Description

For a long time, North Korea was considered to be a special case, an extraordinary socialist country in terms of politics, ideology and economy. The changes in the Soviet Union under Khrushchev towards collective leadership and peaceful coexistence were countered by the creation of an indigenous, heavily nationalist ideology and a strengthening of the cult of personality around the country’s founder and leader Kim Il-sung. The price was high: a restrictive foreign policy and economic backwardness isolated North Korea even within the socialist camp. However, this turned out to be a blessing in disguise: expectations of a collapse after the end of socialism in Europe proved premature exactly because of this „own way“ and the lack of strong ideological, economic and military interdependencies. The system even survived a number of massive shocks, such as the death of Kim Il-sung in 1994 and a famine 1995-1997. Starting around 2000, surprisingly and for a long time ignored by the West, economic reforms started. They changed North Korea’s society profoundly and, as we would argue, in an irreversible way. Since around 2004/05 and in particular since 2008, we observe a return to orthodox, neoconservative values and methods. How did North Korea function before the reforms? What has changed? And why do they take this u-turn now? We will explore these and other questions and try to make sense of the current events such as the missile and nuclear tests. We will also discuss the consequences for regional security and options for a leadership succession. In the end, we will argue that North Korea is on its way to finally becoming much more of an ordinary socialist country, with all consequences.

Professor Dr. Ruediger FRANK, a German national, is Chair Professor of East Asian Economy and Society at the University of Vienna and Deputy Head of the Department of East Asian Studies. He is also an Adjunct Professor at Korea University and the University of North Korean Studies.
He holds an M.A. in Korean Studies, Economics and International Relations and a Ph.D. in Economics. Visiting Professorships included Columbia University New York and Korea University Seoul. He is a Council member of the Association for Korean Studies in Europe, Vice Director of the Vienna School of Governance, an Associate at Japan Focus, and Deputy Editor of the European Journal of East Asian Studies. His first five-month visit to North Korea took place in 1991, when he was a language student at Kim Il-sung University. His major research fields are socialist transformation in East Asia and Europe (with a focus on North Korea), state-business relations in East Asia, and regional integration in East Asia.
See http://wirtschaft.ostasien.univie.ac.at/; Email: ruediger.frank@univie.ac.at