• Date: October 20th, Tuesday, 2026, 15:00 – 17:00
• Location: Room 303, SNUAC (Bldg. 101)

The Cold War has traditionally been understood in terms of the bipolar confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union. However, countries in the Third World, including those in Asia and Africa, were far from passive actors drawn into the rivalry between the two blocs. Amid the currents of decolonization, national liberation, non-alignment, and South–South cooperation, these countries forged their own political solidarities and collective identities, exerting significant influence on the development of the Cold War order. The Korean Peninsula was no exception to these transformations. North and South Korea competed to expand diplomatic relations with Third World countries and secure support in international organizations and non-aligned forums, while responding in different ways to the shifting political landscape of the Third World. This week’s seminar seeks to examine the process of bloc formation in the Third World during the Cold War through its interactions with the Korean Peninsula, thereby reconsidering the history of the Korean Peninsula during the Cold War within a broader international political context beyond the conventional focus on U.S.–Soviet relations.