The Korea File

Contemporary Literature and Translation in South Korea

On episode 110 hosts Andre Goulet and Gennie Pimentel welcome Shanna Tan, translator of the smash hit book https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/133938826by Hwang Bo-reum. In this conversation Shanna explains why a slice of life novel about a...

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Motherhood, Revolution and Fairytales in North Korea

On episode 109 Dr. Theresa Hyun, a York University professor and the author of “https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctvvn6z3”, joins hosts Andre Goulet and Gennie Pimentel to talk about children’s literature, fairy tales and the role of mothers in the...

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Migrant Workers and Immigration in South Korea

On episode 108 Seoul National University master's student An HaKyeng's joins hosts Andre Goulet in Montreal and Gennie Pimentel in Toronto for a conversation unpacking her research on the immigration experience for new arrivals, the challenges migrant...

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North Korea's Revolutionary Opera and Cold War Diplomacy

On episode 107 Cambridge PhD candidate Alexandra Leonzini joins Andre Goulet and co-host Gennie Pimentel for a conversation exploring how music builds soft power and promotes national prestige, the DPRK opera's greatest hits, cultural diplomacy and...

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The Evolving Role of Women in North Korea

On ep106 Korea University PhD candidate Elizabeth Campbell joins host Andre Goulet and associate producer Gennie Pimentel for a conversation exploring the role of women in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's revolutionary past and present, the...

Ethical Travel in Korea

On episode 105 Toronto podcasters Erin Hynes and Kattie Laur, host and producer of the ethical travel show 'Alpaca My Bags', sit down with Montreal astronomer (and recent Busan/Jeju tourist) Trevor Kjorlien for a round-table conversation on ethical...

K-Words Enter the English Language Lexicon

Widely regarded as the accepted authority on the English language, the Oxford English Dictionary is the unsurpassed guide of its meaning, history, and pronunciation featuring more than 600,000 words and spanning over 1000 years. In this...

The Rise of Contemporary Feminism

On a new episode scholar Mikayla Neyens joins host Andre Goulet to discuss the cultural events that have inspired and defined contemporary feminism in South Korea, exploring the new face of radical activism confronting the threats of Deepfake porn,...

Understanding Korean Political Ideology (w/ Michael Breen)

Michael Breen, CEO of Seoul-based PR firm Insight Communications Consultants and author of the outstanding 2017 book ‘The New Koreans: The Story of a Nation', joins host Andre Goulet to preview next week's Presidential Election and explore the unique...

Unpacking the Origins of Seoulbox

Seoulbox has been bringing a taste of Korea through snacks, magazines, and K-pop merch to subscribers around the world since 2019 with a focus on authenticity and the darker side of Korean culture that has cultivated an enthusiastic clientele. In...

Squid Game, Parasite & Late Capitalism

On a celebratory 100th episode host Andre Goulet welcomes Harbinger Media Network podcast pals Paris Marx of leftist tech worldview critique show Tech Won't Save Us and Evan MacDonald of socialist film review show Kino Lefter to explore the historical...

Towards a Neutral South Korea

On the 99th episode of The Korea File podcast diplomatic studies scholar Jeffrey Robertson joins host Andre Goulet to argue that foreign policy options previously considered extreme – like abandoning the US alliance, acceding to China’s dominance and...

The Hidden History of Korean Anarchism

Armed with theory set out in the "Korean Revolution Manifesto" and practical experience drawn from the March 1st Independence Movement, in 1925 worker and citizen organizations including the Daegu League of Truth and Fraternity, the Changwon Black...

Alternative Education (Contemporary Rebellions: South Korean Social Movements Today Ep5)

What is alternative education in Korea? To answer this question, Contemporary Rebellions welcomes Tae Wook Ha, an activist and professor of Alternative Education at Asia Life University in the city of Daejeon and Minyeong Kim, a graduate of one of the...

Ghost Stories, Hauntings and the Spooky Side of Seoul

On a very special Halloween episode of The Korea File hear a haunting and horrific conversation between guest Joe McPherson (The Wall Street Journal, The Korea Herald, National Geographic, Zen Kimchi) and host Andre Goulet as they explore his 'The...

Sexuality, Relationships and a History of Queer Korea

Since the end of the nineteenth century, Korea has faced waves of foreign domination, authoritarian regimes and divided development and, throughout these turbulent times, “queer” Koreans have been ignored, minimized and erased in historical narrative....

Banned Book Club: Youth Against Fascism (w/ co-author Ryan Estrada)

In the charged political climate of '80s South Korea, university freshman Kim Hyun-sook finds refuge in the comfort of literature as the youngest member of a Banned Book Club, the title of the acclaimed 2019 graphic novel from Kim, co-author Ryan...

Fans, Idols and the Evolution of K-pop

How has K-pop evolved and changed over the last decade? Is right-wing political paranoia about Tiktok teens and BTS Army activism exaggerated? And is the so-called 'dark side' of the industry just a reflection of broader South Korean society? On...

Redevelopment Resistance (Contemporary Rebellions: South Korean Social Movements Today Ep4)

Introducing a special presentation of the March episode of Contemporary Rebellions: Yonsan. Never again everyone said. Yet in February, 2020 hired thugs attacked the Noryangjin Fish Market workers. The latest episode of the show explores how...

Witnessing Gwangju: A Memoir (w/ author Paul Courtright)

A powerful new memoir ‘Witnessing Gwangju’ was released this month to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Gwangju Democratic Uprising. The book’s author, former American Peace Corps volunteer Paul Courtright, was one of only a handful of foreign...