Guest edited by Gregg Brazinsky (George Washington University), this October 2021 special issue, “Reconsidering North Korea: Methods, Frameworks, and Sources,” offers an introduction by Andre Schmid (University of Toronto) and seven articles by scholars from multiple disciplines, including history, literature, anthropology, and political science. In this special issue, the authors deeply engage with the usage of sources, methodologies, and major theoretical interventions when studying North Korea. These authors clearly demonstrate that not being able to travel to North Korea does not limit scholars from researching and writing about this isolated country. This special issue was prepared to particularly support graduate students and junior scholars conducting research on North Korea. I would like to acknowledge the Institute for Korean Studies at George Washington University for hosting two virtual workshops and a roundtable discussion that made it possible to produce this special issue. Special thanks to all those who participated as presenters and discussants. We hope that this special issue, which offers interdisciplinary discussions of researching North Korea, will be helpful to students and scholars not only in locating sources but also in building a critical lens to analyze those sources. In addition to the special issue, this volume includes three general articles and two book reviews.
The editorial office of the Journal of Korean Studies (JKS) is housed at the Institute for Korean Studies, George Washington University. JKS is published by Duke University Press. Publication of the Journal of Korean Studies is made possible by a generous grant from the Korea Foundation. We are currently accepting submissions for the spring general issues as well as proposals for our annual fall special issues. For more information on JKS, please visit www.dukeupress.edu/journal-of-korean-studies/.
