New course on North Korea profiled in Stanford Magazine

The March/April 2008 issue of Stanford Magazine profiles a new course on North Korea taught by Robert Carlin, a Shorenstein APARC Pantech Fellow. The course, , "Media in North Korea: A Window to Plans, Perceptions and Decisions," is one of only a handful about the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) that are being taught nationwide. Although Western observers typically characterize the DPRK as an informational black hole, Carlin encourages students to look beyond the caricatures of "Dear Leader" Kim Jong-Il's elevator shoes, poufed hair, and khaki jumpsuits. "It's not a joke," Carlin says. "It's a real place."