Open research questions in Korean Peninsula Historical and Political Studies

What the literature leaves open

• The resistance from the Confucian elite. The marginalization of the Korean alphabet for centuries. The need to standardize the Korean language.

  A PROCESS OF IMPLEMENTING THE KOREAN ALPHABET ON THE KOREAN PENINSULA · 2026 · DOI

• To study the impact of the U.S. withdrawal plan on the stability of the peninsula. To analyze the effect of the inter-Korea dialogue on the relations between the two Koreas.

  Inter-Korea Relations and the Major Powers · 1983 · DOI

• The lack of a common interest among the major powers in reducing tension in the peninsula. The instability caused by the military build-up of North Korea.

  Inter-Korea Relations and the Major Powers · 1983 · DOI

• The paper identifies the challenge of resolving the emotional conflict between Japan and Korea. The study highlights the difficulty of bridging the gap in perceptions between the two nations. The research notes the complexity of the issue within Japan.

  History and politics in Japanese-Korean relations: The textbook controversy and beyond · 1983 · DOI

• The gap in perceptions between Japan and Korea is a major obstacle to resolving the emotional conflict. The paper identifies a lack of understanding of the historical accounts and political debates that shape current relations.

  History and politics in Japanese-Korean relations: The textbook controversy and beyond · 1983 · DOI

• The gap in understanding the impact of the Sino-Soviet dispute on North Korea. The gap in analyzing the patterns of North Korea's fluctuating relations with China and the Soviet Union.

  North Korea in the Sino-Soviet dispute · 1983 · DOI

• The threat of Soviet forces in Northeast Asia. The need for effective defense against Soviet submarines and Backfire bombers. The decision to embark on a broader defense role will not be easy.

  South Korea in broader pacific defense · 1983 · DOI

• The historical and geographical complexities of the relationship between South Korea and Japan. The need to balance the relationship with the United States and Japan. The challenge of creating a more mature and durable South Korean Japan policy.

  South Korean policy toward Japan · 1983 · DOI

• To study the impact of the emergence of a neo-cold war system on the relationship between South Korea and Japan. To analyze the role of the United States in the relationship between the two countries.

  South Korean policy toward Japan · 1983 · DOI

• The paper identifies a need to understand the implications of Kim Chong-il's rise to power in North Korea. The author highlights the importance of analyzing the potential impact of Kim Chong-il's leadership on North Korea's internal and external policies.

  The rise of Kim Chong-il: Implications for North Korea’s internal and external policies in the 1980’S · 1983 · DOI

• To study the impact of interdependence on the economic development of the ASEAN nations and South Korea. To examine the political and military implications of interdependence between Japan and its neighbors. To analyze the role of other countries in promoting interdependence in the Asia-Pacific region.

  Japan’s relations with Asean and South Korea: From dependence to interdependence? · 1983 · DOI

• The different definitions of interdependence between advanced industrial states and less developed states. The lack of equal partnership in economic cooperation, balanced international trade, and generous financial and technical assistance from advanced states.

  Japan’s relations with Asean and South Korea: From dependence to interdependence? · 1983 · DOI

• The development of an air defense system from Cheju Do. The acquisition of mine-laying aircraft and vessels.

  South Korea in broader pacific defense · 1983 · DOI

• The lack of official or substantive relations between the North and the South. The military imbalance between the North and the South.

  Prospects for North-South Korean relations · 1983 · DOI

• The need for the United States to maintain its military presence in Northeast Asia, - the importance of accommodation between the two superpowers

  South Korea’s policy toward the United States · 1983 · DOI

• Future research should prioritize the development of education programs that promote the social and economic integration of North Korean migrant youth. The study suggests that future research should examine the impact of neoliberalism on the education of North Korean migrant youth. The paper recommends that future research should explore the application of human capital theory to education in other contexts.

  From North Korean Migrant to “Unification Talent:” Schools, Human Capital, and Neoliberal Future-Making · 2026 · DOI

• There is a lack of research on the role of education in shaping the futures of North Korean migrant youth. The study highlights the importance of understanding the role of neoliberalism in shaping the way state and civil society actors frame North Korean migrants as human capital. The paper identifies a gap in the literature on human capital theory and its application to education.

  From North Korean Migrant to “Unification Talent:” Schools, Human Capital, and Neoliberal Future-Making · 2026 · DOI

• The lack of understanding of the Korean alphabet's significance in Korean culture and identity. The need to examine the implementation of the Korean alphabet on the Korean Peninsula.

  A PROCESS OF IMPLEMENTING THE KOREAN ALPHABET ON THE KOREAN PENINSULA · 2026 · DOI

• 북한 이탈 청소년의 사회경제적 통합과 평화교육의 과제: 인권 관점에서 본 통일교육 담론의 비판적 분석 Young Ran Lee1 이영란1 1 Professor, Department of Adolescent Counseling Education, Chungwoon University, Korea, [email protected] Abstract: This study aimed to analyze the socio-economic integration and peace education tasks of North Korean defections adolescents from the perspective of human rights-based civic subject integration, and to explore how they are represented as subjects within the discourse of unification education. To this end, this study applied Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) to analyze unification education policy documents, educational materials, and academic discourses. The analysis was conducted at the levels of text, discourse structure, and socio-cultural context, examining how North Korean defectors are represented in unification education discourse as 'subjects of protection,' 'subjects of adaptation,' and 'rights-holding subjects,' and analyzing how these discursive representations affect their socio-economic integration and the formation of citizenship through educational participation and labor market participation. The results of the study are as follows. First, North Korean defectors tended to be framed primarily as objects of protection and adaptation in the existing discourse on unification education and social integration, showing that there is a certain gap in the process of social citizenship formation even after obtaining legal citizenship. Second, socio-economic integration through educational participation and labor market participation was closely connected to the formation of rights-based citizenship, and this process was found to lead to practical social integration when combined with psychological recovery, community participation, and experiences of cooperative citizenship. This study is significant in that it suggests the need to reconstruct the socio-economic integration and peace education tasks of North Korean defectors not simply as a matter of protection or welfare support, but as centered on rights-based civic education and experiences of social recognition. Such an approach allows North Korean defectors to experience both legal and social citizenship integrally, serving as important foundational data for their growth as key social members who realize coexistence of differences and cooperative citizenship in a future unified society.

  Socioeconomic Integration of North Korean Defector Youth and the Challenges of Peace Education: A Critical Analysis of Unification Education Discourse from a Human Rights Perspective · 2026 · DOI

• Through a comparative study of the Hollywood film The Bridges at Toko-Ri (Mark Robson, 1954) and the South Korean film Welcome to Dongmakgol (Park Kwang-hyun, 2005), I explore conflicting ways of representing and remembering the air war: as limited to an interdiction campaign in the former, as the cause of civilian casualties in the latter.

  The Unending Korean War in Film: From<i>The Bridges at Toko-Ri</i>to<i>Welcome to Dongmakgol</i> · 2017 · DOI

• South Korea, the third biggest host of US military bases overseas, is an under-investigated case despite offering useful insights applicable to other US base hosts.

  Bases That Leave: Consequences of US Base Closures and Realignments in South Korea · 2017 · DOI

• And since the Pyongyang power elite, as Chinese interlocutors have long insisted, is scarcely amenable to Chinese advice, not to say Chinese dictates, and since the domestic situation in North Korea is hardly improving, China's strategic goals in North Korea will be unattainable in the middle to long run-unless Kim Jong II heeds the advice that China's leaders used to give his father and opts for radical, fundamental economic reforms.

  The PRC-DPRK Rapprochement and China’s Dilemma in Korea · 2001 · DOI

• A. APPADORAI* GENESIS OF THE CONFERENCE &dquo;It is difficult to trace from the records available to us&dquo;, the present writer wrote in April 1948, &dquo;who first gave public expression to the general desire among Asian peoples to meet and confer together.’’1 Suffice it to say that in a special interview given to B. Shiva Rao, Correspondent of the Man- claester Guardian and The Hindu (Madras), on 25 December 1945, at Allahabad, Jawaharlal Nehru explained how an Asian conference might help in promoting understanding of Asia’s problems and furthering co-operation among the peoples of Asia. Again, on his returu from a tour in South-East Asia in March 1946, he disclosed that General Aung San and others had expressed to him the desirability of holding an Asian conference. It then occurred to some members of the Indian Council of World Affairs that the Council might take the initiative in the matter and thus provide an opportunity for a discussion of the common problems of the various countries of Asia at an expert level. The Executive Commit- tee of the Council accepted the suggestion. It was first proposed to call the conference &dquo;The Inter-Asian Relations Conference&dquo;; later, the name &dquo;Asian Relations Conference&dquo; was adopted. In his inaugural address to the Asian Relations Conference, Nehru said: It so happened that we in India convened this Conference, but the idea of such a conference arose simultaneously in many minds and in many countries of Asia. There was a widespread urge and an awareness that the time had come for us, peoples of Asia, to meet together, to hold together and to advance together. It was not only a vague desire but *Dr Appadorai was Secretary-General of the Indian Council of World Affairs (which held the conference) till 1955. He was also Secretary of the Asian Relations Conference. He was the founder-Director of the Indian School of International Studies (1955-64). He is at present Honorary Professor at the School. 1See Asian Relations, Being a Report of the Proceedings and Documentation of the First Asian Relations Conference, New Delhi; March-April 1947 (New Delhi: Asian Relations Organization, 1948), p. 2. This publication contains a detailed account of the conference.

  The Asian Relations Conference in Perspective · 1979 · DOI

• A new quarterly of historical scholarship and cultural criticism 8 A journal of ideas Chairman of Editorial Board: Warren I. Susman Editor: Eugene D. Genovese Publisher: Jacques Marchand CONTENTS Volume I NlImber ! Eric Hobsba..m

  Syngman rhee: The pawn as rook the struggle to end the Korean war · 1978 · DOI

• The limitations, especially in terms of lack of data, as well as the contri- butions of studies which have attempted to set forth generalizations about the role of the military in developing nations are discussed in somewhat greater detail in Lovell (1966).

  Recruitment Patterns in the Republic of Korea Military Establishment · 1970 · DOI

Most-cited papers in Korean Peninsula Historical and Political Studies

• Fighting <scp>COVID</scp>‐19 with Agility, Transparency, and Participation: Wicked Policy Problems and New Governance Challenges · Public Administration Review · 2020 · 384 citations
• Political institutions, state capacity, and crisis management: A comparison of China and South Korea · International Political Science Review · 2021 · 54 citations
• The Media Spectacle of a Techno-City: COVID-19 and the South Korean Experience of the State of Emergency · The Journal of Asian Studies · 2020 · 42 citations
• Slow Disaster in the Anthropocene: A Historian Witnesses Climate Change on the Korean Peninsula · Daedalus · 2020 · 38 citations
• Polarization and frames of advocacy coalitions in South Korea's nuclear energy policy · Review of Policy Research · 2022 · 32 citations
• Happiness, politics and education reform in South Korea: building ‘happy human capital’ for the future · Comparative Education · 2022 · 26 citations
• COVID-19 and the Political Framing of China, Nationalism, and Borders in the U.S. and South Korean News Media · Sociological Perspectives · 2021 · 26 citations
• Everyday Nationalism and Authoritarian Rule: A Case Study of North Korea · Nationalities Papers · 2020 · 22 citations
• Pandemic Nationalism in South Korea · Society · 2020 · 21 citations
• Differences in the COVID-19 Pandemic Response between South Korea and the United States: A Comparative Analysis of Culture and Policies · Journal of Asian and African Studies · 2022 · 20 citations

Most recent work

• RCC Perspectives, Vol. 1 (2012): Europe after Fukushima: German Perspectives on the Future of Nuclear Power · Universitätsbibliothek der LMU · 2026
• Beyond Antagonism and Tolerance: Interreligious Care and Boundary Negotiation in Contemporary Korea · Ethnos · 2026
• Mortality of major health problems in North Korean refugees · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · 2026
• Anxiety, epidemic threats, and the gaze of the other: a psychological interpretation of social order and disease management in narratives of wandering in North Korea · International Journal of Infectious Diseases · 2026
• Navigating the twin risks in alliance dilemma: South Korea's foreign policy during US-DPRK nuclear crises · Australian Journal of International Affairs · 2026
• Nuclear technology and (de)politicising memories of nuclear violence in postcolonial South Korea (1945–1975) · Cooperation and Conflict · 2026
• From North Korean Migrant to “Unification Talent:” Schools, Human Capital, and Neoliberal Future-Making · Current Issues in Comparative Education · 2026
• Between Chosenness and Solidarity: Christian Zionism and Solidarity with Palestine in South Korea · Political Theology · 2026
• North Korea’s Mundane Revolution: Socialist Living and the Rise of Kim Il Sung, 1953–1965 by Andre Schmid (review) · Korean studies · 2026
• The Red Decades: Communism as Movement and Culture in Korea, 1919–1945 by Vladimir Tikhonov (review) · Korean studies · 2026

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