ISC 276: South/North Korea Relations in Historical Context
International Summer Campus
Korea University
Summer 2015
Professor Kathryn Weathersby
Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies
Email: kathrynweathersby@gmail.com
Class hours: TBA
Classroom: TBA
Office Hours: 4:30-5:30 p.m.
Course Description and Objective:
This course examines the difficult issue of the division of Korea into two hostile,
ideologically polarized states. It explores how this division came about and how
relations between the Republic of Korea and the Democratic Republic of Korea have
evolved over time. The objective of the course is for the students to gain an
understanding of the nature and course of inter-Korean relations, why the division of
Korea has lasted so long, and why it continues to be so difficult to resolve. Students
will use the discipline of history to examine both the domestic and international
factors that have shaped and continue to shape inter-Korean relations.
Course Requirements:
1. Class participation
As there is no textbook that covers this subject, the course relies heavily on
lectures. It also emphasizes class discussion based on the required readings. Students
must therefore complete the readings prior to each class and be prepared to discuss
them. Readings will be compiled in a course reader available for purchase at Copy
Mart.
Attendance is very important and will be taken daily. Students must notify the
instructor in advance of any excused absence. As per Korea University policy,
students must attend at least 70% classes to receive a passing grade.
2. Paper (10%)
By the end of the course, students will write a three-page paper assessing the most
important factors shaping inter-Korean relations.
2
3. Midterm Exam (45%) and Final Exam (45%)
The mid-term exam and final (non-cumulative) exam will consist of short
identification questions and one essay question. Possible identification questions will
be identified during the lectures, as well as probable essay topics. Grades will be
based on factual accuracy, analytical rigor, and clarity of expression.
Honor Code
Students are expected to be honest in all academic work and must abide by all
rules and regulations of Korea University regarding academic honesty.
Class Schedule and Reading Assignments:
Week One
Tues.
Introduction to the Course
Wed.
Division of Korea
Reading: Kathryn Weathersby, “The Soviet Union, the United States, and the
Establishment of the Republic of Korea,” in Inho Lee, Youngho Kim, and Gyoohyoung Kahng, eds., Re-thinking the Foundation of the Republic of Korea (Seoul:
Kiparang, 2009), 8 pp.
Thurs.
Approaches to Unification: South and North
Reading: Hakjoon Kim, Unification Policies of South and North Korea, A
Comparative Study (Seoul: Seoul National University Press, 1978), Chapter Two
“Unification Policies of North and South Korea Prior to the Korean War (Fall 1948June 1950), pp. 63-86.
Week Two
Mon.
Decision for War, 1950
Readings: Kathryn Weathersby, “The Decision for War in Korea” (manuscript), 8 pp.
Kathryn Weathersby, “To Attack or Not to Attack? Stalin, Kim Il Sung and the
Prelude to War,” Cold War International History Project Bulletin (Spring 1995): 1-9.
Tues.
Korean War: South and North
Reading: Shen Zhihua, “Sino-North Korean Conflict and Its Resolution During the
Korean War,” Cold War International History Project Bulletin 14/15: 9-24.
Wed. July 10
Korean War: Occupation, Armistice, and Legacies
3
Reading: Kathryn Weathersby, “Stalin, Mao, and the End of the Korean War,” in Odd
Arne Westad, ed., Brothers in Arms: The Rise and Fall of the Sino-Soviet Alliance,
1945-1963 (Washington, DC and Stanford: Woodrow Wilson Center Press/Stanford
University Press, 1998): 90-116.
Text of the Korean War Armistice Agreement, July 27, 1953, pages 1-15
Thurs.
Postwar Reconstruction and the 1956 Crisis
Reading: B.K. Gills, Korea versus Korea, A Case of Contested Legitimacy (London
and New York: Routledge, 1996), Chapter 5, “Postwar Reconstruction in South
Korea: The Penalties of Dependence?” pp. 76-97.
Week Three
Mon.
Juche, Korean Revolution, and UN Diplomacy
Reading: Hakjoon Kim, Unification Policies of South and North Korea, A
Comparative Study, Chapter 7, “Unification Policies of North and South Korea
During the Period of the Third Republic of the South in the 1960’s (May 19611969),” pp. 221-258.
Tues.
The 1968 Crisis and the 1972 Joint Communique
Reading: Bernd Schaefer, “North Korean ‘Adventurism’ and China’s Long Shadow,
1966-1972,” Working Paper No. 44, Cold War International History Project, pp. 140. (documents in appendix will be discussed in class)
Wed.
Review
Thurs.
MIDTERM EXAM
Week Four
Mon.
New Proposals after the 1972 Communique
Reading: North-South Joint Communique, Pyongyang, July 4, 1972;
Hakjoon Kim, Unification Policies of South and North Korea, A Comparative Study,
Chapter 10, “Proposals in the Post-Joint Communique Period from the International
Community for a Korean Settlement and the Responses of the Two Koreas,” pp. 347362.
Tues.
Confrontation, 1980-86
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Reading: Ralph N. Clough, Embattled Korea: The Rivalry for International Support
(Boulder and London: Westview Press, 1987), Chapter 6 “Coping with Change in the
1980s: Confrontation and Dialogue, pp. 174-200.
Wed.
The ’88 Olympics and Soviet/South Korean Rapprochement
Reading: Don Oberdorfer, The Two Koreas: A Contemporary History (Reading, MA:
Addison-Wesley, 1997), Chapter 8 “The Great Olympic Coming-Out Party,” and
Chapter 9 “Moscow Switches Sides,” pp. 179-228.
Thurs.
The Emergence of the North Korean Nuclear Issue
Reading: Don Oberdorfer, The Two Koreas: A Contemporary History (Reading, MA:
Addison-Wesley, 1997), Chapter 11 “Joining the Nuclear Issue,” pp. 249-255, 260267, 271-297.
Week Five
Mon.
Succession in Pyongyang and Agreed Framework
Reading: Don Oberdorfer, The Two Koreas: A Contemporary History (Reading, MA:
Addison-Wesley, 1997), Chapter 14 “Death and Accord,” pp. 337-359.
Tues.
Famine and the Politics of Aid
Reading: Stephan Haggard and Marcus Noland, Famine in North Korea: Markets,
Aid, and Reform (New York: Columbia University Press, 2007): 27-41, 140-149.
Wed.
Sunshine Policy and the Summit of 2000
Readings: Kim Dae-Jung Presidential Library and Museum, “Lessons of the German
Reunification and the Korean Peninsula,” Speech by President Kim Dae-Jung at the
Free University of Berlin, March 9, 2000. (7 pp.)
Kim Dae Jung Presidential Library and Museum, “A New Age Has Dawned: On
Returning Home from the Inter-Korean Summit in Pyongyang, “Speech by President
Kim Dae Jung, June 15, 2000 (10 pp.)
“North-South Joint Declaration” Pyongyang, June 15, 2000. (1 p.)
Thurs.
Engagement and Provocations
Reading: Jong-yun Bae, “South Korean Strategic Thinking toward North Korea: The
Evolution of the Engagement Policy and Its Impact upon U.S.-ROK Relations,” Asian
Survey, Vol. 50, Number 2, pp. 335-355.
PAPERS DUE
5
Week Six
Mon.
Review
Tues.
FINAL EXAM
Wed.
Wrap-up Discussion
Thurs.
Graduation