The Hidden History of Korean Anarchism

Armed with theory set out in the "Korean Revolution Manifesto" and practical experience drawn from the March 1st Independence Movement, in 1925 worker and citizen organizations including the Daegu League of Truth and Fraternity, the Changwon Black Friend League and the Jeju Island Mutual Aid group began to organize on the peninsula. In the summer of 1929 Anarchists formed an administration representing more than 2 million Koreans in the Manchurian province of Shinmin, but by the summer of 1931 Stalinist pressure in the North, Japanese pressure in the South and a series of targeted political assassinations ended a distinctly Korean experiment with an extraordinary ideology.

On episode 98 of The Korea File journalist, filmmaker and screenwriter Abdul Malik joins host Andre Goulet to explore the history of this fascinating and largely forgotten era. Plus: details about our work amplifying new Left discourse at the Harbinger Media Network and what to expect from Abdul's deeply researched new sports, society and politics podcast 'Offcourt', launching in early January as a network exclusive.

Find out more and get access to premium supporter-only Harbinger podcasts for as little as $3/month at https://harbingermedianetwork.com/

Historical information on this episode is sourced from Ha Ki-Rak's 'A History of the Korean Anarchist Movement', published in 1986 by the Korean Anarchist Federation.

Read the entirety of Hwang Dong-yun's 'Anarchism in Korea: Independence, Transnationalism and the Question of National Development from 1919 to 1984' at
https://libcom.org/files/Anarchism%20in%20Korea_%20Independenc%20-%20Dongyoun%20Hwang.pdf

Read a concise summary of Anarchism in Korea by the late Irish historian Alan MacSimoin at http://dwardmac.pitzer.edu/ANARCHIST_ARCHIVES/worldwidemovements/koreahis.html

To read about Anarchism under the Park Chung-hee regime go to https://libcom.org/book/export/html/33946

Subscribe to the excellent Blue Roof Politics newsletter at https://www.blueroofpolitics.com/tag/newsletter/

This conversation was recorded on December 22nd, 2020.