This lecture examines North Korea’s postwar history through the lens of rationality, technological governance, and economic transformation. It begins by asking how rationality should be understood in a socialist developmental context, not simply as the opposite of capitalism, but as a broader set of practices of calculation, planning, optimization, and strategic adaptation. Without treating North Korea as either an irrational aberration or a wholly separate modernity, the lecture traces how technoscientific forms of governmentality, along with sustained efforts to acquire scientific knowledge and technical expertise from abroad, shaped the country’s postwar development and continue to inform how the DPRK navigates economic change and imagines its future. Moving between industrial management, agricultural modernization, and the emergence of prices and markets, it approaches North Korea not as an exception, but rather as a modern state fashioned through recurring, if not always successful, efforts to measure, reorganize, and optimize social and economic life.

About the speaker:

Dr. Benoit Berthelier is Senior Lecturer in Korean Studies at the University of Sydney. His research focuses on North Korean history, literature, and technoscientific culture, while also engaging with broader questions in the history of science and digital humanities. He has published widely in leading academic journals, including Journal of Asian Studies, Technology and Culture, Korean Studies, Game Studies, and Journal of Korean Studies.

Language:

English

Time & Location

Monday, 15 June 2026, 14:00

-1.2009 großer Hörsaal, UG (Fabeckstr. 23/25)

Online participation is available. Please register via the email address: Hojye.kang [at] fu-berlin.de

About the Eurasian Foundation lecture series:

This lecture series is organized by Dr. Hojye Kang and offered within the seminar “Bridging Histories, Forging Futures: Lessons from 150 Years of German-Korean Dialogue for the Eurasia Community,” supported by the Eurasia Foundation (https://www.eurasia.or.jp/). It is an annual program that brings together international experts on Korea’s traditional era, the colonial period, contemporary South and North Korea, and international relations. Each lecture presents key research alongside accessible insights into methodologies, primary sources, and conceptual frameworks, offering a structured perspective on the Korean Peninsula in its broader Eurasian context. The series is open to students and all interested audiences.

Upcoming Lectures:

• Mon, 22 June: “Colonial-Era Korean Socialism: Critiques of the Present and Visions for the Future of Eurasia Communities” by Vladimir Tikhonov (University of Oslo, Norway)
• Mon, 29 June: “Donghak as the Origin of K-Democracy: Toward the Spread and Establishment of Democracy in the Eurasia Community” by Byung-Sul Jung (Seoul National University, Korea)
• Mon, 6 July: “Looking toward the Europe–Asia Community: One World” by Sato Yoji (Chairman of the Eurasia Foundation, Japan)
• Sat, 11 July: “The Culture of Mathematical Science in Korea and the Eurasia Community” by Jongtae Lim (Seoul National University, Korea)