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IKS Lecture: Immanuel Kim, "Weaponizing Memory: Shifts in North Korean Literature"

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April 2, 2019
4:00PM - 5:15PM
Mendenhall Lab Room 115 (125 S Oval Mall)

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Add to Calendar 2019-04-02 16:00:00 2019-04-02 17:15:00 IKS Lecture: Immanuel Kim, "Weaponizing Memory: Shifts in North Korean Literature" The Institute for Korean Studies presents:Immanuel KimThe Korea Foundation and Kim-Renaud Associate Professor of Korean Literature and Culture StudiesThe George Washington UniversityTitle: Weaponizing Memory: Shifts in North Korean LiteratureFlyer: Immanuel Kim FlyerAbstract: The Korean War, or the Victorious Fatherland Liberation War as North Korea calls it, was arguably the most traumatic moment in modern Korean history. The DPRK insists that the Americans started the war and proudly asserts its victory over the Americans at the end of the war. Despite the air of triumph in national discourse, North Korean literature has been accentuating the harrowing experience of the war, keeping the nation in “a constant state of emergency.” Literature has shown that the historical event puts the country in the state of emergency and requires a redefined devotional connection with the leader. Such publication of war stories in North Korea is the ideological trajectory that creates, unites, and solidifies collective memory to persist in the present. However, starting from the 1980s, literary representations of the war shift from a unifying state discourse to individual memory that questions or even undermines the prevailing political ideology.Bio: Dr. Immanuel Kim is a specialist in North Korean literature and cinema. His research focuses on the changes and development, particularly in the representations of women, sexuality, and memory, of North Korean literature from the 1960s to present day. His book Rewriting Revolution: Women, Sexuality, and Memory in North Korean Fiction explores the complex and dynamic literary culture that has deeply impacted the society. His new book is called Laughing North Koreans: Culture of Comedy Films, which examines the ways humor has been an integral component of the everyday life. By exploring comedy films and comedians, Dr. Kim looks past the ostensible propaganda and examines the agency of laughter.Free and Open to the PublicThis event is supported by a U.S. Department of Education Title VI grant to The Ohio State University East Asian Studies Center.   Mendenhall Lab Room 115 (125 S Oval Mall) Department of East Asian Languages and Literature deall@osu.edu America/New_York public

The Institute for Korean Studies presents:

Immanuel Kim
The Korea Foundation and Kim-Renaud Associate Professor of Korean Literature and Culture Studies
The George Washington University

Title: Weaponizing Memory: Shifts in North Korean Literature

Flyer: Immanuel Kim Flyer

Abstract: The Korean War, or the Victorious Fatherland Liberation War as North Korea calls it, was arguably the most traumatic moment in modern Korean history. The DPRK insists that the Americans started the war and proudly asserts its victory over the Americans at the end of the war. Despite the air of triumph in national discourse, North Korean literature has been accentuating the harrowing experience of the war, keeping the nation in “a constant state of emergency.” Literature has shown that the historical event puts the country in the state of emergency and requires a redefined devotional connection with the leader. Such publication of war stories in North Korea is the ideological trajectory that creates, unites, and solidifies collective memory to persist in the present. However, starting from the 1980s, literary representations of the war shift from a unifying state discourse to individual memory that questions or even undermines the prevailing political ideology.

Bio: Dr. Immanuel Kim is a specialist in North Korean literature and cinema. His research focuses on the changes and development, particularly in the representations of women, sexuality, and memory, of North Korean literature from the 1960s to present day. His book Rewriting Revolution: Women, Sexuality, and Memory in North Korean Fiction explores the complex and dynamic literary culture that has deeply impacted the society. His new book is called Laughing North Koreans: Culture of Comedy Films, which examines the ways humor has been an integral component of the everyday life. By exploring comedy films and comedians, Dr. Kim looks past the ostensible propaganda and examines the agency of laughter.

Free and Open to the Public


This event is supported by a U.S. Department of Education Title VI grant to The Ohio State University East Asian Studies Center.