<div dir="ltr"><div><div class="gmail_default" style=""><font face="arial, sans-serif" style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255)" color="#000000">Dear KS list members,<br><br>I hope you are well! <br><br>Please note the following seminar talk organised by Monash University Korean Studies Research Hub. Registration details are also included below. Hope to see you there.</font></div><div class="gmail_default"><div class="gmail_default"><div><font face="arial, sans-serif" color="#000000" style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"><br>Many thanks,<br>Sandy.</font></div><div><font face="arial, sans-serif" color="#000000" style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"><br></font></div><div><font face="arial, sans-serif" color="#000000" style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">_____________<br><br></font></div></div><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><font face="arial, sans-serif" color="#000000"><b><span lang="EN-GB" style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">Monash University Korean Studies Research Hub (MUKSRH) presents:</span></b></font></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center;line-height:12.65pt"><font face="arial, sans-serif" color="#000000" style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"> </font></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><font face="arial, sans-serif" color="#000000"><b><span lang="EN-GB" style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">Monash Beyond Borders Korean Studies Seminar Series 2026<br></span></b></font></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><font color="#000000" face="arial, sans-serif"><i><b><span lang="EN-GB" style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"><br></span></b></i></font></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center;line-height:12.65pt"><b><font face="arial, sans-serif" color="#000000" style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"><i>'</i>
<span style="text-align:start;white-space:pre-wrap">An Analysis of North Korean Textbooks in the Kim Jong-un Era</span><i>'</i></font></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center;line-height:12.65pt"><i><font face="arial, sans-serif" color="#000000" style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"><br></font></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center;line-height:12.65pt"><span style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"><font face="arial, sans-serif" color="#000000"></font></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:center;line-height:12.65pt"><font face="arial, sans-serif" color="#000000" style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"><span style="letter-spacing:0.2px">Associate Professor Dong Bae (Issac) Lee</span> (University of Queensland<span style="letter-spacing:0.2px">)</span></font></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center;line-height:12.65pt"><font face="arial, sans-serif" color="#000000"><span lang="EN-GB" style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"> </span></font></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center;line-height:12.65pt"><font face="arial, sans-serif" color="#000000" style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">15th October 2026, 4-5pm (Melbourne time), via ZOOM</font></p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-bottom:1rem;margin-top:0px"><font face="arial, sans-serif" color="#000000" style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"><br style="box-sizing:border-box"></font></p><div><p style="text-align:justify"><strong><font face="arial, sans-serif" color="#000000" style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">Abstract:<br></font></strong></p><p style="font-variant-ligatures:no-contextual;white-space:pre-wrap;background-color:rgb(240,244,249)"><font face="arial, sans-serif" color="#000000" style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">This project examines North Korean elementary school textbooks as ideological instruments that cultivate emotional loyalty and political obedience to the supreme leader. Through Critical Discourse Analysis and narrative inquiry, it analyses eight Korean language textbooks from the Kim Jong-un era, revealing how authoritarian values are embedded from early childhood.</font></p><p style="font-variant-ligatures:no-contextual;white-space:pre-wrap;background-color:rgb(240,244,249)"><font face="arial, sans-serif" color="#000000" style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">At the core of the curriculum is the deification of Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-un, who are portrayed as paternal figures whose sacrifices secure national strength and personal well-being. Emotionally charged first-person narratives encourage students to understand obedience as a moral duty and diligent study as a form of repayment for the leader\u2019s benevolence, thereby fostering intergenerational loyalty. For example, the glorification of Hyang-rim\u2019s self-sacrifice to protect portraits of the leaders illustrates how devotion and selflessness are normalised. Such narratives align personal identity with state interests and present military service as both honourable and expected.</font></p><p style="font-variant-ligatures:no-contextual;white-space:pre-wrap;background-color:rgb(240,244,249)"><font face="arial, sans-serif" color="#000000" style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">Another example is Geum-sun\u2019s statement that Kim Il-sung was \u201cboth a dear father and the foundation of her spirit,\u201d which illustrates Puleungi-sasang ideology, in which the leader\u2019s authority is closely associated with parental love and life itself. This ritualised emotional attachment helps secure the regime\u2019s political legitimacy.</font></p><p style="font-variant-ligatures:no-contextual;white-space:pre-wrap;background-color:rgb(240,244,249)"><font face="arial, sans-serif" color="#000000" style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">Education is framed not as a right but as a privilege granted by the leader. Historical trauma under Japanese colonialism is contrasted with present-day prosperity in order to legitimise the regime, while anti-American sentiment is reinforced through depictions of Americans and Christian missionaries as hostile invaders. Ultimately, the textbooks construct political subjectivity by fusing civic identity with personal devotion to the leader, reinforcing nationalism, legitimising political authority, and portraying loyalty as both virtuous and essential.</font></p><p style="text-align:justify;padding:10pt 0pt 0pt"><strong><font face="arial, sans-serif" color="#000000" style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">Bio: <br></font></strong></p><p style="font-variant-ligatures:no-contextual;white-space:pre-wrap;background-color:rgb(240,244,249)"><font face="arial, sans-serif" color="#000000" style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">Associate Professor Dong Bae (Isaac) Lee is an academic in Korean Studies and Korean language education at the University of Queensland, Australia. He holds an MA in Applied Linguistics and a PhD in Critical Curriculum Studies and has more than two decades of experience in university teaching, research, postgraduate supervision, curriculum development, and academic leadership.</font></p><p style="font-variant-ligatures:no-contextual;white-space:pre-wrap;background-color:rgb(240,244,249)"><font face="arial, sans-serif" color="#000000" style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">His research is interdisciplinary, spanning critical curriculum and textbook studies, language education, nationalism, identity, ideology, multiculturalism, environmental and sustainability education, and critical discourse analysis. His work has examined English, Korean, and Chinese language textbooks and school curricula across a range of national contexts, including South Korea, North Korea, China, Japan, Vietnam, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Australia. He has also conducted research on North Korean education and curriculum, North Korean defectors, and issues of identity among overseas Korean communities.</font></p><p style="font-variant-ligatures:no-contextual;white-space:pre-wrap;background-color:rgb(240,244,249)"><font face="arial, sans-serif" color="#000000" style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">Associate Professor Lee has published two research monographs with international academic publishers, more than 45 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters, and a co-authored book. His recent research examines environmental education, sustainability, environmental citizenship, national identity, ideology, and the ways in which school curricula and textbooks construct national and global futures, particularly across the Indo-Pacific region.</font></p><p style="font-variant-ligatures:no-contextual;white-space:pre-wrap;background-color:rgb(240,244,249)"><font face="arial, sans-serif" color="#000000" style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">At the University of Queensland, he has played a significant role in the development of Korean Studies and has served as Director and Co-Director of the Korean Studies Centre. He is also actively involved in international research collaboration, postgraduate supervision, and the mentoring of early-career and next-generation scholars.</font></p></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:12.65pt"><font face="arial, sans-serif" color="#000000"><span lang="EN-GB" style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">Register <a href="https://forms.gle/puWcowyv2WJMYTrQA" target="_blank">here</a>.<br><br></span></font></p><div class="gmail_default"><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:12.65pt"><font face="arial, sans-serif" color="#000000" style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"><span lang="EN-GB" style="">Please contact Monash University Korean Studies Research Hub Coordinator Ms Sandy Nguyen for further details.</span><a href="mailto:Sandy.nguyen1@monash.edu" target="_blank" style="">Sandy.Nguyen1@monash.edu</a> </font></p></div><div><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><p style="color:rgb(80,0,80);text-align:justify;line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="background-color:transparent;color:rgb(34,34,34)">__________________</span></p></div></div></div></div><br clear="all"></div><div><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><p style="color:rgb(80,0,80);text-align:justify;line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;vertical-align:baseline"><font face="arial, sans-serif"><span style="background-color:transparent;color:rgb(34,34,34)">Kind Regards,</span></font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="color:rgb(80,0,80);text-align:justify;line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;vertical-align:baseline"><font face="arial, sans-serif"><span style="background-color:transparent;color:rgb(34,34,34)">Sandy Nguyen</span><br></font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="text-align:justify;line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="background-color:transparent;vertical-align:baseline"><font face="arial, sans-serif" color="#000000"><i>MUKSRH Coordinator</i><br></font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.656;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><a href="https://www.monash.edu/arts/languages-literatures-cultures-linguistics/korean-studies-research-hub" style="text-decoration:none" target="_blank"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:#1155cc;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:underline;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap">Website: Monash Korean Studies Research Hub</span></a></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.656;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/monashunikorean.edu/" style="text-decoration:none" target="_blank"><span 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