Presentation made in the Department of Languages, Literature, Culture and Linguistics seminar program at Monash University, 9th October 2019.

In this presentation, Ben presents a case, drawing on complex systems thinking with a dash of political geography and political ecology, that geography is an under-appreciated variable in patterns of governance, economy and human security in North Korea, that geography as inter-dependent with and complimentary to institutional, economic and cultural perspectives. In so doing, Ben reflects on the genesis of this project and positions his broader contribution to the field of North Korean studies, he introduces his field observation method and analytical framework based on insights from complex systems. He then fleshes out the interplay of key landscape elements – geography and infrastructure networks – on patterns of governance, economy and human security in North Korea, before making some observations about implications for further research.