David Kim is many things but is perhaps best known for his Korean content on Youtube. He has been a huge part of three popular programs over the last seven years: DKDKTV, Ramyun and Chill, and, now, Korean Pizza Club. His content has reached millions and is driven by his positive and generous outlook on life, something even more evident when meeting him in person.

We spoke about how hallyu has changed, whether K-pop is still cool, Korean dating culture, and life here in Seoul. We even got political at the end, exploring the challenges of democracy and communism and what hope young people have for the future.

Check out David's work online 

Korean Pizza Club: https://www.youtube.com/@UCVqkbppiAXuI4Kp3AQmauTw

DKDKTV: https://www.youtube.com/c/dkdktv

Biroso: https://biroso.net/

We are also joined by Seoul Women's University student Soyoon Kim 

Insta: @celinesoyoon

Discussion Outline 

0:00 Introduction

10:24 Positivity in the Korean Space

15:42 Culture and Korea

27:47 Is Hallyu Still Popular?

37:20 Streaming Culture and Manipulation

46:48 Dating Culture

52:04 Being Cancelled

1:03:00 Misperceptions of Korea

1:14:20 Education and Competition in Korea

1:23:00 Korean democracy

1:35:20 Recommendations

Korea Deconstructed by David Tizzard

▶ Get in touch: [email protected]

▶ Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=62047873

▶ Watch us on Youtube: www.youtube.com/@UCXcdboOUCnCFnrAOF5dV1sg

▶ Find us on Insta: https://www.instagram.com/koreadeconstructed

▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/kr/podcast/korea-deconstructed/id1587269128

▶Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5zdXkG0aAAHnDwOvd0jXEE

▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com/

▶ Music: Still Something So Beautiful by David Tizzard (Radical Gary)

Park Nohae emerged as a powerful literary voice in South Korea during the tumultuous 1980s, though at the time few knew who he actually was. He was the faceless poet. The voice of the many. Working various manual labor jobs which exposed him to the harsh realities faced by the working class, he became a champion of labor rights and social justice. His collection of poems "노동의 새벽( Dawn of Labor)" published in 1984 sold over a million copies. However, his call for change and a new sky over the South Korean people brought him into conflict with the military dictatorship. He was arrested and sentenced to life in prison, though many called for the death penalty. Eventually, after seven long years, much of which was solitary confinement, he was released.

Today he still writes poetry and takes photos, sharing his wisdom and insights with a new generation. You can also visit his photo exhibitions in Seoul, with images captured in Iraq and Palestine. However, Park shuns the limelight, rarely giving interviews and not wanting fame or publicity.

This conversation with Cheehyung Harrison Kim celebrates the first English publication of Dawn of Labor, a book which he worked on with Brother Anthony (An Sonjae). Harrison is an associate professor of Korean history at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. We are also joined by Seoul Women's University student Kim Jiwon.

Dawn of Labor: https://uhpress.hawaii.edu/title/dawn-of-labor/

Park Nohae (twitter): https://x.com/parknohae

Park Nohae (insta): https://www.instagram.com/park_nohae/

Park's latest book (Korean): https://gift.kakao.com/product/9251669?input_channel_id=2630

Nanum Munhwa: https://www.nanum.com/site/

Discussion Outline 

0:00 Introduction

7:30 The context:

1980s Korea

20:27 Politics and leftist ideas

28:15 Gender and feminism in Park's work

48:55 Dawn of Labor

53:40 Love by Park Nohae

58:55 How Much? by Park Nohae

1:07:50 Mother by Park Nohae

1:18:15 Arrest and imprisonment

1:24:10 The artwork of Oh Yoon

1:27:10 The color blue

1:31:25 Park Nohae and the world

1:37:50 Reading and translating Park Nohae

2:00:15 Recommendations

Korea Deconstructed by David Tizzard

▶ Get in touch: [email protected]

▶ Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=62047873

▶ Watch us on Youtube: /davidtizzard

▶ Find us on Insta: https://www.instagram.com/koreadeconstructed

▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/kr/podcast/korea-deconstructed/id1587269128

▶Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5zdXkG0aAAHnDwOvd0jXEE

▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com/

▶ Music: Still Something So Beautiful by David Tizzard (Radical Gary)

사랑받지 못하는 공화국 (2024) was written by Professor Bryan Myers, a professor of international studies at Dongseo University in Busan. Anyone familiar with North Korean studies will be keenly aware of Myers and his work as he has written some excellent books on that subject, including The Cleanest Race and North Korea's Juche Myth. His latest book reveals two firsts: It’s his first written in Korean and it's his first that deals with South Korean politics. Myers has said that "the book's original thrust is the argument that the right neglected / still neglects the work of state-building, but most young people, being centrist or progressive, are just not interested in that issue." We’ll try and see if he achieved that or not.

The book: https://product.kyobobook.co.kr/detail/S000212218893

Myers' Blog: https://sthelepress.com/

In this conversation we are joined by Jacco Zwetsloot, host of the NK News Podcast, Park Kyunghoon (Charlie) for the third time, and Ko Eunbi from Seoul Women's University.

NK News podcast: https://www.nknews.org/category/north-korea-news-podcast/latest

Jacco's Twitter: https://twitter.com/JaccoZed

Discussion Outline 

0:00 Introductions

3:10 Do Koreans know when their republic began?

12:15 Is South Korea a republic or a nation?

29:30 The sinking of the ROKS Cheonan

35:15 Who are North Korea?

44:45 Korea as Anti-Japanese

1:05:35 Park Chung-hee as a benevolent dictator?

1:18:10 The American hegemony of Korean Studies

1:21:23 Reading Korean history written by a foreigner

1:30:05 Personal narratives

1:35:35 Does the SK left love North Korea?

1:43:05 Closing thoughts

1:57:15 Tattoos

Korea Deconstructed by David Tizzard

▶ Get in touch: [email protected]

▶ Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=62047873

▶ Watch us on Youtube: /davidtizzard

▶ Find us on Insta: https://www.instagram.com/koreadeconstructed

▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/kr/podcast/korea-deconstructed/id1587269128

▶Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5zdXkG0aAAHnDwOvd0jXEE

▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com/

Park Chan-wook is a master of movie making. And he's seemingly getting better with age. Leaving the sex and violence of previous hits such as Oldboy, JSA, and The Handmaiden behind him, Decision to Leave / 헤어질 결심 (2022) explores the relationship between a Korean man and a Chinese woman, completely incompatible, seemingly madly in love, and destined to destroy each other. These two roles are played expertly by Tang Wei and Park Hae-il.

"The moment you said you loved me, your love ended. And the moment your love ended, my love began.”

The movie is a piece of art: a poem. It encourages you to watch it multiple times, with each viewing providing greater insight into the layers constructed: through sound, language, visuals, and mis-en-scene.

I sat down with two Korean women, Jimin and Yunsuh, and a Chinese woman, Jessie, to explore this movie from a variety of perspectives: art, beauty, gender, love, and morality. Each of them provided views and insights I would never have found myself. And yet, it still feels like there is so much that went unsaid.

Discussion Outline 

0:00 First Impressions

13:40 Park Chan-wook and Gender

18:46 Park Chan-wook’s Style

25:45 Is Decision to Leave Romantic?

34:58 Asian Vibes: The Mountains and the Sea

43:06 Tang Wei

1:08:25 Poetry, Yeokbek, and McGuffins

1:19:30 The Ending of the Movie 

1:38:50 Haejoon: The Male Lead

1:59:52 Park Chan Wook and the Oscars

2:08:00 A movie, a Book, a Song

Korea Deconstructed by David Tizzard 

▶ Get in touch: [email protected]

▶ Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=62047873

▶ Watch us on Youtube: /davidtizzard

▶ Find us on Insta: https://www.instagram.com/koreadeconstructed

▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/kr/podcast/korea-deconstructed/id1587269128

▶Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5zdXkG0aAAHnDwOvd0jXEE

▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com/

▶ Music: Rail Gun by Disorientalz

Bernardo Kastrup is the executive director of Essentia Foundation. His work has been leading the modern renaissance of metaphysical idealism, the notion that reality is essentially mental. He has a Ph.D. in philosophy and another Ph.D. in computer engineering. As a scientist, Bernardo has worked for CERN and Philips Research Laboratories. Bernardo's 11th book, coming in 2024, is 'Analytic Idealism in a Nutshell: A straightforward summary of the 21st-century's only plausible metaphysics.'

This is me listening to Bernardo and asking him questions so as to better understand the world as mind. To do this, we explored what it means to be human. Bernardo explained the work of Nietzsche, Frankl, Schopenhauer, and Jung to me as well as how a bourgeoise has sought to wrest control of our culture away from the church and ultimately leave us stranded, meaningless, and seeking solutions elsewhere.

Bernardo taught me that we should not seek answers or solutions. These will never appear to us and we simply don't have the capability to understand what is going on. Instead, like the apple blossom in his garden, we should just be. We should listen to the noumena, the will inside us. We can describe it as duty, as calling, as fate, or as many other things. But ultimately, we are a violin and we should allow ourselves to be played by nature rather than seeking to force ourselves on the world. We should seek service instead of personal happiness. These ideas will stay with me for a while.

At the end, I asked him to recommend a movie, a book, and a song. The movie he suggested was The Double Life of Véronique (1991) by Polish director Krzysztof Kieślowski. The song was Song to the Siren by Cocteau Twins vocalist Elizabeth Fraser. The book was Schopenhauer's The World as Will and Representation.

Bernardo's Website: https://www.bernardokastrup.com/

The Essentia Foundation: https://www.youtube.com/@UCHKZdDf09_8vVHm102fu0sg

Bernardo's upcoming book: https://www.amazon.com/Analytic-Idealism-Nutshell-straightforward-metaphysics/dp/1803416696

Discussion Outline: 

0:00 The importance of service

7:40 The bourgeoisie capture of culture

12:33 Immanent meaning

25:35 Spiritual but not religious

31:00 Carl Jung and our two stages of life

41:58 Introspection as the royal path to knowledge

48:15 Schopenhauer and the will inside us

54:52 Synchronicity 1:05:03 Religion and science

1:16:58 The world as mind

1:26:10 A book, a movie, and a song

1:31:10 The apple blossom

Korea Deconstructed by David Tizzard

▶ Get in touch: [email protected]

▶ Yunseo Jeon: https://www.instagram.com/y_jeon_s/

▶ Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=62047873

▶ Watch us on Youtube: /davidtizzard

▶ Find us on Insta: https://www.instagram.com/koreadeconstructed

▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/kr/podcast/korea-deconstructed/id1587269128

▶Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5zdXkG0aAAHnDwOvd0jXEE

▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com/

▶ Music: Rail Gun by Disorientalz

William S. Gilbert is doing PhD research on Korean Taoism's syncretic qualities at Sogang University in Seoul, South Korea. He completed his Master's in Korean Philosophy at Sungkyunkwan University in 2024 and was a graduate research assistant for the Korean Academic Expansion Project.

This is a conversation about Taoism, "Eastern" religions and ways of thought, life, death, god, and the poetry of the Korean scholar Yi Gyu-bo (李奎報).

Discussion Outline 

0:00 What is Taoism (도교)?

9:10 What is the Yin Yang (음양)?

22:09 What is Wu-wei (무의)?

32:50 Zen Buddhism (선불교) and Taoism

43:05 The Tao Te Ching (도덕경)

53:20 The Zhuangzi (정자)

1:03:11 Is there such thing as Asian thought?

1:15:52 Does Taoism feature in modern life?

1:29:40 Yi Gyu-bo (이규보)’s poem “In Sickness”

1:45:14 The “Creator” in Taoist thought

2:08:40 Closing thoughts

Will's Website: https://sites.google.com/view/williamgilbert/home

Korea Deconstructed by David Tizzard

▶ Get in touch: [email protected]

▶ Yunseo Jeon: https://www.instagram.com/y_jeon_s/

▶ Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=62047873

▶ Watch us on Youtube: /davidtizzard

▶ Find us on Insta: https://www.instagram.com/koreadeconstructed

▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/kr/podcast/korea-deconstructed/id1587269128

▶Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5zdXkG0aAAHnDwOvd0jXEE

▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com/

▶ Music: Savage Penguin by Radical Gary (David Tizzard)

Cho Ye-won and Jeon Yunseo are students at Seoul Women's University while Park Kyung-hoon (Charlie) studies at Hanyang University. They discuss the best and worst things about living in Seoul, from the safety, the beauty standards, the gender differences, the economic challenges, and much more. They also talk about why some young Koreans want to move abroad.

Discussion Outline 

0:00 Do Young People Talk about 탈조선? 

3:30 What are Traditional Korean Values?

8:45 What Do Koreans Want from Living Abroad?

19:30 The Best Things About Living in Seoul

27:15 Does Gender Affect Your Life in Korea?

34:45 The Social Gaze (남의 시선) in Korea

37:00 How Do You Feel About Foreigners Coming to Korea?

47:00 Appearance and Personal Colour Tests

55:15 Is Comparison Culture Real?

1:05:55 The Economic Reality of Seoul

1:15:40 Using Korean Titles

1:20:45 The Rise of 평어

1:27:20 Message to People Leaving Korea

1:43:36 Being Gay in Korea

1:48:05 Yewon's Last Message

Korea Deconstructed by David Tizzard 

▶ Get in touch: [email protected]

▶ Yunseo Jeon: https://www.instagram.com/y_jeon_s/

▶ Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=62047873

▶ Watch us on Youtube: /davidtizzard 

▶ Find us on Insta: https://www.instagram.com/koreadeconstructed 

▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/kr/podcast/korea-deconstructed/id1587269128

▶Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5zdXkG0aAAHnDwOvd0jXEE

▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com/

▶ Music: The Reoccurring Peace Machine by Radical Gary (David Tizzard)

Jeanie Chang is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and Certified Clinical Trauma Professional. Jeanie is also the Founder and CEO of Noona’s Noonchi, LLC, a global company offering social media platforms providing deep dives into K-Content from a mental health perspective. In Korea to promote her tours and her latest book (How K-Dramas Can Transform Your Life), we sat down with her to discuss life, culture, society, identity, and, of course, K-Dramas.

Jeanie's Website: https://noonasnoonchi.com/

Her book: https://www.amazon.com/K-Dramas-Mental-Health-Jeanie-Chang/dp/1394210477

Discussion Outline 

0:00 Life in Seoul

5:39 Watching K-Dramas

33:23 Self-Care and Dramas

38:55 Mental Health and Gender

43:10 Antifragility

47:47 Generational Change in Korea

53:06 The Korean American Identity

1:16:40 Military Service and BTS

1:25:33 My Mister (나의 아지씨)

1:37:22 Jeong and Nunchi

1:49:20 Collective Society and Titles

2:01:55 Emotions in Korean Society

2:11:39 Shame and Redemption

2:20:47 K-Pop Idols and Karina's Apology

2:28:41 Is Hallyu's Popularity Declining?

2:47:37 Dr. Slump

Korea Deconstructed by David Tizzard

▶ Get in touch: [email protected]

▶ Yunseo Jeon: https://www.instagram.com/y_jeon_s/

▶ Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=62047873

▶ Watch us on Youtube: /davidtizzard

▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/kr/podcast/korea-deconstructed/id1587269128

▶Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5zdXkG0aAAHnDwOvd0jXEE

▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com/

▶ Music: Tokyo Cafe by Tvari

John DiMoia is Associate Professor of Korean History at Seoul National University, South Korea. He is the author of Reconstructing Bodies: Biomedicine, Health, and Nation-Building in South Korea since 1945 (2013)

Discussion Outline

0:00 What is History?

7:20 Korean Medicine

30:30 Plastic Surgery

39:30 Korea and the Pandemic

57:05 Korean Health

1:00:10 The Joseon Dynasty

1:27:30 Japanese Colonization

1:50:00 The Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

2:09:33 The Division of Korea

2:26:55 Seoul National University

2:36:07 The Future of Korea

Book: https://www.amazon.com/Reconstructing-Bodies-Biomedicine-Nation-Building-Weatherhead/dp/0804784116

Korea Deconstructed by David Tizzard

▶ Get in touch: [email protected]

▶ Yunseo Jeon: https://www.instagram.com/y_jeon_s/

▶ Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=62047873

▶ Watch us on Youtube: /davidtizzard

▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/kr/podcast/korea-deconstructed/id1587269128

▶Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5zdXkG0aAAHnDwOvd0jXEE

▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com/ 

At the age of sixteen, Anton discovered Taekwondo in his native Germany. From there, he began exploring Buddhism only to be told by a visiting monk that if he wanted to truly understand it, he would have to visit Korea. Anton then embarked on a journey of practice and discovery in Korea in 1994, initially intending to stay for just a year. This conversation took place in 2024, thirty years later.

Anton has regularly appeared on television during his time here. He has also worked as a producer for the German public broadcaster ARD, offered his expertise as a business consultant, taught at a university, and sought to capture the essence of Korean society as a documentary filmmaker. He has also just written a book in Korean, 한국인들의 이상한 행복, which sheds a critical light on many of the country's social problems. This book was what prompted our discussion today.

Anton's Book: https://product.kyobobook.co.kr/detail/S000001297085

Discussion Outline 

0:00 Foundations 1: Taekwondo

11:02 Foundations 2: Buddhism

54:10 The Strange Unhappiness of Korean People

59:17 Education 

1:31:27 The Home

1:41:08 Seoul

1:52:22 Korean History

2:23:00 Anton Speaking Korean

Korea Deconstructed by David Tizzard

▶ Get in touch: [email protected]

▶ Yunseo Jeon: https://www.instagram.com/y_jeon_s/

▶ Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=62047873

▶ Watch us on Youtube: /davidtizzard

▶ Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/kr/podcast/korea-deconstructed/id1587269128

▶Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5zdXkG0aAAHnDwOvd0jXEE

▶ Listen on podcasts: https://koreadeconstructed.libsyn.com/

▶ Music: Hack to Work by Disorientalz