The Two Koreas: A Contemporary History

Step inside the turbulent history of the Korean peninsula since its thoughtless division at the end of World War II. This podcast episode draws on Don Oberdorfer's "The Two Koreas: A Contemporary History," offering an insightful look at decades of conflict, negotiation, and the enduring struggle for supremacy between the North and South.

Explore how these two halves of an ancient people have grappled with each other and dealt with the powerful forces around them—China, Japan, Russia, and the United States.

We trace the journey from the 38th parallel dividing temporary occupation zones to a peninsula constantly on the edge.

Key themes and events covered include:

• The arbitrary division of Korea at the end of World War II.
• The devastating Korean War and its aftermath.
• The contrasting leaderships of Kim Il Sung in the North and Park Chung Hee in the South, and their authoritarian regimes.
• Early, dramatic attempts at dialogue, including secret high-level meetings that stirred fleeting hopes for peace.
• The impact of US involvement, from influencing leadership and troop presence to navigating human rights concerns and scandals like Koreagate.
• Major provocations and crises, such as the DMZ axe murders at Panmunjom and the Rangoon bombing.
• The dramatic events surrounding Park Chung Hee's assassination and the rise of Chun Doo Hwan, including the controversial Kwangju Uprising.
• South Korea's challenging journey toward democratization in the late 1980s, culminating in the June 29 Declaration and the 1987 presidential election.
• South Korea's 'Nordpolitik', reaching out to the North's communist allies, exemplified by the symbolic significance of the 1988 Seoul Olympics.
• The emergence and international concern over North Korea's nuclear program at Yongbyon.
• The intense nuclear crisis of the 1990s, involving IAEA inspections, diplomatic brinkmanship, and the threat of war.
• The complex negotiations leading to the 1994 Agreed Framework and the challenges to its implementation.
• North Korea's severe economic crisis and famine in the late 1990s.
• High-profile incidents like the 1996 submarine incursion and the 1998 missile test.
• Kim Jong Il's succession and his evolving relationship with the outside world.
• South Korea's "Sunshine Policy" under Kim Dae Jung and the historic North-South summit in 2000.

Drawing on extensive interviews and firsthand accounts, this history captures the perspectives of those who lived through these pivotal moments, offering a compelling narrative of a peninsula with an uncertain future. Tune in to understand what it was like "at the time, before the end of the story is known".

Works Cited

Oberdorfer, Don. Two Koreas: A Contemporary History. New ed., Basic Books, 2001.