Why North Korea is North Korea

History of North Korea's Origins, from 2333 BC to 1953. In this lecture, we explore how North Korea was formed under Kim Jong Un's grandfather, Kim Il-Sung, beginning with the Russo-Japanese War and ending with the Korean War. We also cover the Joseon Dynasty and give a biography of Kim Il-Sung.

★Support on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/williamcfox

SOURCING:
Korea: Where the American Century Began by Pembroke 2018
The Korea War, an International history by Haruki. 2018
The Forgotten Political Elites of North Korea. Tertitskiy 2024
Origins of the Korean War Cumings Parts 1 & 2. 1981, 1992.
Lankov. From Stalin to Kim Il Sung. 2002
Forever President Michael J. Seth. 2025
2016 Routledge Handbook of Modern Korean History edited M. Seth
A Concise History of Modern Korea MJ Seth 2010
Soviet-North Korean relations during the Cold War : unruly offspring / Fyodor Tertitskiy.
Kim Il-sung in the Khrushchve era 2005

Article (Abstract) Eom: Collusive Oligopolistic Politics: Sedo...2012. UBC.
UNESCO "Archives of the Donghak Peasant Revolution"
National Palace Museum of Korea. Su-hee Park. "Recording the Brief History of the Korean Empire"
Intern, “Reflections of Joseon in DPRK’s Songbun Caste System.”
Kim, “Land Reform in South Korea under the U.S. Military Occupation, 1945–1948.”
Eom, “Collusive Oligopolistic Politics.”
Brazinsky, _Nation Building in South Korea_
Kim, _The Development of Modern South Korea_.
“Archives of the Donghak Peasant Revolution - Memory of the World.”
Google Arts & Culture, “Recording the Brief History of the Korean Empire.”

Accidental Tyrant: The Life of Kim Il-Sung: Tertitskiy, Fyodor
The Man and His Era: William Taubman
North Korea: What Everyone Needs to Know: McEachern
Tyranny of the Weak : North Korea and the World, 1950-1992.
Kim Il-Sung: The Controversial Life and Legacy of North Korea’s First Supreme Leader.
Land Reform in South Korea, 1945–1948. Journal of Cold War Studies 18, no. 2 (2016)
“North Korea in a Nutshell: A Contemporary Overview: Oh, Kongdan, Hassig, Ralph
“Leader Symbols and Personality Cult in North Korea: The Leader State.” pg 51-77
The North Korean Revolution, 1945–1950 Charles K. Armstrong

00:00-1:32 Intro
1:33-41:37 Japan, Russia, Roosevelt
41:38-02:38:26 Korea in Japan
02:38:27-02:48:12 Stalin and Cat interrugnum
02:48:13-03:31:31 1945-1946
03:31:32-03:50:31 1947-48
03:50:32-04:18:56 1949-Korean War

Stock video and imagery provided by Getty Images.