History of Modern Korea

Kevin Hockmuth, a professor at Akita International University in Japan, created this podcast as a companion to his university course on modern Korean history. The result is a tight, focused 14-episode series that covers Korea from the late Joseon Dynasty through the reign of Kim Jong-il. Each episode runs about 12 minutes, making this easily the most digestible entry point into Korean history on this list. The chronological structure works well. Hockmuth starts with the final decades of the Joseon Dynasty and the pressures of modernization, moves through Japanese colonial rule from 1910 to 1945, covers the March 1st Independence Movement, and then traces the post-liberation division, the Korean War, and the divergent paths of North and South Korea. He occasionally brings in guest speakers, like Professor Sean O'Reilly discussing the colonial period, but mostly delivers solo lectures in a clear and organized style. The brevity is both a strength and a limitation. You get the essential narrative arc without getting lost in details, but certain topics -- the Korean War especially -- feel compressed. With a perfect 5.0 rating (albeit from only 3 reviews), the show appeals to students and curious listeners who want a structured introduction rather than an exhaustive treatment. The series wrapped in late 2022, and Hockmuth also publishes written essays on his Substack. Think of this as a semester of Korean history condensed into three hours of audio -- an excellent starting point before you move on to more specialized shows.