This project aims to offer new insights into security politics and policies in Northeast Asia by employing innovative visual methods.  It is funded by a grant from the Academy of Korean Studies (2023-8), jointly held with Isaac Lee, Min Jung Jee, Richard Murray, Andy Lee.

The project draws on my involvement with Korea over four decades, including a job as a Swiss Military Officer and member of the Neutral Nationals Supervisory Committing in the Korean DMZ as well as positions at Yonsei and Pusan National University. I build on previous research, including my book Divided Korea: Toward a Culture of Reconciliation. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press), which was translated into Korean by Huang Young-ju as 한반도 안보 다시 보기: 화해 의 문화 를 위해서.

I use my own photographs, taken in both South and North Korea, to reflect on how viewing security issues is an inherently political process with significant consequences. I developed a particular methodological framework for the project, called “visual autoethnography” (published in EJIS as “Visual Autoethnography and International Security: Insights from the Korean DMZ”).

Outcomes will include a single-authored book on Visualising Korean Security and collaborative projects with colleagues, including Moon Kyoung-hee and Hoang Young-ju.