, exploring the challenges of democracy and communism and what hope young people have for the future.

Check out David's work online

Korean Pizza Club: https://www.youtube.com/@UCVqkbppiAXuI4Kp3AQmauTw

DKDKTV: https://www.youtube.com/c/dkdktv

Biroso: https://biroso.net/

We are also joined by Seoul Women's University student Soyoon Kim

Insta: @celinesoyoon

Discussion Outline

0:00 Introduction

10:24 Positivity in the Korean Space

15:42 Culture and Korea

27:47 Is Hallyu Still Popular?

37:20 Streaming Culture and Manipulation

46:48 Dating Culture

52:04 Being Cancelled

1:03:00 Misperceptions of Korea

1:14:20 Education and Competition in Korea

1:23:00 Korean democracy

1:35:20 Recommendations

Korea Deconstructed by David Tizzard

▶ Get in touch: datizzard@swu.ac.kr

▶ Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=62047873

▶ Watch us on Youtube: www.youtube.com/@UCXcdboOUCnCFnrAOF5dV1sg

▶ Find us on Insta: https://www.instagram.com/koreadeconstructed

▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/kr/podcast/korea-deconstructed/id1587269128

▶Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5zdXkG0aAAHnDwOvd0jXEE

▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com/

▶ Music: Still Something So Beautiful by David Tizzard (Radical Gary)

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 South Korean people brought him into conflict with the military dictatorship. He was arrested and sentenced to life in prison, though many called for the death penalty. Eventually, after seven long years, much of which was solitary confinement, he was released.

Today he still writes poetry and takes photos, sharing his wisdom and insights with a new generation. You can also visit his photo exhibitions in Seoul, with images captured in Iraq and Palestine. However, Park shuns the limelight, rarely giving interviews and not wanting fame or publicity.

This conversation with Cheehyung Harrison Kim celebrates the first English publication of Dawn of Labor, a book which he worked on with Brother Anthony (An Sonjae). Harrison is an associate professor of Korean history at the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa. We are also joined by Seoul Women's University student Kim Jiwon.

Dawn of Labor: https://uhpress.hawaii.edu/title/dawn-of-labor/

Park Nohae (twitter): https://x.com/parknohae

Park Nohae (insta): https://www.instagram.com/park_nohae/

Park's latest book (Korean): https://gift.kakao.com/product/9251669?input_channel_id=2630

Nanum Munhwa: https://www.nanum.com/site/

Discussion Outline

0:00 Introduction

7:30 The context:

1980s Korea

20:27 Politics and leftist ideas

28:15 Gender and feminism in Park's work

48:55 Dawn of Labor

53:40 Love by Park Nohae

58:55 How Much? by Park Nohae

1:07:50 Mother by Park Nohae

1:18:15 Arrest and imprisonment

1:24:10 The artwork of Oh Yoon

1:27:10 The color blue

1:31:25 Park Nohae and the world

1:37:50 Reading and translating Park Nohae

2:00:15 Recommendations

Korea Deconstructed by David Tizzard

▶ Get in touch: datizzard@swu.ac.kr

▶ Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=62047873

▶ Watch us on Youtube: /davidtizzard

▶ Find us on Insta: https://www.instagram.com/koreadeconstructed

▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/kr/podcast/korea-deconstructed/id1587269128

▶Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5zdXkG0aAAHnDwOvd0jXEE

▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com/

▶ Music: Still Something So Beautiful by David Tizzard (Radical Gary)

사랑받지 못하는 공화국 (2024) was written by Professor Bryan Myers, a professor of international studies at Dongseo University in Busan. Anyone familiar with North Korean studies will be keenly aware of Myers and his work as he has written some excellent books on that subject, including The Cleanest Race and North Korea's Juche Myth. His latest book reveals two firsts: It's his first written in Korean and it's his first that deals with South Korean politics. Myers has said that "the book's original thrust is the argument that the right neglected / still neglects the work of state-building, but most young people, being centrist or progressive, are just not interested in that issue." We'll try and see if he achieved that or not.

The book: https://product.kyobobook.co.kr/detail/S000212218893

Myers' Blog: https://sthelepress.com/

In this conversation we are joined by Jacco Zwetsloot, host of the NK News Podcast, Park Kyunghoon (Charlie) for the third time, and Ko Eunbi from Seoul Women's University.

NK News podcast: https://www.nknews.org/category/north-korea-news-podcast/latest

Jacco's Twitter: https://twitter.com/JaccoZed

Discussion Outline

0:00 Introductions

3:10 Do Koreans know when their republic began?

12:15 Is South Korea a republic or a nation?

29:30 The sinking of the ROKS Cheonan

35:15 Who are North Korea?

44:45 Korea as Anti-Japanese

1:05:35 Park Chung-hee as a benevolent dictator?

1:18:10 The American hegemony of Korean Studies

1:21:23 Reading Korean history written by a foreigner

1:30:05 Personal narratives

1:35:35 Does the SK left love North Korea?

1:43:05 Closing thoughts

1:57:15 Tattoos

Korea Deconstructed by David Tizzard

▶ Get in touch: datizzard@swu.ac.kr

▶ Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=62047873

▶ Watch us on Youtube: /davidtizzard

▶ Find us on Insta: https://www.instagram.com/koreadeconstructed

▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/kr/podcast/korea-deconstructed/id1587269128

▶Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5zdXkG0aAAHnDwOvd0jXEE

▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com/

Park Chan-wook is a master of movie making. And he's seemingly getting better with age. Leaving the sex and violence of previous hits such as Oldboy, JSA, and The Handmaiden behind him, Decision to Leave / 헤어질 결심 (2022) explores the relationship between a Korean man and a Chinese woman, completely incompatible, seemingly madly in love, and destined to destroy each other. These two roles are played expertly by Tang Wei and Park Hae-il.

"The moment you said you loved me, your love ended. And the moment your love ended, my love began."

The movie is a piece of art: a poem. It encourages you to watch it multiple times, with each viewing providing greater insight into the layers constructed: through sound, language, visuals, and mis-en-scene.

I sat down with two Korean women, Jimin and Yunsuh, and a Chinese woman, Jessie, to explore this movie from a variety of perspectives: art, beauty, gender, love, and morality. Each of them provided views and insights I would never have found myself. And yet, it still feels like there is so much that went unsaid.

Discussion Outline

0:00 First Impressions

13:40 Park Chan-wook and Gender

18:46 Park Chan-wook's Style

25:45 Is Decision to Leave Romantic?

34:58 Asian Vibes: The Mountains and the Sea

43:06 Tang Wei

1:08:25 Poetry, Yeokbek, and McGuffins

1:19:30 The Ending of the Movie

1:38:50 Haejoon: The Male Lead

1:59:52 Park Chan Wook and the Oscars

2:08:00 A movie, a Book, a Song

Korea Deconstructed by David Tizzard

▶ Get in touch: datizzard@swu.ac.kr

▶ Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=62047873

▶ Watch us on Youtube: /davidtizzard

▶ Find us on Insta: https://www.instagram.com/koreadeconstructed

▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/kr/podcast/korea-deconstructed/id1587269128

▶Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5zdXkG0aAAHnDwOvd0jXEE

▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com/

▶ Music: Rail Gun by Disorientalz

Bernardo Kastrup is the executive director of Essentia Foundation. His work has been leading the modern renaissance of metaphysical idealism, the notion that reality is essentially mental. He has a Ph.D. in philosophy and another Ph.D. in computer engineering. As a scientist, Bernardo has worked for CERN and Philips Research Laboratories. Bernardo's 11th book, coming in 2024, is 'Analytic Idealism in a Nutshell: A straightforward summary of the 21st-century's only plausible metaphysics.'

This is me listening to Bernardo and asking him questions so as to better understand the world as mind. To do this, we explored what it means to be human. Bernardo explained the work of Nietzsche, Frankl, Schopenhauer, and Jung to me as well as how a bourgeoise has sought to wrest control of our culture away from the church and ultimately leave us stranded, meaningless, and seeking solutions elsewhere.

Bernardo taught me that we should not seek answers or solutions. These will never appear to us and we simply don't have the capability to understand what is going on. Instead, like the apple blossom in his garden, we should just be. We should listen to the noumena, the will inside us. We can describe it as duty, as calling, as fate, or as many other things. But ultimately, we are a violin and we should allow ourselves to be played by nature rather than seeking to force ourselves on the world. We should seek service instead of personal happiness. These ideas will stay with me for a while.

At the end, I asked him to recommend a movie, a book, and a song. The movie he suggested was The Double Life of Véronique (1991) by Polish director Krzysztof Kieślowski. The song was Song to the Siren by Cocteau Twins vocalist Elizabeth Fraser. The book was Schopenhauer's The World as Will and Representation.

Bernardo's Website: https://www.bernardokastrup.com/

The Essentia Foundation: https://www.youtube.com/@UCHKZdDf09_8vVHm102fu0sg

Bernardo's upcoming book: https://www.amazon.com/Analytic-Idealism-Nutshell-straightforward-metaphysics/dp/1803416696

Discussion Outline:

0:00 The importance of service

7:40 The bourgeoisie capture of culture

12:33 Immanent meaning

25:35 Spiritual but not religious

31:00 Carl Jung and our two stages of life

41:58 Introspection as the royal path to knowledge

48:15 Schopenhauer and the will inside us

54:52 Synchronicity 1:05:03 Religion and science

1:16:58 The world as mind

1:26:10 A book, a movie, and a song

1:31:10 The apple blossom

Korea Deconstructed by David Tizzard

▶ Get in touch: datizzard@swu.ac.kr

▶ Yunseo Jeon: https://www.instagram.com/y_jeon_s/

▶ Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=62047873

▶ Watch us on Youtube: /davidtizzard

▶ Find us on Insta: https://www.instagram.com/koreadeconstructed

▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/kr/podcast/korea-deconstructed/id1587269128

▶Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5zdXkG0aAAHnDwOvd0jXEE

▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com/

▶ Music: Rail Gun by Disorientalz

William S. Gilbert is doing PhD research on Korean Taoism's syncretic qualities at Sogang University in Seoul, South Korea. He completed his Master's in Korean Philosophy at Sungkyunkwan University in 2024 and was a graduate research assistant for the Korean Academic Expansion Project.

This is a conversation about Taoism, "Eastern" religions and ways of thought, life, death, god, and the poetry of the Korean scholar Yi Gyu-bo (李奎報).

Discussion Outline

0:00 What is Taoism (도교)?

9:10 What is the Yin Yang (음양)?

22:09 What is Wu-wei (무의)?

32:50 Zen Buddhism (선불교) and Taoism

43:05 The Tao Te Ching (도덕경)

53:20 The Zhuangzi (정자)

1:03:11 Is there such thing as Asian thought?

1:15:52 Does Taoism feature in modern life?

1:29:40 Yi Gyu-bo (이규보)'s poem "In Sickness"

1:45:14 The "Creator" in Taoist thought

2:08:40 Closing thoughts

Will's Website: https://sites.google.com/view/williamgilbert/home

Korea Deconstructed by David Tizzard

▶ Get in touch: datizzard@swu.ac.kr

▶ Yunseo Jeon: https://www.instagram.com/y_jeon_s/

▶ Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=62047873

▶ Watch us on Youtube: /davidtizzard

▶ Find us on Insta: https://www.instagram.com/koreadeconstructed

▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/kr/podcast/korea-deconstructed/id1587269128

▶Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5zdXkG0aAAHnDwOvd0jXEE

▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com/

▶ Music: Savage Penguin by Radical Gary (David Tizzard)

Cho Ye-won and Jeon Yunseo are students at Seoul Women's University while Park Kyung-hoon (Charlie) studies at Hanyang University. They discuss the best and worst things about living in Seoul, from the safety, the beauty standards, the gender differences, the economic challenges, and much more. They also talk about why some young Koreans want to move abroad.

Discussion Outline

0:00 Do Young People Talk about 탈조선?

3:30 What are Traditional Korean Values?

8:45 What Do Koreans Want from Living Abroad?

19:30 The Best Things About Living in Seoul

27:15 Does Gender Affect Your Life in Korea?

34:45 The Social Gaze (남의 시선) in Korea

37:00 How Do You Feel About Foreigners Coming to Korea?

47:00 Appearance and Personal Colour Tests

55:15 Is Comparison Culture Real?

1:05:55 The Economic Reality of Seoul

1:15:40 Using Korean Titles

1:20:45 The Rise of 평어

1:27:20 Message to People Leaving Korea

1:43:36 Being Gay in Korea

1:48:05 Yewon's Last Message

Korea Deconstructed by David Tizzard

▶ Get in touch: datizzard@swu.ac.kr

▶ Yunseo Jeon: https://www.instagram.com/y_jeon_s/

▶ Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=62047873

▶ Watch us on Youtube: /davidtizzard

▶ Find us on Insta: https://www.instagram.com/koreadeconstructed

▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/kr/podcast/korea-deconstructed/id1587269128

▶Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5zdXkG0aAAHnDwOvd0jXEE

▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com/

▶ Music: The Reoccurring Peace Machine by Radical Gary (David Tizzard)

Jeanie Chang is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and Certified Clinical Trauma Professional. Jeanie is also the Founder and CEO of Noona's Noonchi, LLC, a global company offering social media platforms providing deep dives into K-Content from a mental health perspective. In Korea to promote her tours and her latest book (How K-Dramas Can Transform Your Life), we sat down with her to discuss life, culture, society, identity, and, of course, K-Dramas.

Jeanie's Website: https://noonasnoonchi.com/

Her book: https://www.amazon.com/K-Dramas-Mental-Health-Jeanie-Chang/dp/1394210477

Discussion Outline

0:00 Life in Seoul

5:39 Watching K-Dramas

33:23 Self-Care and Dramas

38:55 Mental Health and Gender

43:10 Antifragility

47:47 Generational Change in Korea

53:06 The Korean American Identity

1:16:40 Military Service and BTS

1:25:33 My Mister (나의 아지씨)

1:37:22 Jeong and Nunchi

1:49:20 Collective Society and Titles

2:01:55 Emotions in Korean Society

2:11:39 Shame and Redemption

2:20:47 K-Pop Idols and Karina's Apology

2:28:41 Is Hallyu's Popularity Declining?

2:47:37 Dr. Slump

Korea Deconstructed by David Tizzard

▶ Get in touch: datizzard@swu.ac.kr

▶ Yunseo Jeon: https://www.instagram.com/y_jeon_s/

▶ Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=62047873

▶ Watch us on Youtube: /davidtizzard

▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/kr/podcast/korea-deconstructed/id1587269128

▶Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5zdXkG0aAAHnDwOvd0jXEE

▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com/

▶ Music: Tokyo Cafe by Tvari

John DiMoia is Associate Professor of Korean History at Seoul National University, South Korea. He is the author of Reconstructing Bodies: Biomedicine, Health, and Nation-Building in South Korea since 1945 (2013)

Discussion Outline

0:00 What is History?

7:20 Korean Medicine

30:30 Plastic Surgery

39:30 Korea and the Pandemic

57:05 Korean Health

1:00:10 The Joseon Dynasty

1:27:30 Japanese Colonization

1:50:00 The Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

2:09:33 The Division of Korea

2:26:55 Seoul National University

2:36:07 The Future of Korea

Book: https://www.amazon.com/Reconstructing-Bodies-Biomedicine-Nation-Building-Weatherhead/dp/0804784116

Korea Deconstructed by David Tizzard

▶ Get in touch: datizzard@swu.ac.kr

▶ Yunseo Jeon: https://www.instagram.com/y_jeon_s/

▶ Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=62047873

▶ Watch us on Youtube: /davidtizzard

▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/kr/podcast/korea-deconstructed/id1587269128

▶Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5zdXkG0aAAHnDwOvd0jXEE

▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com/

At the age of sixteen, Anton discovered Taekwondo in his native Germany. From there, he began exploring Buddhism only to be told by a visiting monk that if he wanted to truly understand it, he would have to visit Korea. Anton then embarked on a journey of practice and discovery in Korea in 1994, initially intending to stay for just a year. This conversation took place in 2024, thirty years later.

Anton has regularly appeared on television during his time here. He has also worked as a producer for the German public broadcaster ARD, offered his expertise as a business consultant, taught at a university, and sought to capture the essence of Korean society as a documentary filmmaker. He has also just written a book in Korean, 한국인들의 이상한 행복, which sheds a critical light on many of the country's social problems. This book was what prompted our discussion today.

Anton's Book: https://product.kyobobook.co.kr/detail/S000001297085

Discussion Outline

0:00 Foundations 1: Taekwondo

11:02 Foundations 2: Buddhism

54:10 The Strange Unhappiness of Korean People

59:17 Education

1:31:27 The Home

1:41:08 Seoul

1:52:22 Korean History

2:23:00 Anton Speaking Korean

Korea Deconstructed by David Tizzard

▶ Get in touch: datizzard@swu.ac.kr

▶ Yunseo Jeon: https://www.instagram.com/y_jeon_s/

▶ Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=62047873

▶ Watch us on Youtube: /davidtizzard

▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/kr/podcast/korea-deconstructed/id1587269128

▶Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5zdXkG0aAAHnDwOvd0jXEE

▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com/

▶ Music: Hack to Work by Disorientalz

서늘한 여름밤 (Lee Seo-hyun) is a South Korean writer and psychological counseling planner. She received her Master's Degree from the Department of Psychology at Korea University in 2015, and then became a counselor at a large hospital. She soon began drawing and recording her thoughts before then uploading them on the internet. This led to her also starting a popular podcast and authoring 3 different books. In 2017, she established the psychological counseling center 'Every Mind'. Today, her Instagram and YouTube content reaches countless thousands, providing solace, honesty, and the message for Korean people that, "It's okay".

We spoke with her about her recent appearance on Mark Manson's YouTube video declaring Korean people to be the most depressed in the world. We then spoke about trauma, anxiety, perfectionism, the self, fear of failure, micro aggressions, and much more.

Find her work online

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/seobam_breeze/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UC7Z6ogmq-3N9KoNACH10Hlg

1-on-1 Coaching: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfEruSwPi33wmq9j35_oKaAhg3sfaPC0XoT2siRzQcpwD1ieQ/viewform

Discussion Outline

0:00 Generations of War Trauma

2:05 Is Korea the Most Depressed Country in the World?

8:17 What Does Depression Look Like?

13:40 Who Is Most Susceptible to Depression?

16:10 Why Is Our New Generation More Open to Mental Health?

17:40 Psychotherapy and Trauma

22:25 Minorities and Depression

25:25 Drugs and Mental Health

31:45 Are We Becoming too Fragile?

33:25 서늘한 여름밤's Insta and Online Content

43:10 Ego and the Self

48:10 Perfectionism

52:00 The Steps to Self Compassion

55:30 Our Inner Child

1:00:35 The Public Gaze (남의 시선)

1:04:00 Social Media

1:10:40 Psychological Coaching

1:14:35 Breaking Taboos around Mental Health in SK

1:16:50 AI and Mental Health

1:18:45 Toxic Masculinity

1:24:10 Is it Hard to be a Psychologist?

1:27:33 강박 - Being Obsessive

1:29:53 Childhood

1:35:30 Closing Comments

Korea Deconstructed by David Tizzard

▶ Get in touch: datizzard@swu.ac.kr

▶ Yunseo Jeon: https://www.instagram.com/y_jeon_s/

▶ Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=62047873

▶ Watch us on Youtube: /davidtizzard

▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/kr/podcast/korea-deconstructed/id1587269128

▶Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5zdXkG0aAAHnDwOvd0jXEE

▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com/

▶ Music: Mindstrap by David Tizzard

In communicating with each other before this conversation, Robert asked me to explain certain aspects of Korean culture to him. If you find yourself frustrated that we sometimes hear more about Korea than his own work, I completely agree with you and apologize. Nevertheless, that was part of what was established. My sense is that he also might have wanted a break from explaining his latest book to everyone. We've since realized that we need to look more into the rice production in Korea and I hope that we can find out more of if and how that might have affected Korean culture, particularly in terms of interdependency and human relationships.

I highly recommend his latest book Determined. It genuinely made me rethink much of what I see around me. And, even if you don't find yourself ultimately convinced by his argument concerning free will, you will still learn lots and be treated to writing that is as comfortable making jokes and never taking itself too seriously as it is explaining the hard science.

Bio: Robert Sapolsky is a professor of biology, neuroscience, and neurosurgery at Stanford University, well-known for his research on stress and behavior in wild baboons, as well as his studies on the physiology of the brain. His approach to understanding the complexities of human behavior has made him a respected figure in both the scientific and popular science communities. His latest book, Determined, argues that it is time for us to remove agency from our behavior and stop attributing praise and blame to people for things over which they often have very little control.

Determined: https://www.amazon.com/Determined-Science-Life-without-Free/dp/0525560971

My favourite lecture from him: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRYcSuyLiJk

Discussion Outline

0:00 How Did Korea Get Here?

7:15 Rice Theory of Culture

13:55 Do We Have Free Will?

32:56 Changing Morality

37:00 Birthrates

45:15 Transhumanism?

54:40 Death

1:03:45 Closing Questions

Korea Deconstructed by David Tizzard

▶ Get in touch: datizzard@swu.ac.kr

▶ Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=62047873

▶ Watch us on Youtube: /davidtizzard

▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/kr/podcast/korea-deconstructed/id1587269128

▶Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5zdXkG0aAAHnDwOvd0jXEE

▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com/

▶ Music: Mindstrap by David Tizzard

Tanner Rogers is a 2023-24 Fulbright U.S. Student Program Winner. His research consists of the literary analysis of fictional texts produced during the Park Chung Hee era (1961-1979), particularly focusing on the development of "space" in its various physical and conceptual forms, and how texts engage with the rapid urbanization and industrialization of cities like Seoul and Incheon during this time.

We spoke about books, life, and Korea.

This episode again featuring Jeon Yunseo

Instagram: @y_jeon_s

Discussion Outline

0:00 Tanner's Introduction to Korea

15:55 The Park Chung-hee Era

40:05 Korean Literature

53:44 The Dwarf (난장이가 쏘아 올린 작은 공)

1:11:08 The Concept of Han

1:18:05 Hwang Sok-yong

1:36:34 Changing Korean Traditions

1:55:50 The Concept of Space

2:12:05 The Urbanization of Korean Space

2:25:35 1970s Korea vs 2024 Korea

2:36:25 Book Recommendations

Korea Deconstructed by David Tizzard

▶ Get in touch: datizzard@swu.ac.kr

▶ Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=62047873

▶ Watch us on Youtube: /davidtizzard

▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/kr/podcast/korea-deconstructed/id1587269128

▶Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5zdXkG0aAAHnDwOvd0jXEE

▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com/

▶ Music: Mindstrap by David Tizzard

▶ Recorded at 허브 36.5: https://www.instagram.com/the_story_from_you/

Can Korean people speak English? That was the question we explored in this discussion. Three young women studying at Seoul Women's University in South Korea talked about their own experiences of learning a foreign language and how it ultimately became something more than just education or study.

Hyun Minjung is a second-year student in the Department of Child Studies

Eo Gyeongin is a first-year student in the Department of Applied Food System

Jeon Yunseo is a first-year student in the Department of Journalism and Media

This episode again featuring Jeon Yunseo

Find them on Instagram

Yunseo: @y_jeon_s

Minjung: @llovnj

Gyeongin: @djurbyrfish

Discussion Outline

0:00 Encountering English for the First Time

7:50 Was English ever hard?

13:35 What kind of English Accent?

25:45 Learning English in Korea

34:15 Is there a Socio-Economic Aspect to English in Korea?

40:50 Having an English Name?

48:14 Korean Celebrities Speaking English

53:30 Interacting with Foreigners

1:01:20 Swearing in English

1:07:13 Is English more Democratic than Korean?

1:14:28 Would you Date Someone Who can't Speak English?

1:23:00 How to Learn English Online?

1:30:50 Advice for Learning English

1:47:40 Changing Korean Identity

Korea Deconstructed by David Tizzard

▶ Get in touch: datizzard@swu.ac.kr

▶ Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=62047873

▶ Watch us on Youtube: /davidtizzard

▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/kr/podcast/korea-deconstructed/id1587269128

▶Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5zdXkG0aAAHnDwOvd0jXEE

▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com/

▶ Music: Fighting by Disorientalz (https://www.instagram.com/disorientalz/)

▶ Recorded at 허브 36.5: https://www.instagram.com/the_story_from_you/

ID:Earth is a singer, songwriter, and music producer from Seoul, Korea. She sings about human civilization, existence, birth, and the Earth with her music providing a fantastic backdrop for these explorations. Her latest album Space Station was released on December 12, 2023. We sat down with her to learn more about her music, her life, and being an artist in South Korea. ID:Earth Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamidearth/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UCVo9uVMP5JWUfXQh_hUDK0g

Her latest album Space Station: https://www.melon.com/artist/song.htm?artistId=2622503

Discussion Outline*

0:00 The Birth of ID: Earth

14:18 "Aliens"

22:18 Finding a Minimalist Sound

27:18 Being an Artist in South Korea

35:23 "Fire"

41:57 Writing Choruses

48:18 Creating OSTs for Dramas and Movies

1:03:21 "Sky Where You Are"

1:06:40 People's Brains

1:10:37 ID:Earth's Favourite Song

1:17:25 What ID:Earth is Listening to These Days

1:21:34 ID:Earth's Plans for 2024

1:26:00 Advice for Young Artists

1:28:22 Message to the Fans

*Due to copyright reasons on audio platforms, we had to remove the audio of the 3 songs we played in the studio. You can find the tracks on YouTube or anywhere else.

This episode again featuring Jeon Yunseo

Find her on Instagram: @y_jeon_s

Korea Deconstructed by David Tizzard

▶ Get in touch: datizzard@swu.ac.kr

▶ Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=62047873

▶ Watch us on Youtube: /davidtizzard

▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/kr/podcast/korea-deconstructed/id1587269128

▶Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5zdXkG0aAAHnDwOvd0jXEE

▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com/

▶ Music: Fighting by Disorientalz (https://www.instagram.com/disorientalz/)

▶ Recorded at 허브 36.5: https://www.instagram.com/the_story_from_you/

Having just finished a semester teaching 9 different classes at Seoul Women's University and Hanyang University, I thought I'd end the year sharing some of the theories and thoughts I've been exploring with my students. This includes David Matsumoto's work on culture, Han Byung Chul's explorations of modernity and psychology, and Mark Fisher's assertion that we are witnessing the slow cancellation of the future. These three frameworks seem to resonate with the students and, whether they agree with them or not, they all seem to have taken them on-board and understood them.

There was much more I wanted to include here, including the rice theory of culture, explorations of cultural appropriation and pronouns in Korea, multiculturalism, the LGBTGQ community and contact hypothesis, but time got the better of me during the finals season. I'll return to these again at some point in 2024.

I have a lot of fantastic guests already lined-up for the new year so normal service will resume very shortly. This was just a special little way of saying thank you and Merry Christmas.

Discussion Outline

0:00 David Matsumoto

23:00 Han Byung Chul

42:30 Was Korean Modernity Worth it?

52:55 Mark Fisher

Korea Deconstructed by David Tizzard

▶ Get in touch: datizzard@swu.ac.kr

▶ Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=62047873

▶ Watch us on Youtube: /davidtizzard

▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/kr/podcast/korea-deconstructed/id1587269128

▶Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5zdXkG0aAAHnDwOvd0jXEE

▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com/

▶ Music: Fighting by Disorientalz (https://www.instagram.com/disorientalz/)

▶ Recorded at 허브 36.5: https://www.instagram.com/the_story_from_you/

Koryo Saram refers to the ethnic Koreans who migrated to the Russian Far East and Central Asia, particularly Kazakhstan, during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The migration was mainly a result of economic opportunities and political instability in the Korean Peninsula during that period. But beyond the political and historical existence, there are people. Daniil and Yona are two of these people both trying to find their way in modern Korean society. Their identities, language skills, and feelings towards their homeland are very different, yet they relate to each other. With the help of Yunseo, we explored what it means to be a Koryo Saram and discovered much along the way.

Find them online/instagram

Pak Yona: @pkyo1

Daniil: @dnlyeux

Yunseo: @y_jeon_s

고려인 Youth Organization: https://www.instagram.com/ks.youthwave/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igshid=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA==

대한고려인협회: https://www.instagram.com/koryosaraminkorea/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igshid=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA==

Overseas Koreans: https://www.okocc.or.kr/portal_en/global/okf_webzine.do

Discussion Outline

0:00 Introducing the Koryo Saram

25:00 Leaving Moscow: War and Politics

33:15 University and Visas

39:42 Language and Culture

45:30 Appearance and Visuals

53:33 Famous Koryo Saram in Pop Culture

59:20 Multicultural Korea

1:05:00 The Geography of Koryo Saram

1:11:30 North Korea

1:22:50 Misconceptions about Koryo Saram

1:42:50 Final Observations

Korea Deconstructed by David Tizzard

▶ Get in touch: datizzard@swu.ac.kr

▶ Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=62047873

▶ Watch us on Youtube: /davidtizzard

▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/kr/podcast/korea-deconstructed/id1587269128

▶Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5zdXkG0aAAHnDwOvd0jXEE

▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com/

▶ Music: Fighting by Disorientalz (https://www.instagram.com/disorientalz/)

▶ Recorded at 허브 36.5: https://www.instagram.com/the_story_from_you/

Bart van Genugten is a Dutchman with a passion for people, history, stories, and 분위기 (atmosphere). His recent project, Welcome to my Dong, looks to explore all of Seoul's 467 dongs (neighborhoods) and it has proved incredibly successful online, with millions of views, countless stories, and a host of well wishers. Bart is keeping history alive amidst a rapidly changing urban culture and it is no surprise that many of his greatest fans are Koreans themselves.

During his journey, Bart is also discovering himself. Coming to terms with mental health, online identity, his Dutch family, and his place in Korean society. He is also a published author, cowriting a book (직항은 없다) with his wife, 김휘아, describing his experiences in Pyongyang with his father.

Find Bart online

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@iGoBart

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/igobart_/

Discussion

0:00 Korean life and drinking culture

18:10 Welcome to my Dong

42:13 The ethics of filming people

45:10 Online success

1:00:45 The people of Seoul

1:13:00 Does Hallyu help?

1:17:26 North Korea

1:35:55 Subtitles and Content

1:41:49 Working with your wife

1:52:28 Fans of the channel

1:55:53 Mental health

2:06:50 The beauty of Korea

Thanks to 전윤서 for some help with this episode

Korea Deconstructed by David Tizzard

▶ Get in touch: datizzard@swu.ac.kr

▶ Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=62047873

▶ Watch us on Youtube: /davidtizzard

▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/kr/podcast/korea-deconstructed/id1587269128

▶Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5zdXkG0aAAHnDwOvd0jXEE

▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com/

▶ Music: Fighting by Disorientalz (https://www.instagram.com/disorientalz/)

Jasmyn Kim is doing a PhD at Yonsei University in the Department of Sport Industry Studies, she is a pole dance instructor at Tara Pole Dance in Jong-ro, and she also teaches a Yoga course at Yonsei University. Her academic research focuses on body image and the gendered nature of pole dance as a modern Korean fitness phenomenon, and the physical and psychological effects it can have on women. In this conversation, we explore how and why pole dance has become so popular in South Korea and, in the process, transcended the reputation it had in the 1990s. If I spoke a bit too much during this one, please blame it on the coffee. I'm always working hard to become a better listener, host, and conversationalist, so please be patient with me. I'm trying.

Jasmyn Online

- Insta: https://www.instagram.com/jazzyxbelle

- Tara Pole Dance: https://www.instagram.com/tarapoledance

- Academic Research:

https://doi.org/10.1080/02614367.2022.2138511 https://doi.org/10.1080/07399332.2022.2132252

Discussion Outline

0:00 Pole dancing

10:00 Why did it get popular?

17:00 Who is pole dancing?

32:50 Cultural aspects of pole

37:00 Academia and the pole

43:05 Gender and Pole Dancing

55:40 Identity and Korea

1:17:25 Yoga

1:38:30 Social media and life

1:50:20 Dealing with body image

Korea Deconstructed by David Tizzard

▶ Get in touch: datizzard@swu.ac.kr

▶ Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=62047873

▶ Watch us on Youtube: /davidtizzard

▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/kr/podcast/korea-deconstructed/id1587269128

▶Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5zdXkG0aAAHnDwOvd0jXEE

▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com/

▶ Music: Savage Penguin by David Tizzard

Although this started as a conversation about Gwangju and Professor Don Baker's experiences there starting in 1971, including witnessing the aftermath of the massacre in 1980, we quickly understood there was much more for us to explore. This includes Don's impressions of Kim Dae-jung, gender and women in the Joseon Dynasty, Korea's historical relationship with China, Confucianism and ancestor worship, the effects of Japanese colonization, and the field of Korean Studies more broadly.

It was completely spontaneous, but I also noted the following people and their work referenced throughout this conversation, demonstrating the depth and breadth of Don's knowledge: Alexis Dudden, Dave C Kang, Alexander Woodside, Jisoo Kim, Hyaeweol Choi, Carter Eckert, Andre Schmid, Jahyun Kim Haboush, Gregory Henderson, Robert Carlin, Eugene Park, Michael Seth, John Jorgensen, Kim Sun Joo, BR Myers, Bruce Cumings, James Palais, Mark Peterson, John Duncan, Steve Shields, and David Dolinger.

Despite knowing the tragedy and violence taking place in Gwangju, Don snuck into the city to find his friends and understand what was really happening. His descriptions of the attacks and murder that took place in Gwangju are heartbreaking to listen to. And through all of this, he nevertheless finishes with words of hope and positivity.

Discussion Outline

0:00 Unpacking Gwangju

6:00 Kim Dae-jung

10:20 1970s Korea

20:50 On Confucianism

24:30 Korean Studies

30:00 The Joseon Dynasty

38:50 Japanese Colonization and Collaboration

51:55 Korean Studies and Factions

1:08:50 Confucianism vs Catholicism (Ancestor Worship)

1:15:30 The Assassination of Park Chung-hee 1979

1:21:40 The Gwangju Massacre 1980

1:47:00 American Involvement in Gwangju

1:55:30 Representations of Gwangju

2:03:46 Conclusions on Life and Korea

Dr. Baker's Books

Korea Deconstructed by David Tizzard

▶ Get in touch: datizzard@swu.ac.kr

▶ Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=62047873

▶ Watch us on Youtube:/davidtizzard

▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/kr/podcast/korea-deconstructed/id1587269128

▶Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5zdXkG0aAAHnDwOvd0jXEE

▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com/

▶ Music: https://www.instagram.com/disorientalz/

Steve first came to Korea in 1975 and continues his life-long love of the land of the morning calm. He has been a missionary, pastor, and leadership development officer. He has years of experience in translations and editing, has several published books and dozens of scholarly papers to his credit, mostly in theology and the religious history of the United States. He is a life member of Royal Asiatic Society Korea, served on the board of directors for many years, two terms as vice president, and is now serving a second term as president.

Discussion Outline

0:00 Coming to Korea in the 1970s

15:00 On the Korean Language

27:00 Life under Park Chung-hee

36:30 Changing economic conditions

51:20 Who was Park Chung-hee?

1:08:00 Choi Kyu-ha and life after Park

1:27:40 The Royal Asiatic Society

1:52:50 Christianity and Korea

2:30:20 The Youth of Korea

Korea Deconstructed by David Tizzard

▶ Get in touch: datizzard@swu.ac.kr

▶ Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=62047873

▶ Watch us on Youtube: /davidtizzard

▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/co/podcast...

▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com...

▶ Music: Radical Gary - K-Invisible

This episode contains a lot of explicit language. If you are interested, the YouTube video features hundreds of photos of the bands, venues, and people we talk about.

Trash is a musician, designer, and tattoo artist who has been part of the Korean punk scene for two decades. Here, she talks about how she discovered underground subculture in her late teens and then watched it develop over the years. She describes the community's most important bands and people, as well as those who others might have forgotten along the way. The conversation also reveals how every time punk rock becomes mainstream in Korea something comes along to force it back underground. Much of my own twenties and thirties are a blur, but I played a lot of the same shows and venues with Trash. That she continues to keep the flame alive is a testament to her passion and desire for this scene. Find more of Trash's music, art, and work online Band (...Whatever That Means): https://www.instagram.com/wtmpunk/ Record label (World Domination Inc): https://www.wdikorea.com/ Tattoo shop (Rebellion Inc): https://www.instagram.com/rebellionin... Festival: https://ko.wdikorea.com/itsafest Discussion Outline: 0:00 Who is Trash? 6:56 The TV incident 14:25 The scene's early days 45:25 Crying Nut, Rux, and No Brain 57:50 BB Lucky Town 1:05:00 ...Whatever That Means 1:33:23 Starting a record label 1:50:16 Creating a festival 2:00:26 Life as a tattoo artist Many of the photos used are taken with permission and thanks from Ken Robinson and Juyoung Lee. If another photo is yours, thank you. Happy to credit you where necessary. Korea Deconstructed by David Tizzard ▶ Get in touch: datizzard@swu.ac.kr ▶ Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=62047873 ▶ Watch us on Youtube: /davidtizzard ▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/co/podcast... ▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com... ▶ Music: Tampus Dusk - Tailspin

"People sleep peacefully in their beds because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf." George Orwell

Park Kyung Hoon (박경훈), Park Inu (박인우), and Lee Seung-il (이승일) are three South Korean men who have all recently completed their mandatory military service. One served in the Navy on the south coast, one in an administrative office, and one as a sniper in the DMZ. In this conversation they share their psychological and physical experiences of being called up by the government to complete more than 500 days of compulsory service. While their paths were all different, they were able to relate to each other in terms of the forced nature of the service, the apps that soldiers use, the boot camps they endured, and the separation and isolation they felt. The one enduring message to be taken from listening to them is that though few, if any, men want to complete this national obligation, because they do, the rest of us are able to live peacefully.

Conversation Chapters

0:00 getting enlisted and physical check-ups

18:00 when do people normally choose to serve?

22:25 boot camp

36:36 getting to base

48:40 500 days left and phone usage

52:50 being a sniper at the DMZ

1:02:50 Patriotism and Korean feelings

1:09:00 Going on Leave and military punishments

1:18:00 Getting out the military

1:27:50 Gratitude and respect for men that serve

1:37:55 Should women be conscripted too?

1:49:30 Should celebrities be exempt?

1:55:00 Charlie's punishments

2:06:40 Closing thoughts

Korea Deconstructed by David Tizzard

▶ Get in touch: datizzard@swu.ac.kr

▶ Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=62047873

▶ Watch us on Youtube: /davidtizzard

▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/co/podcast...

▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com...

▶ Music: Radical Gary - The Reoccurring Peace Machine

Choi Isu is a young South Korean woman who has a vision of a better world. She believes in communication, community, and education. Measures that will stop the fragmentation of society and isolation experienced by some people today. Much of this worldview has been informed by her own educational experiences. Attending Ewoo High School, she received an alternative education focused on discussion and student-based learning rather than the rote memorization required elsewhere. I've known Isu for around 6 months and continue to be amazed by her courage, personality, and willingness to venture into the unknown. When we talk about Korean Gen Z and youth, we would do well to remember examples like Isu. At the end of the podcast, you can even hear a hip-hop track we made together with help from Kevin. "In our present culture, we have become accustomed to putting new wine into old bottles and hoping that we can make the new conform to the pattern of the old. But that which is truly new is not recognizable by the old, and the old becomes a hindrance to the new. If we do not see the new, it is not because it is not there, but because we are anchored to the old, and the old, being repetitive, makes us dull, weary, and insensitive."

Discussion Outline

0:00 Alternative Education in Korea

12:22 University

19:00 Suneung (SATs)

27:20 Changing the World

40:00 AI and Chat GPT

46:00 MBTIs and fortune tellers

1:03:30 Do young Korean people still care about Confucianism?

1:20:20 Love and Romance in Gen Z

1:40:26 Main worries and pleasures

1:58:50 Feminism and Safety

2:09:00 What do Gen Z do apart from go to Cafes?

Isu's column in the Korea Times https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/2023/08/715_354531.html

Korea Deconstructed by David Tizzard

▶ Get in touch: datizzard@swu.ac.kr

▶ Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=62047873

▶ Watch us on Youtube: /davidtizzard

▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/co/podcast...

▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com...

▶ Music: We Shoot Back (feat. Isu)

Dr. Kim Kyung-jin was born in 1936. He grew up in Manchuria speaking Japanese at school, Korean at home, and then Chinese in the street. Before class, all students had to face Tokyo, bow, and pledge their allegiance to the Japanese empire. He said he would see people dead on the streets on his way to school, overdosed on opium. He was also there when the last Chinese emperor, the boy Puyi, passed through in 1943. Everyone was meant to bow and avert their eyes but he reckons he had a good gander.

When the second world war ended in 1945 and the Russians were coming into the area, the Japanese ordered them to retreat so they got on a train headed South towards Seoul. He left his dad at the station and never saw him again. About 10 years ago, a local historian tracked down old news reports from the 1930s and 1940s that featured his dad so he could remember what he looked like.

When they got back to Seoul, he started his hobbies of ice-skating, rugby, and singing. He went to school but the Korean War soon started in 1950 with the North Korean communists invading. While the communists ruled Seoul, he survived by teaching new recruits to the North Korean army patriotic songs (otherwise they'd kill him). He still remembers those songs and sings one of them for us. After that, as the war changed direction, he got picked up by the Americans because he could help them translate road signs in English, Japanese, and Korean. He followed them because they had better food and they were nice to him.

Then, in 1960, the war had ended and the country was struggling to become the democracy it is today and there were national demonstrations trying to kick out South Korea's first president. Dr. Kim was downtown in Seoul at the famous protests all kids today learn about in the books when he was shot in the arm by a Korean policeman with an M1 rifle. Still has the scar and he showed me it today. Pretty ironic that he survived the Russians, the Japanese, the North Koreans, and the Americans, and it was eventually one of his own, a South Korean, that shot him.

He lived through colonization, war, and dictatorship but he still smiles, laughs, and has a super positive outlook on life. He speaks multiple languages. He has done a Masters, a PhD, and has been the conductor of an orchestra for the past 40-odd years. He reckons he walks 13,000 steps a day to stay healthy.

What a dude! Absolutely floored me.

Big thank you to Professor Sam Denny (Associate Professor, Department of English Education at Sangmyung University) for arranging this for us and joining us on the podcast.

Korea Deconstructed by David Tizzard

▶ Get in touch: datizzard@swu.ac.kr

▶ Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=62047873

▶ Watch us on Youtube: /davidtizzard

▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/co/podcast...

▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com...

▶ Music: Tampas Dusk - Sharks (Fade Out of Sight)

Dr. Fouser leads a fascinating and eye-opening exploration into the ideology, values, and activism of Korean students in the 1980s. He discusses and demonstrates the agency of that generation when contrasted to the people of today. He talks about 사대문안 as the traditional center of Seoul and how it's changing over time, with things moving south of the river as well as emerging migrant communities. The Korean language and Dr. Fouser's experiences of writing 5 books in Korean and regular Korean-language columns for various national newspapers are also explored. Robert J. Fouser was born and raised in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He holds a B.A. in Japanese language and literature, an M.A. in applied linguistics, both from the University of Michigan, and a Ph.D. in applied linguistics from Trinity College Dublin. He writes frequently on Korean society and culture and has been active in promoting hanok preservation.

Conversation Outline

0:00 Generations in Korea

6:40 Was the 386 Generation Leftist/Marxist?

28:50 Post-Democratization Korea

38:16 Modern Korea

1:04:10 The City of Seoul: 사대문안

1:28:28 The Korean Language

1:54:28 Does Han exist?

1:58:28 The Future of Korea: Resistance and Change

2:16:55 Lessons from life

Korea Deconstructed by David Tizzard

▶ Get in touch: datizzard@swu.ac.kr

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▶ Music by me

Dr. Sooyeon (Aly) Suh is a clinical health psychologist and professor of psychology at Sungshin University. She is also the author of the book 엄마의 잠 걱정을 잠재우는 책.

Our conversation explored the science and psychology of sleep in the modern world and how this has interacted with particular aspects of Korean culture, including co-sleeping, children's mental health, gender, sex, and social media.

Dr. Suh's book: https://www.yes24.com/Product/Goods/105054567

Find her on Twitter: https://twitter.com/dralysuh

Discussion Outline

0:00 How much do Koreans sleep?

19:12 Korean children's sleep

24:50 Co-sleeping in Korea

38:40 Taemong (pre-natal dreams)

41:20 Gender and sleep in Korea

53:29 Wearables and sleep

1:02:54 Scrolling past bedtime: social media

1:20:40 Sleep Clinics

1:27:12 Psychological insomnia treatment

1:35:31 Sleep paralysis

1:50:12 Is sleep psychological or physical?

Korea Deconstructed by David Tizzard

▶ Get in touch: datizzard@swu.ac.kr

▶ Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=62047873

▶ Watch us on Youtube: /davidtizzard

▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/co/podcast...

▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com...

▶ Music by me: Radical Gary - The Reoccurring Peace Machine

David Mason is not only a vessel of wisdom, he is also a masterful storyteller. In just over two hours, he explains how people came to the Korean Peninsula, how Buddhism arrived from China, how it interacted with the indigenous Shamanism, the ideological conflicts and discussions the various schools of thought generated, the creation of the Jogye Order and the Taego Order, Master Songchul, how drugs affect the development of spirituality, how Sansin is Tangun, and much more...

He speaks honestly and from great experience. A conversation it felt a pleasure to be a part of and a follow-up discussion on Taoism is already being planned.

David Mason is an American academic who first came to Korea in 1982. He has authored about 10 prominent books on Korean culture, spirituality, travel and mountains, and serves as a scholar, author, public speaker and tour guide.

Find him online, book a tour, buy a book, and much more

David Mason's Website: https://san-shin.org

Discussion Outline

0:00 How did you get into spirituality?

5:24 The religious mountains of Korea

13:20 What is Korean Buddhism?

31:50 The temples of Korea

42:32 Does Buddhism still have a role to play today?

52:22 Negative perceptions of Shamanism

1:07:06 The role of drugs in Korean shamanism

1:11:44 Sansin vs Tangun

1:19:28 Shamanism and gender

1:25:00 Illegal shamanism in modern Korea

1:28:26 The supreme patriarch: Master Seongchol

1:38:25 Shaman temples you can visit today

1:44:25 Religion as psychological comfort in modern society

1:51:05 Park Chung-hee and the national parks of Korea

1:57:36 Personal enlightenment

Korea Deconstructed by David Tizzard

▶ Get in touch: datizzard@swu.ac.kr

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▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com...

▶ Music by me: Radical Gary - The Reoccurring Peace Machine https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAkVRbH8eyg

Mr. Hank Morris first arrived in Korea in 1972. This conversation takes him back to that time, recounting the sights, the smells, the people, the food and the accommodation. From the cars to the beer houses, Hank has seen more than most. Here, just before he leaves the country and returns to the United States, he shares his memories.

Despite being under strict instruction not the hit the table, Mr. Morris still punctuated various parts of his stories with his hands. Do please forgive him for the occasional thud. It was his first podcast.

Korea Deconstructed by David Tizzard

▶ Get in touch: datizzard@swu.ac.kr

▶ Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=62047873

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▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com...

▶ Music by me: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAkVRbH8eyg

You might not think that perfume is your thing but this is a conversation about culture, history, authenticity, and finding out who we are as people. You'll learn about important historical figures such as King Sejong the Great, Shin Saimdang, Admiral Lee Sun-shin, and Heo Nanseolheon, explore Korean food and geography, and also hear how this will all work in the future as the country and its people push towards the metaverse. Oh Hani is an artist, a poet, and a thinker, and this is worth sticking with in order to discover the true beauty of her views on Korea.

Find Oh Hani online

Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/haninalda

Youtube: https://youtu.be/W4YpYmBsFhE

Heroes of Korea: https://www.heroesofkorea.com

Korea Deconstructed by David Tizzard

▶ Get in touch: datizzard@swu.ac.kr

▶ Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=62047873

▶ Watch us on Youtube: /davidtizzard

▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/co/podcast...

▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com...

▶ Music by Disorientalz: https://www.instagram.com/disorientalz

Will Topley: https://www.willtopley.com/portraits

Dr. Michael W. Hurt is a photographer and professor living, shooting, and researching in Seoul. He received his doctorate from UC Berkeley's Department of Comparative Ethnic Studies. He also started Korea's first street fashion blog in 2006 and published the first English language book about Korean Fashion in 2009. He researches youth, street fashion, and digital subcultures in Seoul while lecturing on Cultural Theory and Art History. His present research focuses on using the camera to access and document emergent digital subcultures in Korea, including the political economy of the "pay model" on Korean Instagram, Seoul's drag underground, and the youth-centric LGBTQ movement in Korea.

Our conversation focused on 90s fashion and culture, street photography, women as subjects/objects of fashion, heroin chic and 퇴폐미, Korean feminism, cultural appropriation, 부캐 vs 본캐, and Korean Studies as an academic field.

Michael's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/seoulstreetstudios/

Michael's magazine: https://medium.com/seoulacious-magazine

9 minute: https://www.instagram.com/9minuite/

Discussion Outline

0:00 Early Days: Jeju in the 1990s

15:00 90s vibes and street culture

26:35 Street photography

39:00 Women as the subject and object of fashion

52:20 Photo editing vs reality: ethnography

59:24 Heroin chic and 퇴폐미

1:12:00 School girl concepts and smoking

1:22:40 Korean models and prices

1:36:13 Korean feminism

1:40:04 9 minute (구분)

1:48:36 Cultural appropriation

2:02:52 Korean Studies and Academia

2:14:45 부캐 vs 본캐

2:27:13 The perfect Confucian scholar

2:30:34 Hallyu: dead or alive?

2:35:15 Misunderstandings on Korea

2:36:50 The LGBTQ community in Korea

2:42:45 Race in Korea

Korea Deconstructed by David Tizzard

▶ Get in touch: datizzard@swu.ac.kr

▶ Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=62047873

▶ Watch us on Youtube: /davidtizzard

▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/co/podcast...

▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com...

▶ Music by me haha (big thanks to Lee Hyunjung for the vox)

Cho Hyunjee is a dancer, a debater, and a young Korean woman willing to speak up for herself in a society that has often shown a great deal of disrespect to her gender. In this conversation she talks about when she first became conscious of this discrimination and the people who inspired her to rise above it. She also talks passionately about dance as a form of expression, individuality, and culture. Vogue dance in Korea might not be making international headlines yet but she believes it has the potential to grow and grow. We also talk about books that inspire us and some of the things that Korea does get right as a country.

Discussion Outline

0:00 Recognizing Gender Discrimination

12:43 Microagressions and Bias

22:58 The Future and the Job Market

34:08 The Power of Books

44:18 University Life

52:23 Misperceptions and Mental Health

56:12 Korean Vogue (Dance)

1:22:50 Dance Sports

1:34:58 What Does Korea do Well?

1:43:00 Korean Youth

Find Hyunjee online

Instagram @hjromy1

Dance sports @la_cha_ta_20

Korea Deconstructed by David Tizzard

▶ Get in touch: datizzard@swu.ac.kr

▶ Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=62047873

▶ Watch us on Youtube: /davidtizzard

▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/co/podcast...

▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com...

▶ Music by Kev at Disorientalz. https://www.instagram.com/disorientalz/

Episode 50 is......me!!

Or rather it's a conversation I had with Alex Sigrist early on a Monday morning in a studio in downtown Seoul for Arirang Radio. I had so much fun doing it and thought that some of the ideas and content would make for a great introduction for some people to Korean philosophy.

I briefly address the 일체유심조(一切唯心造) of Buddhism and then try to explain the debate between principle (理) and material force (氣) that dominated the Joseon Dynasty (1392 - 1897).

So....here it is. It's audio only. Normal service and conversations about Korea will resume soon. Thank you for everything.

Discussion Outline

0:00 Thank You

3:15 Introduction to Philosophy

9:40 Korean Thought and History

18:13 Neo-Confucianism: Li and Gi

27:43 Mencius and Good vs Evil

31:55 Philosophy of the Caste System

Alex on Insta: https://www.instagram.com/itsalexsigrist

DailyK: https://www.instagram.com/arirangdailyk/

Korea Deconstructed by David Tizzard

▶ Get in touch: datizzard@swu.ac.kr

▶ Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=62047873

▶ Watch us on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/DavidTizzard

▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/co/podcast...

▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com...

▶ Music by Kev at Disorientalz. https://www.instagram.com/disorientalz/

Some of my earliest Korean experiences were shaped by reading Mike's books and columns. That I now get to speak to him, ask him questions, and join the conversation about Korea's democratization and political developments is still all rather surreal.

Michael Breen, Founder and CEO, lived in Korea for more than 30 years, working first as a journalist for The Guardian, The Times and The Washington Times before becoming a public relations consultant in 1994 with the Seoul office of the Burson Marsteller PR agency. He founded Insight Communications in 2004. He is the author of two books on Korea, including "The Koreans," which was selected as one of the best books on the country by the Financial Times and Korea JoongAng Daily. Mike graduated with a degree in English literature and linguistics from Edinburgh University. He is a past president of the Seoul Foreign Correspondents Club and an honorary citizen of Seoul.

Mike's Books

The Koreans: https://www.amazon.com/Koreans-They-Where-Their-Future/dp/0312326092

The New Koreans: https://www.amazon.com/New-Koreans-Story-Nation/dp/1250065054

Korea Deconstructed by David Tizzard

▶ Get in touch: datizzard@swu.ac.kr

▶ Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=62047873

▶ Watch us on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/DavidTizzard

▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/co/podcast...

▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com...

▶ Music by Kev at Disorientalz. https://www.instagram.com/disorientalz/

Jacco Zwetsloot has been the host of the NK News Podcast since 2018. He has interviewed a wide range of guests about their knowledge of and experience in North Korea, from celebrity defectors to high-ranking U.S. government officials. Jacco has a Master of Arts from Leiden University, for which he wrote a thesis on North Korean graphic novels.

This is a conversation in two parts - both of which are fascinating. The first sees Jacco recount details of his three trips to the capital of North Korea, Pyongyang. These bring to life the reality of travelling in and out of a country determined to control the flow of internal and external information. He provides keen insights into the reality of this system and the practices carried out. The second half sees us talk about South Korea - a country Jacco has called home for many years. Of particular interest is the conversation about movies and culture. He finishes our chat by suggesting unification of the peninsula is something that will happen - though when and by what means he remains unsure.

NK News Podcast: https://www.nknews.org/category/north-korea-news-podcast/latest

Jacco on Twitter: https://twitter.com/JaccoZed

Discussion Outline

0:00 Explaining North Korea

32:57 The People of North Korea

46:49 NK News Podcast

1:05:18 NK News

1:14:07 South Korea

1:32:54 Korean Movies, Music, and Books

1:55:08 The Foreign Community

2:09:34 Advice for Young People

2:18:20 Unification

Korea Deconstructed by David Tizzard

▶ Get in touch: datizzard@swu.ac.kr

▶ Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=62047873

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▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/co/podcast...

▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com...

▶ Music by Kev at Disorientalz. https://www.instagram.com/disorientalz/

Dr. Olga Fedorenko is scholar of Korean Studies and anthropology of media at Seoul National University. Her research interests revolve around media and its connection to social and political life in contemporary South Korea.

Her book The Flower of Capitalism: South Korean Advertising At a Crossroads: https://uhpress.hawaii.edu/title/flow... T

his is a discussion about Korea, media, and the advertising landscape. Dr. Fedorenko also taught me a staple of anthropology: Find the strange in the familiar, and the familiar in the strange. I love this idea.

My next two conversations are in-person so Olga might be the last Zoom discussion that takes place on Korea Deconstructed. There's something about being in-person.

Discussion Outline

0:00 Early Experiences of Korea

8:47 Contemporary South Korea

19:17: The Liberalization of Korean Media

28:00 Life in a Korean Advertising Agency

47:40 Marxism in Academia and South Korea

54:00 Celebrities in South Korea

1:14:10 Advertising in Daily Life

1:31:30 Advice and the Future

Korea Deconstructed by David Tizzard

▶ Get in touch: datizzard@swu.ac.kr

▶ Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=62047873

▶ Watch us on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/DavidTizzard

▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/co/podcast...

▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com...

▶ Music by Kev at Disorientalz. https://www.instagram.com/disorientalz/

Philip Turner was appointed New Zealand Ambassador to the Republic of Korea (South Korea) in March 2018. He is concurrently Ambassador to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea). He has spent decades in China, Japan, and Korea.

Discussion Outline

0:00 What is a diplomat?

24:30 Life in East Asia

45:00 Experiences with South Korea

1:09:13 Values at home and abroad

1:26:40 North Korea

1:32:57 Youth and the next generation

Korea Deconstructed by David Tizzard

▶ Get in touch: datizzard@swu.ac.kr

▶ Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=62047873

▶ Watch us on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/DavidTizzard

▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/co/podcast...

▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com...

▶ Music by Kev at Disorientalz. https://www.instagram.com/disorientalz/

Colin Marshall's essays on on cities, language, and culture have appeared in publications like the New Yorker, the Guardian, and the Los Angeles Review of Books, whose Korea Blog he wrote for six years. He's now at work on a book of essays in Korean, and a book about Los Angeles in English.

Find Colin Online

Twitter: https://twitter.com/colinmarshall

Website: http://blog.colinmarshall.org/

Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmG7qCR4RSo

Korea Deconstructed by David Tizzard

▶ Get in touch: datizzard@swu.ac.kr

▶ Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=62047873

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▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/co/podcast...

▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com...

▶ Music by Kev at Disorientalz. Check him out!

Haley Yang is a reporter at the Korea JoongAng Daily where she writes about culture, society, K-pop, and hallyu. This is a long conversation about Korean culture, society, and the people who live and engage with it. It's critical, humorous, and lots else in between. Come for the content, stay for the shade, leave with a smile.

Discussion Outline

0:00 Introduction

2:48 Writing about Hallyu

10:35 New Jeans and the K-pop Scene

43:20 Beauty Standards and Plastic Surgery

1:08:49 Dating and Sexuality

1:20:00 Social Media Love and Toxicity

1:42:40 Omega X and Corporate Abuse

1:54:00 Fetishization and Koreaboos

2:17:00 K-Content vs Korean Content

Find Haley on Twitter: https://twitter.com/haley_dose_of

Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/haleydoseof

Korea Deconstructed by David Tizzard

▶ Get in touch: datizzard@swu.ac.kr

▶ Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=62047873

▶ Watch us on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/DavidTizzard

▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/co/podcast...

▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com...

▶ Music by Kev at Disorientalz. Check him out!

This is a conversation about behavioral patterns passed down over generations which then produce real-life manifestations of cultural concepts. We explore the symbiotic relationship between values, behavior, and material conditions as well as how acculturation takes place at different speeds in each domain. Dr. Kim explores culturally-bound syndromes such as hwabyeong (화병) and then explains the behavioral psychologist view of han (한), jeong (정), nunchi (눈치), and chaemyeon (체면). Paul Youngbin Kim is a Professor of Psychology at Seattle Pacific University. He received a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from the University of Notre Dame in 2010. His scholarly interests are in Asian and Asian American psychological processes, especially regarding the cultural, interpersonal, and individual factors that impact psychological outcomes such as mental health and attitudes toward seeking mental health help. His scholarly work has been published in some of the top academic journals of his field (e.g., Journal of Counseling Psychology, Asian American Journal of Psychology). Paul is Korean by birth but has lived outside of Korea since he was 10 years old. His cross-cultural experiences continue to inspire his scholarly endeavors.

Discussion Outline

0:00 Cultural Constructs

8:30 Korean Behavior

17:40 The Korean Concept of 'Han'

21:47 Inter-Generational Trauma

33:15 Nunchi (눈치) and Gat-saeng (갓생)

39:16 Power distance and Hierarchy

42:20 Chaemyeon (체면)

47:20 Can Non-Korean People 'get' Korean cultural concepts?

53:05 Advice for young people

Korea Deconstructed by David Tizzard

▶ Get in touch: datizzard@swu.ac.kr

▶ Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=62047873

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▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/co/podcast...

▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com...

Peter Bint is a television and radio personality. With a Korean mother and a British father, he successfully navigates two cultures, building bridges and making friends along the way. He currently hosts a daily two-hour morning radio show and appears on MBC's United Fathers among many other things. This is a conversation about identity, language, multiculturalism, lookism, K-pop, fame, and children. Peter's YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@peterbint338

Peter's Insta: https://www.instagram.com/peter_b83/?hl=en

United Fathers: https://mydramalist.com/738875-united-fathers

Discussion Outline

0:00 What Part of You is Korean?

16:00 Korean Ethnicity

25:22 The Korean Language

37:10 Modern Multiculturalism

44:07 Hallyu and its Effects

56:36 Lookism

1:06:13 K-Pop

1:16:05 Television and Fame

2:06:00 Raising Kids in Korea

2:13:41 Advice for Young People

2:21:20 Question for the Next Guest

Korea Deconstructed by David Tizzard

▶ Get in touch: datizzard@swu.ac.kr

▶ Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=62047873

▶ Watch us on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/DavidTizzard

▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/co/podcast...

▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com...