The Two Koreas: A Contemporary History (extended)

Step inside the turbulent history of the Korean peninsula since its thoughtless division at the end of World War II. This podcast episode description 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 the two halves of this ancient people have grappled with each other and dealt with the powerful forces around them—China, Japan, Russia, and the United States.

Key themes and events covered include:

• The Korean War and its devastating aftermath.
• The contrasting leadership styles of Kim Il Sung in the North and Park Chung Hee in the South, and their authoritarian regimes.
• Early attempts at dialogue, including secret high-level meetings that stirred fleeting hopes for peace.
• The impact of US involvement, from installing South Korea's first president to navigating human rights concerns (like the Koreagate scandal) and debates over troop presence.
• Major provocations and crises, including 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 journey toward democratization in the late 1980s.
• South Korea's 'Nordpolitik', reaching out to the North's communist allies and 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.
• 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 constantly on the edge. Tune in to understand what it was like "at the time, before the end of the story is known".

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