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PODCAST

Korea Deconstructed

Exploring Korea through open conversations with historians, students, professors, pop stars, and everyone in between. Learn, reflect, and understand with Korea Deconstructed. The host, David Tizzard, has a Phd in Korean Studies and is a Professor at Seoul Women"s University and Hanyang University. He also writes a weekly column in the Korea Times.

society & culture social sciences

All Episodes

01:48:29

Four Korean Women Talk Feminism, Culture, and...

Korea Deconstructed ·

2025/11/02

Many Korean women face both institutional barriers and everyday cultural expectations. Life often feels mapped out in advance, and those who deviate from that path meet resistance or worse. Meanwhile, the media tends to celebrate only the rich and famous, making it harder to see the everyday heroes and role models who truly reflect women's lives in Korea. In this episode, I'm joined by Minyoung Kim, Victoria Yi, Sarah Soeun Lee, and Sangeun Kim — a team of writers behind a recently published

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01:44:41

Breastfeeding vs Capitalism: Motherhood and Culture...

Korea Deconstructed ·

2025/10/21

Liss Anda is a clincal psychologist and associate professor working at the University of Stavanger, Norway. Her research currently centers on perinatal mental health. She is especially interested in how cultural understandings and practices of maternity interact with mental wellbeing in new mothers. She also receives clients in a private practice as a therapist, where she takes a humanist and eclectic approach. She has two kids, two cats, nine fish and some shrimp, has fully renovated two

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01:04:48

Korean Architecture and the Weight of Han

Korea Deconstructed ·

2025/10/11

Born in Taegu with roots in Jeju, Juhee then immigrated to the U.S. at age eight. As a 16-year-old Korean American girl, she ran away from home in Queens, New York, to become an architect. Having fulfilled that ambition, she returns to South Korea to reconcile with her abandoned heritage, resolve the family trauma, and achieve a sense of han puri. Find Juhee Online Personal Website: https://www.jleehartford.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jleehartford The Fortune Teller Story:

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01:51:04

The Spirit of Korea: Pungryu Explained by Jun Bum Sun

Korea Deconstructed ·

2025/09/28

Jun Bum Sun joins me to talk about Korea’s unique energy, pungryu, its history, and the healing power of music. We cover Choi Chi Won, Tangun, the Hwarang, Shamanism, Choe Je-u, Tongdo Sogi, AI, K-pop, North Korea, Taoism, and the world ahead. This episode was recorded in Bum Sun's book shop in Haebangchon. Find the video online and you can see the wonderful setting we recorded in as well as his dog 왕손 walking around. Find Him Online Jun Bum Sun: https://www.instagram.com/junbumsun/ The Yangbans:

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01:44:08

Korean Beauty, Fashion, and Lookism

Korea Deconstructed ·

2025/09/14

While much of the world focuses on the beauty standards of Korea’s rich and famous, its K-Pop stars, actors, and influencers, we are left wondering how much of this actually applies to real life. Do regular Korean citizens face the same scrutiny around weight, fashion, surgery, and tattoos? I brought 4 Korean adults together to talk about these ideas and also to reveal some things about their own lives. Today’s Guests Sage https://www.instagram.com/twopercensage/ Jeoung

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01:42:48

Korean Buddhism, Meditation, and Stories of...

Korea Deconstructed ·

2025/08/27

Joseph Bengivenni is an artist and photographer who has spend most of the past twenty years living in and exploring South Korea. The Korean mountains and temples have captured his heart and mind, as he obsessively searches for scenic areas to photograph and auspicious places to practice Dharma. You can follow his journey on Instagram: @oxherder_photography The history of Korean Buddhism: koreanbuddhism.wordpress.com. Photos: https://oxherder.smugmug.com/ Discussion 0:00 Introduction to Buddhism

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01:23:18

Trump, Xi Jinping and Lee Jae Myung

Korea Deconstructed ·

2025/08/16

Rob York is director for regional affairs at Pacific Forum in Honolulu, working on Korean Peninsular security and Indo-Pacific information warfare. He previously worked as production editor at the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong and as editor of NK News from 2013 to 2016. He earned his PhD in Korean history in 2023. Pacific Forum: https://pacforum.org/ Discussion Outline 0:00 Lee Jae Myung 17:50 Trump and Korea 39:00 North Korea 43:10 Communism 47:55 China in the 21st Century 1:10:00 Korea

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01:40:20

Ra Jong-yil on Korea: History, Memory, and Presidents

Korea Deconstructed ·

2025/08/03

In this episode of Korea Deconstructed, I sit down with Ra Jong-yil, a scholar, diplomat, and influential figure in modern Korean politics. We recorded this conversation in his house in Seoul. Born in 1940 during the Japanese occupation of Korea, Ra Jong-yil has lived through some of the country’s most defining historical moments. And, in many cases, helped shape them. We talk about his father's role in the Provisional Government in Shanghai alongside Syngman Rhee, Kim Ku, and Ahn Chang Ho. Ra also

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01:18:27

Parasocial Love & The Global K-pop Explosion

Korea Deconstructed ·

2025/07/14

Italian journalist Marianna Baroli joins me to discuss K-pop, fan culture, parasocial love, and how Korean music is reshaping global identity, especially in Italy. But at what cost? And where do we go next? Find Marianna online Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/countingstars/ Panorama: https://www.panorama.it/author/mariannabaroli Discussion Outline 0:00 Introductions 4:55 Fan girling 2PM 7:35 Why K-pop Beat the West? 9:25 The Current State of K-pop 14:20 GOT7 17:50 Girl Groups 20:25 Italian

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01:55:25

Crash Landing on Meaning: Life, Class, and...

Korea Deconstructed ·

2025/06/29

Lebanese scholar Rania Hafez joins Korea Deconstructed for a wide-ranging conversation on class, culture, and the search for meaning. Rania reflects on how media pushes culture wars over class solidarity, the importance of leadership in academia, and how she discovered Korean dramas during the Covid pandemic. Her love for Crash Landing on You and Hometown Cha Cha Cha helped her find beauty and purpose again, calling Korea her "Narnia." A deeply personal and philosophical episode about rediscovery,

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01:57:22

Kim Il Sung: The Accidental Tyrant Who Changed Korea...

Korea Deconstructed ·

2025/06/20

My guest is Fyodor Tertitskiy, a prolific scholar, polyglot, and one of the few who reads the footnotes of history in multiple languages. His new book, Accidental Tyrant, a biography of Kim Il Sung, challenges the official state mythology and unearths the improbable rise of a guerrilla fighter turned dynastic dictator. This is how Kim Il Sung outwitted imperialists, communists, comrades, and colonels alike, turning chance into legacy, failure into foundation. But the question remains: what does this

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01:28:58

Koreans React to the 2025 Presidential Election: What...

Korea Deconstructed ·

2025/06/08

In this episode of Korea Deconstructed, I’m joined by four university students: young people who voted, watched, and waited as South Korea held its most recent presidential election and elected Lee Jae-myung. We discuss what the election felt like to them. What it felt like to cast a vote. What they saw among their friends. And what was never said. We’ll explore the hopes and contradictions of a generation caught between economic uncertainty, cultural shifts, and a political system that doesn’t

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01:28:40

Is Korea Falling Apart? 4 Young Koreans React to...

Korea Deconstructed ·

2025/05/18

A recent viral YouTube video claimed that Korea would soon be extinct. The country transformed negatively by one of the world's lowest birthrates. Change, it suggested, was too late. Four young adults come together to discuss the future of Korea, assessing its birthrate issues, education, culture of perfection, and the deep spiritual crisis that seems to have gripped the nation. Is Korea really over? Not necessarily... We hear from 4 young people all living here: a young Korean man interested in

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01:42:45

Dividing Korea: Dr. Kornel Chang

Korea Deconstructed ·

2025/05/10

Kornel Chang on U.S. Power, Korean Resistance, and the Birth of Division What if Korea’s true revolution was never allowed to happen? In this episode, I talk with historian Kornel Chang, author of A Fractured Liberation, to explore a moment in Korean history that most people never learn about. A moment when ordinary Koreans believed they were on the brink of something new. In 1945 Japanese colonial rule had ended and, across the peninsula, people were filled with hope. Workers seized factories,

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01:15:32

Building a Life Abroad: Kim Ninja’s Guide to Korea

Korea Deconstructed ·

2025/04/27

From visas to values: a positive, practical conversation about living in Korea Kim Ninja joins Korea Deconstructed to talk about building an authentic life in Korea. Born in Germany to Vietnamese parents, Kim made the jump to Korea and now helps thousands of expats and digital nomads adapt culturally, practically, and legally. Through cartoons, articles, and community building, he offers a refreshing, optimistic take on life abroad — steering away from sensationalism. In this conversation, Kim

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02:37:44

Korean Cinema & The Bodies Within

Korea Deconstructed ·

2025/04/24

I sat down with scholar, Nilesh Kumar to explore how Korean cinema has reflected shifting notions of gender, identity, and social structure across decades. From the angry men of the Korean New Wave to the defiant heroines of modern streaming hits, this conversation examines how bodies on screen become battlegrounds for power, memory, and desire. We begin by talking about how technology defines Park Chan-wook’s groundbreaking movie Oldboy, as well as its absence of allegory, signaling the start of

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53:47

Voices of Change: Korean Students, Art, and Democracy

Korea Deconstructed ·

2025/03/22

보도지침 (Media Guidelines) is a satirical work that critiques the media landscape and the influence of government or corporate power on Korean journalism in the 1980s. It explores themes such as censorship, the manipulation of public opinion, and the ethical dilemmas faced by journalists. The play is known for its sharp wit and critical perspective, often using humor and irony to highlight the challenges and compromises that media professionals may face. More and more young Koreans are bringing

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01:08:44

The Korean Diaspora and Korean History Told Through...

Korea Deconstructed ·

2025/03/08

A few years ago, Blair's grandmother gave him a present. Approximately 300 photographs his grandfather had taken in Korea nearly 70 years ago. These beautifully preserved color photos not only revealed a country and its people emerging from war and beginning to rebuild, it also showed Blair members of his family. It showed him where he was from, and, therefore, where he was going. He has digitized these photos and made them into an archive. This has since grown to feature a wide range of photos and

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02:06:06

Shamanism, Post-Colonialism, and the Korean Left

Korea Deconstructed ·

2025/02/28

David A. Tizzard has a PhD in Korean Studies and lectures at Seoul Women's University and Hanyang University. He writes a weekly column in the Korea Times, is a social-cultural commentator, and a musician who has lived in Korea for nearly two decades. He can be reached at datizzard@swu.ac.kr. Jack Greenberg works as an independent consultant, researcher, and freelance writer. His current focus is on heritage and conservation issues, historical memory debates, truth-seeking and reconciliation, and

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01:05:02

E-Sports Korea: Is There Life Beyond Faker?

Korea Deconstructed ·

2025/01/12

Eunjae Cho is currently studying Chinese Language and Literature at Seoul Women’s University. She has a deep interest in languages and Asian culture, which led her to work as a journalist in the e-sports industry. She has primarily written articles about League of Legends and Japanese subculture. A distinctive feature of her articles is that they include voices and interviews from fans and professionals across various countries. Her recent work:

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116 results

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