Benjamin A. Engel
@benjaminaengel.bsky.social
Assistant Professor of Korean Studies at Dankook University. Research interests: Korean modern history, US-Korea relations, democracy and human rights
Chat GPT will revolutionize the world! Also Chat GPT:
November 11, 2025 at 5:25 AM
Chat GPT will revolutionize the world! Also Chat GPT:
New banner near campus. After the second Lee Jae Myung-Trump meeting I thought they might give up, but then again I suppose the Yoon Again folks have no other play.
November 3, 2025 at 12:38 AM
New banner near campus. After the second Lee Jae Myung-Trump meeting I thought they might give up, but then again I suppose the Yoon Again folks have no other play.
Big game today~ M-I-Z!
October 25, 2025 at 12:39 AM
Big game today~ M-I-Z!
Finally feels like a real Korean autumn. For the last several weeks Seoul had inexplicably tuned into Seattle with gloomy clouds and constant rain.
October 14, 2025 at 11:52 PM
Finally feels like a real Korean autumn. For the last several weeks Seoul had inexplicably tuned into Seattle with gloomy clouds and constant rain.
Snapped this picture this morning. Banner is kind of a “wanted poster” of President Lee Jae Myung for election fraud. “China Lee’s” election win was “made by the Chinese Communist Party and the National Election Commission.” Election conspiracy theorists still hard at work in Korea.
September 2, 2025 at 11:53 PM
Snapped this picture this morning. Banner is kind of a “wanted poster” of President Lee Jae Myung for election fraud. “China Lee’s” election win was “made by the Chinese Communist Party and the National Election Commission.” Election conspiracy theorists still hard at work in Korea.
Trump’s Truth Social post on the trade deal with South Korea. Lately I’ve been following the Korean far-right’s push to get Trump engaged in its election fraud conspiracy theories, but the trade deal actually seems to have squashed those efforts. 1/
July 31, 2025 at 1:01 AM
Trump’s Truth Social post on the trade deal with South Korea. Lately I’ve been following the Korean far-right’s push to get Trump engaged in its election fraud conspiracy theories, but the trade deal actually seems to have squashed those efforts. 1/
ASCJ in Tokyo ✅ IPSA in Seoul ✅
Summer presentations done. Was great to spend so much time with my friends and colleagues on my panel as well as meeting other scholars from around the world.
Summer presentations done. Was great to spend so much time with my friends and colleagues on my panel as well as meeting other scholars from around the world.
July 16, 2025 at 3:58 AM
ASCJ in Tokyo ✅ IPSA in Seoul ✅
Summer presentations done. Was great to spend so much time with my friends and colleagues on my panel as well as meeting other scholars from around the world.
Summer presentations done. Was great to spend so much time with my friends and colleagues on my panel as well as meeting other scholars from around the world.
The selection of Seoul for the Congress took place well before Yoon’s attempted coup, but it ended up being ironic that Seoul hosted the event with the theme “Resisting Autocratization in Polarized Societies.” I was there but was on a panel just before the ceremony started and couldn’t get in. End
July 14, 2025 at 12:13 AM
The selection of Seoul for the Congress took place well before Yoon’s attempted coup, but it ended up being ironic that Seoul hosted the event with the theme “Resisting Autocratization in Polarized Societies.” I was there but was on a panel just before the ceremony started and couldn’t get in. End
Grok speaking some non-fascist truth here. Must be a glitch.
July 11, 2025 at 12:46 PM
Grok speaking some non-fascist truth here. Must be a glitch.
Oof. Something you may want to delete @ossoff.bsky.social
July 11, 2025 at 12:43 PM
Oof. Something you may want to delete @ossoff.bsky.social
Was in Daehak-dong this week and walked by this building. It broke my heart. With the all the comparisons about how Korea stopped martial law and the US is struggling to slow Trump, the importance of people in Korea who lived through 1987 and 1980 and passing on memories cannot be overemphasized.
June 14, 2025 at 12:30 AM
Was in Daehak-dong this week and walked by this building. It broke my heart. With the all the comparisons about how Korea stopped martial law and the US is struggling to slow Trump, the importance of people in Korea who lived through 1987 and 1980 and passing on memories cannot be overemphasized.
Break down of Seoul election results by neighborhood. Gangnam belt (ie rich people) is very red but the rest mostly even or blue. Would think this is mainly based on class and economic interests pertaining to issues like the inheritance and corporate taxes as well as real estate policies.
June 4, 2025 at 10:46 AM
Break down of Seoul election results by neighborhood. Gangnam belt (ie rich people) is very red but the rest mostly even or blue. Would think this is mainly based on class and economic interests pertaining to issues like the inheritance and corporate taxes as well as real estate policies.
Another far-right personality in the US, Gordon Chang, has for months now been parroting election fraud conspiracies on the far-right in Korea and now is urging governments not to congratulate Lee on his election win.
June 4, 2025 at 1:07 AM
Another far-right personality in the US, Gordon Chang, has for months now been parroting election fraud conspiracies on the far-right in Korea and now is urging governments not to congratulate Lee on his election win.
Laura Loomer, extremist MAGA personality with influence in the White House, is also publicly claiming Lee Jae-myung’s victory was the product of communist Chinese influence. Lee had been very supportive of the alliance with the US but this cannot sit well with him on day 1 of his administration.
June 4, 2025 at 12:50 AM
Laura Loomer, extremist MAGA personality with influence in the White House, is also publicly claiming Lee Jae-myung’s victory was the product of communist Chinese influence. Lee had been very supportive of the alliance with the US but this cannot sit well with him on day 1 of his administration.
Addendum: should have given MBC a few minutes to throw up another graphic confirming my last point. Kwon Young-kook has nearly 6% of women in their 20s’ votes. Pretty significant if small success here for him and leftist politics in Korea.
June 3, 2025 at 11:58 AM
Addendum: should have given MBC a few minutes to throw up another graphic confirming my last point. Kwon Young-kook has nearly 6% of women in their 20s’ votes. Pretty significant if small success here for him and leftist politics in Korea.
Down in the younger generations we see the reproduction of the gender gap from 2022. Lee Jun-seok did very well among young men, even outperforming Kim Mun-soo among men in their 20s. Young women voted strongly for Lee Jae-myung. 2/
June 3, 2025 at 11:55 AM
Down in the younger generations we see the reproduction of the gender gap from 2022. Lee Jun-seok did very well among young men, even outperforming Kim Mun-soo among men in their 20s. Young women voted strongly for Lee Jae-myung. 2/
So Lee Jae-myung is very likely going to win and win in the manner we expected.
Lee has strong support among the “386” generation (they are in their 50s now) and the cohort just behind them in their 40s. Older people supported Kim Mun-soo. 1/
Lee has strong support among the “386” generation (they are in their 50s now) and the cohort just behind them in their 40s. Older people supported Kim Mun-soo. 1/
June 3, 2025 at 11:55 AM
So Lee Jae-myung is very likely going to win and win in the manner we expected.
Lee has strong support among the “386” generation (they are in their 50s now) and the cohort just behind them in their 40s. Older people supported Kim Mun-soo. 1/
Lee has strong support among the “386” generation (they are in their 50s now) and the cohort just behind them in their 40s. Older people supported Kim Mun-soo. 1/
With one week to go, Lee Jae-myung’s lead remains comfortable. Lee at 49%, Kim Mun-soo at 35%. Early voting starts on Thursday and today is the last day polls can be released. Aside from Lee’s lead, also important to note the small # of undecideds: only 5%
www.joongang.co.kr/article/2533...
www.joongang.co.kr/article/2533...
May 27, 2025 at 12:30 AM
With one week to go, Lee Jae-myung’s lead remains comfortable. Lee at 49%, Kim Mun-soo at 35%. Early voting starts on Thursday and today is the last day polls can be released. Aside from Lee’s lead, also important to note the small # of undecideds: only 5%
www.joongang.co.kr/article/2533...
www.joongang.co.kr/article/2533...
Polling says it probably doesn't matter. For example, one poll shows Lee Jae-myung at 46%, Kim Mun-soo at 33%, and Lee Jun-seok at 11%, but if Lee Jun-seok were to hypothetically drop out, Lee Jae-myung's support goes up to 51% and Kim Mun-soo only reaches 41%. 3/
www.hani.co.kr/arti/politic...
www.hani.co.kr/arti/politic...
May 26, 2025 at 3:15 AM
Polling says it probably doesn't matter. For example, one poll shows Lee Jae-myung at 46%, Kim Mun-soo at 33%, and Lee Jun-seok at 11%, but if Lee Jun-seok were to hypothetically drop out, Lee Jae-myung's support goes up to 51% and Kim Mun-soo only reaches 41%. 3/
www.hani.co.kr/arti/politic...
www.hani.co.kr/arti/politic...
The more I try to use AI to assist with my lecture preparation the more I realize how useless it is. It will just make up shit. The "three whites" are sugar, cotton, and mill given by the US to South Korea as humanitarian assistance during and after the Korean War...
May 15, 2025 at 2:01 AM
The more I try to use AI to assist with my lecture preparation the more I realize how useless it is. It will just make up shit. The "three whites" are sugar, cotton, and mill given by the US to South Korea as humanitarian assistance during and after the Korean War...
Too good not to steal
April 18, 2025 at 2:42 AM
Too good not to steal
Me reading the news every morning about what happened in the US.
April 17, 2025 at 5:18 AM
Me reading the news every morning about what happened in the US.
Chat GPT sucks. Like this isn't even a hard question is it?
April 17, 2025 at 1:42 AM
Chat GPT sucks. Like this isn't even a hard question is it?
This is pretty interesting. Best evidence I've seen that the Chun Doo Hwan new military group was flustered by the US in the aftermath of the Gwangju Democracy Movement. They sense something is amiss in US communications and at the US embassy in Seoul and they demand MOFA give them solutions. 1/
April 15, 2025 at 11:07 AM
This is pretty interesting. Best evidence I've seen that the Chun Doo Hwan new military group was flustered by the US in the aftermath of the Gwangju Democracy Movement. They sense something is amiss in US communications and at the US embassy in Seoul and they demand MOFA give them solutions. 1/
Its not surprising that the Chun Doo Hwan regime actively tried to smear its critics in the 1980s, but its still something else when you see it written in a government policy report. Had Yoon succeeded last December this is probably what we would have seen play out.
April 11, 2025 at 3:56 AM
Its not surprising that the Chun Doo Hwan regime actively tried to smear its critics in the 1980s, but its still something else when you see it written in a government policy report. Had Yoon succeeded last December this is probably what we would have seen play out.