Reflections on North Korean Community-Based Research

I reflect on my year-long experience as a South Korean researcher conducting a community-based oral history of North Korean migration during my master’s degree. Against an historical backdrop of two warring countries and numerous divides between my interlocutors, the academic establishment, and me, I explore the methodological significance and challenges of conducting a North Korean oral history. In the hopes of greater solidarity and reflexivity, I discuss the lessons learned through this process and the need to keep resisting against established ways of researching and knowing.