The Korea File

In part three of a conversation with conscientious objector, pacifist and 1950s aid worker Joe Smucker, he discusses the paranoia and chaos that he witnessed in a country in the grip of a post-colonial and post-war reality.  Plus, more on the Mennonites and their relationship with South Korea.  

Also: an e-mail from a listener whose grandparents participated in educational and agricultural efforts in Daejon during the post-war period.  

Music on this episode is from ??? with her 1960s trot classic '?????'.

Photo credit: Morning Calm Weekly News on Flickr https://www.flickr.com/photos/imcomkorea/3198333337

Pacifist and conscientious objector Joe Smucker left for Korea by freighter in 1956 to help with the country’s post-war reconstruction. His three years on the peninsula participating in relief work efforts were life-changing. 

In part two of our conversation, Smucker reveals how the Mennonite Central Committee’s reconstruction efforts and work with orphans in the 1950's led to the founding of an Anabaptist church on the peninsula 40 years later. He also reflects on the post-colonial social and structural chaos he witnessed in the post-war wreckage of a divided Korea.

Music on this episode is Lee Soo Mi 1950's release '??? ?? ? ?'.

Refugee image from http://www.umcmission.org/learn-about-us/news-and-stories/2015/january/75thanniversary5060s

A pacifist and conscientious objector, Joe Smucker left for Korea by freighter in 1956 to help with the country’s post-war reconstruction. His three years on the peninsula participating in relief work efforts with the Mennonite Central Committee would change his life forever.

In the first of a two-part interview, Smucker discusses the origins of the MCC, a relief organization similar to today’s Oxfam or Doctors Without Borders, their efforts to help cope with the post-war refugee crisis in Daegu and the sorry state of South Korea`s civil government in the post-war era.

Music on this episode is from ??? with a live performance of his song `???? ??'

Corporate stereotyping, the cult power of Chaebol leadership and the structural differences before and after the 1997 IMF financial crisis. This is part three of a conversation with Michael Prentice, a PhD Candidate in the University of Michigan’s Department of Anthropology, on South Korea's hugely influential Chaebol. 

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Prentice interned for a year at a Seoul-area company, conducting semi-covert academic research on the country's unique corporate culture. On this episode, he discusses Korean corporate security protocol and the complex relationship between Chaebol development and the narrative structure of Korean history. He also explains how he obtained his position as an undercover anthropologist. 

Music on this episode is 1972's '???? ??' with Ji-Hyun on vocals and the legendary Shin Jung-hyun on guitar.

This is part two of a conversation with Michael Prentice, a PhD Candidate in the University of Michigan’s Department of Anthropology, on South Korea's hugely influential Chaebol. 

Our fundraising campaign is now live at  https://www.patreon.com/thekoreafile?ty=h      Every dollar you pledge supports independent journalism and helps keep this podcast on the air!

Prentice interned for a year at a Seoul-area company, conducting semi-covert academic research on the country's unique corporate culture. On this episode, he discusses Korean corporate security protocol and the complex relationship between Chaebol development and the narrative structure of Korean history. He also explains how he obtained his position as an undercover anthropologist. 

Music on this episode is from Shin Jung Hyun & The Donkeys feat. Lee Jung Hwa with their 1969 single 'My Hearts': https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9c0fjMVhwPM

The episode image is of Heather 'Nut Rage' Cho, a vice president of Korean Air and daughter of the airline's chairman. http://www.businesskorea.co.kr/english/oped/opinions/8557-nepotism-south-korea-otherwise-egalitarian-korean-work-culture-nepotisms#sthash.B73TW3S8.dpuf

University of Michigan PhD Candidate Michael Prentice interned for a year at a Seoul-area corporation, conducting semi-covert academic research on the unique corporate culture of South Korea.

Here, Prentice discusses the semantics, politics and evolution of the word ‘Chaebol’, the origins of post-Korean War corporate and economic development in the country as well as society’s fascination and obsession with the behaviour and excesses of its ruling oligarchy.

This is the first of a 3-part conversation.

Music on this episode is from??? ‘s 1987 single ‘??’.

Photo: New Samsung HQ in San Jose, CA

Credit: http://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/news/2015/09/25/take-a-tour-of-the-new-samsung.html

Born in Seoul and raised in the United States, Rachel Lee’s first Gyeongju excavation was also her first visit to her country of origin. 

Join us for a conversation about the differences between household and mortuary archaeology, a critique of popular misconceptions regarding the swashbuckling Indiana Jones-style archaeologist and a description of a typical archaeological research trip in Korea.

This is the second of a two-part interview. 

Music on this episode: ???'s 1978 single '????' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzCSfb58wNA

Join us for a discussion with archaeologist Rachel Lee concerning her work on ‘Household Archaeology’ excavations near Jinju in South Gyeongsang province and a conversation about the wider arc of her research concerning Korea’s pre-historic Mumun period. 

Music on this episode is Bae In-suk's 1979 single '???? ?????'https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-muMHVUOSM

Matt VanVolkenburg is an MA student at the University of Seattle in Washington and the long-time host of the prolific blog 'Gusts of Popular Feeling', which recently celebrated it's 10th year of analysis on Korean society, history, urban space, film and current events. 

In this conversation, he recounts the story of how Japanese military successes in Singapore and Malaysia in 1942 led to the capture of an estimated 135,000 Allied soldiers, many of whom were imprisoned in colonial Seoul. 

This conversation was recorded in Hongdae in May, 2015.

Music on this episode: Kim Choo-ja and Shin Jung-hyun's '????' (1969)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VrbHeGtOvc

Jenna Gibson is the Director of Communications at the Korea Economic Institute in Washington DC, a think tank working to promote dialogue and understanding on economic, political and security relations between South Korea and the United States.  

Gibson also hosts and produces the KEI’s Korean Kontext podcast, a weekly selection of interviews focusing on the experts, artists and opinion makers that shape the US-Korea policy world.  

Here, Gibson talks about her own background with South Korea, the passion for journalism that she brings to her work as well as the goals she has for the podcast moving forward.  

This is part two of our conversation.

Music on this episode, ???(Shin Joong Hyun) and ???(Lee JeongHwa)'s "??" (1970) can be found here:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G49vx9xMVJs