Faculty of English Interpretation and Translation

This paper seeks to examine the relationship between information technologies (ITs) on transnational affairs of North Korea. The recent unrests in Northern Africa and the Middle East have demonstrated the crucial role of communication technology and social networking in prompting regime changes. It has been historically clear too that power can shift and dictators can be ousted if there is enough enthusiasm among common citizenry. Obviously, technology and increases in information flow can speed up social mobilization if there is a strong enough ideology and willingness for people to get behind. This paper would first examine the level of new information and communication technologies of the DPRK (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, North Korea), using case study approach. Although the Internet is tightly controlled, there are now about 200,000 legal (Koryolink) and 20,000 black market cell phones in North Korea, despite the initial 2003 ban. Second, this paper seeks to analyze t...

The purpose of this paper is to examine the diplomatic paradox of the DPRK following the global financial crisis and the co called “Arab Spring,” each of which had a unique impact on the behavior and policy decisions of Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). Paradoxically, while their aggressive position has mostly comes from a desire to solve perceived security challenges, it has caused deeper economic woes and a further detraction from the lower Songbun categories: the marginalized and “untouchable” caste in North Korea. The results are growing destabilization, more widespread human suffering resembling the famine of the 1990s and an increased dependence on China. Peaceful conflict management with North Korea has been ongoing discussion largely focused upon the development of nuclear weapons, the expansion of ballistic missile technology and recurring acts of hostility toward neighbors. However, the UN also describes the situation to include “persisting deterioration in the...

Recently the #MeToo movement has found its way to South Korea and there has been a considerable impact on various institutions that have been historically hierarchical and passively or actively discriminatory. As legal shifts have begun to recognize this situation, social reforms are slow to adjust as little in the way of precedent exists to provide direction, as well as the general inertia among those in positions of power and authority. One potential precedent model available is in the United States, which has been of central focus in the #MeToo movement. However, not all cases are appropriately compared or relevant given a host of variables governing the conditions of men and women in each state. This pilot study therefore asks: What can feminist
scholars do to recommended that #MeToo address sexual harassment/violence against South Korean women? The emphasis is on the theoretical debates in feminist scholarship and applies a qualitative comparative case study methodology to identify research gaps for application to the Korean case. The results of this pilot study have implications for conducting quantitative empirical investigations in the future. Overall, this pilot study contributes to burgeoning feminist research discussing how South Korean women may use social media to address the problem.