[KS] Striking photographs of the DPRK from AP's David Guttenfelder, in The Atlantic

[Charles K. Armstrong]

Dear Ruediger and all,

I would like to expand a bit on my brief comments last week. They were  
not meant as a criticism of Aidan's taste or the perfectly fine photos  
in the Atlantic. What troubles me, however, it the continued  
exoticization of North Korea in the Western (particularly, perhaps,  
American) media that the article reflects. After all, it is unlikely  
that there would be a major spread in a leading American journal of  
equally fine photos of, say, Canada or France -- or South Korea for  
that matter. These images of North Korea warrant such attention  
because North Korea is supposedly so isolated, inaccessible, and alien  
that any representation other than the usual stock images is greeted  
with astonishment (not by members of this listserve, of course, but  
the general reading public). Anything that goes beyond the narrow  
standard narrative of military threat, starvation and gulags is  
jarring to an American media audience. This is not to say these things  
don't exist -- they certainly do -- but obviously that's not all there  
is, and I am dismayed that the evidence that everyday life exists in  
North Korea is treated in this country as a journalistic discovery. My  
hope is that someday North Korea will be treated as an ordinary  
country. "Ordinary" here is not meant as a value judgment, as there is  
obviously plenty to criticize about the DPRK. Rather, I simply mean  
that one would never guess from most media representations of the  
place (at least in this country) that North Korea occupies the same  
planet that we do, and that it is populated by human beings with the  
same needs, desires, and general level of intelligence as people  
anywhere else. It seems to me that any useful criticism has to begin  
with this recognition of commonality, rather that the idea of North  
Korea as an unknowable Other.

best,

Charles

-- 
Charles K. Armstrong
Professor of History
Director, Center for Korean Research
Columbia University
930 International Affairs Building
420 West 118th Street
New York, NY 10027

Tel: 212-854-1721
Fax: 212-749-1497


Quoting Ruediger Frank <ruediger.frank at univie.ac.at>:

> Dear all,
> I should add in Aidan's defense that he is of course quite aware of   
> that problem - people going to NK and getting excited over allegedly  
>  new stuff that has been known to others for years. As an economist,  
>  I suspect some marketing tactics behind these claims of  
> exclusivity.  But guess what, it works. Nicely and sharply, as  
> always, Aidan  called this the "Columbus effect" in a chapter  
> (DPRKrazy, Sexy,  Cool: The Art of Engaging North Korea) he and his  
> wife Kate Hext  contributed to a book that has just been published:
> Exploring North Korean Arts. Nuremberg: Verlag für moderne Kunst,   
> available at
> http://www.amazon.de/Exploring-North-Korean-R%C3%BCdiger-Frank/dp/3869842148/ref=sr_1_1?s=books-intl-de&ie=UTF8&qid=1312714927&sr=1-1
> Other contributors are Koen DeCeuster, Brian Myers, Sonja Haussler,   
> James Hoare, Jane Portal, Frank Hoffmann, Keith Howard, Ross King,   
> Marsha Haufler and Dafna Zur.
> Speaking of marketing: This book was hard work, in many respects.   
> But I dare saying it was worth all the effort, for it is systematic,  
>  rigorous, controversial, balanced, and full of highly interesting   
> information and discussion. Well, of course I think so; I am the   
> editor. So you better see for yourself. I have to work out the   
> copyright details yet; but soon the introductory chapter along with   
> a table of contents will be available at   
> http://wirtschaft.ostasien.univie.ac.at I'll send out a note to this  
>  list once this is done.
> For now, you might want to have a look at the program of last   
> September's related symposium for an impression:
> http://wirtschaft.ostasien.univie.ac.at/fileadmin/user_upload/lehrstuhl_wirtschaft_ostasien/Konferenzen/KOREA_FolderSymposium_04.pdf
> If anyone on the list is interested in doing a review, please   
> contact me for a review copy (and indicate where/when the review is   
> going to appear). My contact details are below. Or just convince   
> your librarian to order it so that your students have access, too.
> Best,
> Rudiger
> PS: A short note on Arirang, since it came up in the discussion (the  
>  same could be said about posters and the rest of the propaganda   
> stuff): I have been there a couple of times, and it does change,   
> like adding a full new chapter on cho-chung ch'insOng. Most of this   
> is a reflection of changing priorities/nuances in domestic and   
> foreign policy. Some people find it hard to believe, but the White   
> Man is not the center of the world, and not everything North Korea   
> does is meant as a signal to us. I know; it's tough.
>
> --
> Univ.-Prof. Dr. Rudiger Frank
> Chair of East Asian Economy and Society
> Secretary, Association for Korean Studies in Europe
> Deputy Head, Department of East Asian Studies
> University of Vienna
> Department of East Asian Studies
> Spitalgasse 2 Hof 2.3
> 1090 Vienna
> - Austria -
>
> phone:  +43-1-4277 43871
> fax:    +43-1-4277 43849
> institutional website:   http://wirtschaft.ostasien.univie.ac.at
> email: ruediger.frank at univie.ac.at
>