The Korea Now Podcast #100 – Balázs Szalontai – ‘History of the North Korean Socio-Political System’

<p>This episode of the Korea Now podcast features an interview that Jed Lea-Henry conducted with Balázs Szalontai. They speak about the origins and the evolution that occurred with in the North Korean socio-political system from 1945 to 1994 with the death of Kim Il-sung, the impact of Japanese colonial rule, the creation of this system under Soviet occupation, the impact of significant events such as the Korean War, the factionalism and in-fighting that happened, the purges and the eventual dynastic succession, and importantly why the North Korean socio-political system looks the way it does today and why it has been able to hold onto power for so long.</p> <p>Balázs Szalontai is a Professor at Korea University, a former-Fulbright Scholar and Visiting Professor at Mongolian International University of Science and Technology, and a former-Research Associate at the Institute for International Education in Seoul. Balázs is the author of ‘Kim Il Sung in the Khrushchev Era: Soviet-DPRK Relations and the Roots of North Korean Despotism, 1953-1964’ and ‘North Korea Caught in Time: Images of War and Reconstruction’. He is also the author of ‘Captives of the Past: The Questions of Responsibility and Reconciliation in North Korea’s Narratives of the Korean War’, and his academic works can be found at: <a href= "https://korea-kr.academia.edu/BalazsSzalontai">Balazs Szalontai | Korea University, Republic of Korea - Academia.edu</a></p> <p><em>*** The Evolution of the North Korean Socio-Political System, 1945-1994 (<a href= "https://www.academia.edu/44667964/The_Evolution_of_the_North_Korean_Socio_Political_System_1945_1994">(DOC) The Evolution of the North Korean Socio-Political System, 1945-1994 | Balazs Szalontai - Academia.edu</a>).</em></p> <p><em>*** Weathering the Storm, Toppled by the Storm: North Korea's Non-transition Compared with the Transitions of Romania and Albania, 1989-1991 (<a href= "https://www.academia.edu/43666683/Weathering_the_Storm_Toppled_by_the_Storm_North_Koreas_Non_transition_Compared_with_the_Tra