Berkeley: University of California Press, 2020. xxi, 328 pp. (Map, B&W photos.) US$29.95, cloth. ISBN 978-0-520-29233-8.
Theodore Jun Yoo’s new book is a rare multidisciplinary study of the two Koreas from the division of the peninsula in 1945 to the present time. Jun Yoo astutely combines microhistory—in the form of biographies—and macro-history, which take into account the bigger picture (state, society, economy) on both sides of the DMZ. The author also uses narratives from popular culture, including films and songs, to depict and discuss certain socio-economic or political phenomenona. Jun Yoo also discusses Korean migration and the diaspora, as he is himself part of the overseas Korean community. The author opens the book with autobiographical notes, tracing his family background both to the North (his paternal grandparents crossed to the South from the North) and the South on his maternal side. His wife’s parents were also from the North (3–8). Jun Yoo’s family history explains his more sensible and nuanced approach to the North and the South.
The narrative of Korean division goes back to the period after World War II. Jun Yoo uses a compelling metaphor to describe the international factors at play in the division of the peninsula, describing the Soviet Union and the US as “midwives to the painful birth of the twin nations from a unified Korea” (17). It is worth noting that the author refers to the South and the North as “nations” throughout the book (including in the title), which is a departure from the long-standing view that the two Koreas are separate states within one Korean nation. The study also pays attention to the domestic reasons for the peninsular conflict, such as the Yeosu-Sunchon mutiny and the suppression of the uprising on Jeju Island and the killing of more than 100,000 civilians in the South before the war (21, 23). The author provides interesting examples of the South’s recovery and its ties to the US, including the adoption of 200,000 Korean children by American families over a period of 60 years and even addressing the sex industry involving GIs (37, 41). In the North Korean part of the postwar reconstruction narrative, Jun Yoo uses the example of war orphans who were taken care of in ally countries of the DPRK in Eastern Europe. He mentions that some 30,000 North Korean orphans were adopted by families in socialist countries (43). While the figure is basically accurate (a study showed nearly 29,000 children under care of fraternal countries), it would be worthwhile to know the source of such information. Here and in other instances in the book, the lack of citations is an issue. The author decided not to use citations in his book, which is a valid way to prioritize a smoother narrative focused on stories rather than on numbers.
The book addresses the topic of the Korean diaspora in Japan, who are referred to as zainichi (57–58). It is interesting to note that a large portion of the Korean community in Japan is linked to North Korea, a phenomenon that deserves further study. Jun Yoo views the South’s economic progress through the prism of its political and social costs. The two postcolonial paths on the peninsula—self-sufficiency in the North and normalization (or integration) of the South—were further established in the 1960s and the 1970s, while both Koreas embarked on militarization and isolating each other diplomatically. The narrative addresses social, technological, and cultural phenomena, such as prostitution (101), Nam June Paik’s “electronic superhighway” (102), and Myung Moon’s Unification Church (104–106), which intersect with domestic and international forces of globalization. On the North Korean side, Jun Yoo discusses the usually understudied issue of North Korea’s relations with Africa, offering interesting examples of Kim Il Sung’s personal diplomacy and vision of building solidarity with the postcolonial continent (116). Commenting on the 1980s, the author states that while the DPRK maintained its initiatives in Africa and the Middle East, it became increasingly isolated from the Communist Bloc (121). The evidence suggests that during most of the decade North Korea enjoyed positive relations both with China and the Soviet Eastern Bloc.
In the section on democratization in South Korea in the 1990s, the author connects the trauma of the Gwangju uprising with the TV miniseries Sandglass, aired on the national broadcasting service SBS in 1996, which was the first lifting of the taboo on public discussion of the political repressions of the 1970s and the tragedy of the Gwangju uprising (124, 162). The TV drama was an extraordinary social and cultural phenomenon. I viewed Sandglass and observed its powerful resonance among South Koreans. Jun Yoo examines the history of the nuclear crisis on the Korean Peninsula in 1994 (155–158), Kim Dae Jung’s Sunshine Policy towards the North (164–169), and the origins of the famine in North Korea in the 1990s. The author rightly points out that the market reforms in the Soviet Union and China were part of the reason for the food crisis in North Korea (limiting the supply of affordable fertilizer, for example) (155–156). It can be added that the collapse of the Soviet Union was the chief international reason for the sudden disruption of the supply of key industrial products to the DPRK. The 2002 FIFA World Cup marked a watershed moment for the Red Devils (the jersey colour of the South Korean soccer team) (178). Hundreds of thousands of Seoul citizens poured into the streets like “red rivers” to watch the matches and celebrate. South Korea felt united like one.
The book examines the transition of power to Kim Jong Un in the North by using the inside stories of Dennis Rodman, the NBA basketball player, and Kenji Fujimoto, a cook of the North Korean leader, to depict Kim’s new regime (230–232). The author notes that North Korean IT students in many respects “are no different from college students in South Korea and the United States” (237). I would add that North Korean people in general are not that different from people in other countries, based on my visits to the North in recent years. The author also discusses the obsession with one’s physical appearance (such as the “lookism” phenomenon) as further evidence of the enormous social pressures in the South, which have led to poor mental health and suicides (265).
The book’s epilogue invokes the film Burning as a metaphor of the unease of the young generation in the South about their future (289). The South boasts a vibrant democracy, technological prowess, and soft power, while the North can be credited for its history of survival and opposition to the capitalist order in the world (294). While the epilogue is a compelling portrayal of the contemporary two nations divided, it could have spent more attention on the path forward, drawing on the comprehensive history of division on the peninsula. For example, some elaboration on possible solutions to the problems of division and a path towards peace would be a fitting addition to the conclusion. Overall, the book is a great contribution to Korean historiography, and offers a masterful exploration of the social and cultural fabric of Northern and Southern societies. The author’s interesting examples and personal stories make the book an engaging and moving read.
Avram Agov
Langara College, Vancouver
The University of British Columbia, Vancouver