Understanding Korea, One Story at a Time Podcast · Behind-the-scenes stories and research on growing up in Korean society.

A Tuesday surprise in your inbox (…and my actual voice)

November 4, 2025·14 min·1 clip

I wish I had learned history not as a triumphant narrative, but as a complex, contested, messy reality.

The host introduces a new series featuring untranslated Korean books, starting with historian Kim Won's 'The June 1987 Uprising,' which uses oral history and composite characters to reveal the complex, multi-perspective reality behind South Korea's democracy movement. The episode contrasts the official triumphant narrative with the differing experiences of protesters in Seoul, Incheon, and Busan, arguing the victory was incomplete due to unresolved class divisions.

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