North Korea after Kim Jong Il: The Risks of Improvisation

Kim Jong Il’s death was announced less than three weeks ago. But the world is surprisingly quickly getting used to the new leadership in North Korea, as if there were no concerns left at all. To provide a counterweight to this amazingly complacent mood, and the many speculations about a stable North Korean future (including my own), I’d like to play devil’s advocate and ponder a relatively pessimistic scenario based on my reading of some developments that should be watched carefully.Click here to read the full article.

Prof. Adam Fforde, renowned expert on Vietnam and development issues will hold a  special lecture on “Q&A on Vietnam and some related issues: Prof. Adam Fforde”. He prepared his talk on the basis of our students' questions that have been sent beforehand. Click here for the announcement.

-> Monday, 16 January 2012, at 16:15 pm
-> Seminar room “Ostasien” (OAW)

The Party as the Kingmaker: The Death of Kim Jong-Il and its Consequences for North Korea

Kim Jong Il is no more. The state news agency KCNA reported that he died on his train on Saturday, December 17, 2011. He was on his way to offer another round of on-the-spot field guidance, working himself to death for his beloved people. This is the official version that we have actually seen under preparation for quite a while, including in works of art that we discussed in a recently published book. Click here to read the full article.

The Vienna Graduate Journal of East Asian Studies is a joint project of the Department of East Asian Studies at the University of Vienna aiming to give our graduates the opportunity to show their results to a wider audience. Even more importantly, we want to provide their peers and the international academic community with access to the work of our young and hopeful researchers. The Journal also shows the diversity of research topics covered in East Asian Studies at the University of Vienna. Literature, society, culture, economy – all these fields are represented in our multidisciplinary approach to East Asia. more

MO, 5 November, 18:15 at Room "Koreanologie" 

The project "Praxis-Link East Asia" of the Chair of East Asian Economy and Society aims to raise the employability of our students, give practical recommendations and deliver realistic expectations on the job market. For that purpose we invite East Asian Studies graduates with substantial professional background and high profile professionels working in East Asia to share their personal experience on entering the job market. Click here for the announcement (German).

TUE, November 22nd

The project "Praxis-Link East Asia" of the Chair of East Asian Economy and Society aims to raise the employability of our students, give practical recommendations and deliver realistic expectations on the job market. For that purpose we invite East Asian Studies graduates with substantial professional background to share their personal experience on entering the job market. Click here for the report (German).

November 8th, 2011 

The project "Praxis-Link East Asia" of the Chair of East Asian Economy and Society aims to raise the employability of our students, give practical recommendations and deliver realistic expectations on the job market. For that purpose we invite East Asian Studies graduates with substantial professional background to share their personal experience on entering the job market. Click here for the report (German).

US President Barack Obama declared North Korea a threat to the US and South Korea and warned it to disarm or face isolation. The stern words came as the South Korean president arrived in Washington to an unusually warm welcome. (...) Lee’s visit also comes as opposition has grown to South Korean plans to build a controversial naval base on Jeju Island. Given the close ties between Seoul and Washington, it is “very obvious” that the US navy will use this base, Rudiger Frank, an expert on North Korea and professor at the University of Vienna, told RT. He explained that it might be used as a part of missile defense shield against long-range ballistic missiles which might come from North Korea or further up north. And it also should help the South Korean navy project its power in the region.

Russia Today Television
YouTube

September 15-16, 2011

EastAsiaNet is a network of leading European research schools with a well-developed social-science focus on East Asia. It takes up issues that surpass the capacity of single institutions in training and in research. Ultimately, it contributes high-level expertise to a European perspective on Euro-Asia relations. The 8th EastAsia Research Workshop was hosted by the Department of East Asian Studies at the University of Vienna. Click here for the program and abstracts.

Despite North Korea stating it is ready to restart the talks on nuclear problem with no conditions from its side, there may be conditions from the US and South Korea, Rudiger Frank told RT.

Russia Today Television
YouTube
 

"The Libyan story seems to be over, at least for now. We do not exactly know who is going to rule that country next and with what consequences. There is room for experience-based pessimism, but only time will tell. So it is now worth looking closer at another of the anti-dictatorship uprisings in the region. What is the meaning of Syria for North Korea?" Click here to read Prof. Frank's full analysis.

Professor Rudiger Frank, Chair of East Asian Economy and Society at the University of Vienna, has in June 2011 joined the World Economic Forum/Global Agenda Council on Korea. In addition to regular consultations by video-conference this includes participation in the annual Summits on the Global Agenda in Abu Dhabi and the Meeting of the New Champions in Dalian (China). more

North Korea has again shelled waters near the maritime border with South Korea. Local residents say three shells have been fired in the Yellow Sea area on Wednesday following the earlier exchange of fire between the two countries (http://rt.com/news/koreas-shelling-pyongyang-nuclear/). Click here to watch the interview on YouTube.

Starting from October 2011, the graduate program on East Asian Economy and Society (EcoS) will be fully converted to English. The approved and legally binding update of the changed curriculum can be found here in German. Please click here for the English translation.

"One of the things I have, for years, been having difficulties to understand is the discussion of (staple) food diversion. It is of course an important political issue if we consider that donors like to give their resources for a specified purpose and discontinue donating if it cannot be proven that everything went as promised. Fair enough." (...) more

On May 3rd 2011 entrepreneur Dr. Achatz hosted a business dinner for selected students of the Master program East Asian Economy and Society at the vinothèque Vinophilia. It was part of a series of events meant to enforce exchange between professionals from various backgrounds and students of East Asian Economy and Society. Click here for more information.

This was already the third event in the new international conference series on "Korea and East Asia" that is organized by the Chair of East Asian Economy and Society at the Department  of East Asian Studies at University of Vienna -  this time in cooperation with the renowned Korea University and the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy (KIEP). Click here for more information.

Prof. Rüdiger Frank discusses the probable interpretation by the North Korean leadership to recent bombing of Libya. Click here to read the full article.

Prof. Rüdiger Frank discusses what to make of a recent leaked photo of what have deemed the first North Korean painting depicting Kim Jong Un. Click here to read the full article.

Prof. Rüdiger Frank gives answers on the current security crisis on the Korean peninsula and interpretes the motives of North Korea's actions. Click here to read the full interview.

Since October 2010, the Department of East Asian Studies of the University of Vienna is a member of EastAsiaNet, a network of leading European research schools with a well-developed social-science focus on East Asia. It takes up issues that surpass the capacity of single institutions in training and in research. Ultimately, it contributes high-level expertise to a European perspective on Euro-Asia relations. Prof. Rüdiger Frank has been elected as Executive Board Member of the network. To learn more, see http://www.eastasianet.eu.

From today highly motivated students can apply for internships at renowned companies and organizations from various fields. Depending on the project, students are also given the opportunity to write their MA or PhD thesis in the course of their working experience. To find out more about the initiative click here.

According to Rudiger Frank, Professor of East Asian Economy and Society at Vienna University, it’s unlikely that Jong-un will be announced at the meeting. Rather, Frank says, he will be elevated to some kind of post within the Central Committee and be given a chance to develop a record of his own. After that, at the 2012 party congress, he might be announced as the next leader (www.rt.com). Click here to watch the interview on YouTube.