Kim So Wol (1902-1934), widely known for his beautiful yet sorrowful verses in his poems including “Azalea,” has been long beloved by his readers. In this Research Report, Dr. Yee Jisun, Associate Research Fellow at the Korea Institute for National Unification, dives deep into how the poet’s works have been received and interpreted in North and South Korea upon the division of the Korean Peninsula. Dr. Yee states that while Kim So Wol’s works have been consistently studied and critically acclaimed in South Korea, his works failed to receive the same recognition in North Korea. North Korea repetitively deleted and resurfaced the poet’s works in the process of establishing its own literary tradition. Literary-field of the two Koreas have clearly different experiences, expectations, and categories of evaluation, which have been guided by contrasting ideologies. Nonetheless, the shift in North Korean critics’ acceptance of Kim So Wol’s works is reflective of the ability for literary interpretations of the South and North to influence each other and stimulate dialogue.

While the EU had initially engaged with North Korea through a conciliatory approach, its stance against the authoritarian state has been more critical, manifest in its policy of ‘critical engagement.’ In this commentary, Ramon Pacheco Pardo, Professor of International Relations at King's College London and the KF-VUB Korea Chair at the Brussels School of Governance, claims that the EU, among key players, cannot remain idle amid the growing security dilemma on the Korean Peninsula fueled by mutual hostility. The author claims that the EU should adopt a more proactive approach in order to accommodate reconciliation between the two Koreas and address the issue of denuclearization. The author adds that the EU's role in dealing with issues on the Korean peninsula is irreplaceable, given its experience and technical expertise. Specifically, the union and European countries can support security on the Korean Peninsula by hosting track-2 dialogues or pressing Pyongyang on its human rights record.