Instructors
Young Whan Kihl - Visiting Scholar, Asia-Pacific Research Center

This is a course on the study of “the politics of divided Korea” by attempting to trace the origins of divided nation-hood of the Korean people at the end of WWII in 1945. The two rival political systems and regimes have arisen to compete on the Korean peninsula, timed with the on-set of the Cold War rivalry between the two super powers of the FSU (former Soviet Union) and the USA (United States of America) in the post-WWII era.

Yet, despite the passing of the Cold War era globally, today’s Korea continues to remain as the Cold War’s last glacier sitting on a powder keg, along the DMZ (De-Militarized Zone) bisecting the peninsula into the two mutually hostile halves. The course also aims to speculate about the possible scenario and prospects for Korea’s future and reunification. This course is organized to deal with each of the following topical areas of concern:
   

• Origins and development of the modern day Korea, South and North of the DMZ (de-militarized zone);
• The Political structure and processes in the Sixth Republic of Korea (in the South) and in the Post-Kim Il Sung era North Korea;
• The security agenda and economic welfare/foreign policy issues in each of the Two Koreas;
• Korea’s Future, with Implications of “Democratic Peace” thesis for the South, as for the North by “Going Beyond the Kim Dynasty” regime.

Level
Graduate and undergraduate