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Semester 2
Politics of Everyday Life in Modern Korea (ASST08063)
Subject
Asian Studies
College
CAHSS
Credits
20
Normal Year Taken
2
Delivery Session Year
2023/2024
Pre-requisites
Course Summary
This course examines key topics in contemporary Korean history, politics, and society, familiarizing students with both the contours of current political issues, as well as their broader historical and social contexts. Students will read a variety of primary and secondary sources, enabling them to discuss aspects of everyday life in Korean society and analyse the relationship between popular concerns and the evolution of South Korean politics, as well as the representation of North Korea within South Korea.
Course Description
The recent history of Korea is punctuated by a series of dramatic events: war and the division of the peninsula into North and South; the manifestation of Cold War politics through the ideological extremes of communism in the North and a capitalist developmental dictatorship in the South; rapid industrialization, urbanization and economic growth; democratization and popular protest movements; financial and nuclear crises in the 1990s and 2000s; political scandals; the list continues even to the present. This course follows the major events that have reshaped Korean society since 1945, with a focus on the everyday lives of ordinary Koreans who experienced these events. This course invites students to look through 'the headlines', to consider how geopolitical events have been accommodated and interpreted within the politics of daily life in Korea. This course will introduce students to key aspects of modern Korean society and politics. Students will read and discuss multiple perspectives on events in Korea, including both textual and visual primary sources. Students will learn to critically evaluate primary and secondary sources, culminating in a final essay that puts students' analytical skills into practice. Given the course focus on the politics of everyday life - that is, questions of labour, families, food, housing, and material culture that rarely enter the official record - the course focuses on South Korean politics and society, although North Korea will also be considered.
Assessment Information
Written Exam 0%, Coursework 100%, Practical Exam 0%
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