Understanding Korea, One Story at a Time Podcast
By Behind-the-scenes stories and research on growing up in Korean society.
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Category: Education
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Subscribers: 4
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Episodes: 39
Description
Welcome to Growing Up in Korea – The Audio Series
I’m Dr. Jiwon Yoon, a writer and former professor exploring what it means to grow up in Korean society—through the lens of education, parenting, and social pressure.
Each episode features an audio version of my essays—narrated using Google’s NotebookLM, an experimental tool that turns my notes and research into a conversational voice.
While the voice is AI-generated, every idea, note, and reference comes from my own research—often the parts that didn’t make it into the final written piece.
Think of this as a behind-the-scenes layer: the thoughts I underlined, the stories I couldn’t fit, the questions that kept me thinking.
I hope you’ll find something here that sparks reflection and conversation.
yoonjiwon.substack.com
yoonjiwon.substack.com
| Episode | Date |
|---|---|
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🎧 Podcast: The Debt That Doesn't Expire (Yu Si-min’s History Part 3)
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Dec 11, 2025 |
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🎧 Podcast: The Barracks State & The Boy Who Refused to Bow (Yu Si-min’s History Part 2)
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Dec 04, 2025 |
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🎧 Podcast: Twins Born in the Ruins (Reviewing Yu Si-min’s My History of Contemporary Korea)
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Nov 27, 2025 |
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🎧 Podcast: The Dictator’s Playlist: Censorship, Sex, and Sports in Authoritarian South Korea
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Nov 20, 2025 |
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🎧 Podcast: A Nation in Uniform (+ a few updates)
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Nov 18, 2025 |
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🎧 Podcast: Governance by Fear (and stay healthy out there!)
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Nov 11, 2025 |
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A Tuesday surprise in your inbox (…and my actual voice)
|
Nov 04, 2025 |
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Some personal news and an exciting update
|
Oct 23, 2025 |
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31(21). The Security Prison: The Mirror Called “North Korea,” and the Politics of Controlled Memory
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Oct 16, 2025 |
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30(20). How Trauma Built Modern Korea: From "Ppalli-Ppalli" to the Miracle on the Han River
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Oct 09, 2025 |
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29(19).The Korean War Never Ended: Family Trauma Across Generations
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Oct 02, 2025 |
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28(18). The Three-Year Inferno: Confronting the Brutality of the Korean War
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Sep 25, 2025 |
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27(17). How a Pencil Line Split Korea
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Sep 18, 2025 |
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26(16).Inside the Korean “We (Uri),” Part 3
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Sep 11, 2025 |
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25(15). Inside the Korean “We (Uri),” Part 2
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Sep 04, 2025 |
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24(14). Inside the Korean “We (Uri),” Part 1
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Aug 28, 2025 |
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23(13).Hongik Ingan (홍익인간), Korean Democracy’s Oldest New Idea
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Aug 21, 2025 |
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22(12). So, Is South Korea Going Extinct or What?
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Aug 14, 2025 |
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21(11). Supernatural Checks and Balances
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Aug 07, 2025 |
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20 (10). Why Korean Ghosts Demand Democratic Justice
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Jul 31, 2025 |
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19 (9). A Royal Screen Behind KPop Demon Hunters—and the Cosmic Order It Represents
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Jul 24, 2025 |
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18 (8).Turning Pain into Power 2: The Power of K-Storytelling from the Japanese Occupation
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Jul 17, 2025 |
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17(7).Turning Pain into Power 1: The Unstoppable Emotional Force of Korean Storytelling
|
Jul 10, 2025 |
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16(6). The People Own This Land: A Revolution That Never Ended
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Jul 10, 2025 |
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15(5). The Roar of a Nation — How the March 1st Movement Forged Modern Korean Identity
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Jul 10, 2025 |
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14 (4) The Korean Instinct to Save the Nation: From Cigarettes to Gold Rings
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Jul 10, 2025 |
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13 (3)🧨 Stolen Nation, Unbroken Spirit: How Korea’s Lost Sovereignty Sparked a Century of Resistance
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Jul 10, 2025 |
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12(2). Like a Phoenix: The Rebirth of Korean Democracy in 2025
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Jul 10, 2025 |
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11 (1).🌱 The Root of the Matter: Why Koreans Expect Their Leaders to Serve
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Jul 09, 2025 |
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10. The Medical School Fever That's Reshaping an Entire Nation
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Jul 09, 2025 |
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9. Korea's 'Iron Rice Bowl': The Rise (and Fall) of Civil Service and Teaching Careers
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Jul 09, 2025 |
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8.The IMF Crisis and South Korea’s Hyper-Competitive Childhood
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Jul 07, 2025 |
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7.🎓 Shut Up and Do Math: Inside Korea’s Childhood Race to the Top
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Jul 06, 2025 |
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6.Your Toddler Might Be Late—for College Prep in South Korea
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Jul 03, 2025 |
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5.The Royal Grind: How Joseon Dynasty Princes Studied (or Suffered?)
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Jun 21, 2025 |
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4. Why Koreans Study So Hard: A Journey Back to the Joseon Dynasty's Gwageo
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Jun 18, 2025 |
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3. Of the King, by the Scholar-Officials, for the People: How Joseon's Radical Vision Shaped Korea’s Academic Drive
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May 27, 2025 |
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2.Past as Prologue: Understanding a Nation Through Its Historical and Cultural DNA
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May 19, 2025 |
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1. Growing Up in Korea: But First, Why Korea?
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May 12, 2025 |