Andrei Lankov
Andrei Lankov | |
|---|---|
 Lankov in November 2010 | |
| Born | Andrei Nikolaevich Lankov 26 July 1963 Leningrad, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union (now Saint Petersburg, Russia) |
| Citizenship |
|
| Occupation | Professor at Kookmin University[1] |
| Academic background | |
| Alma mater | Leningrad State University |
| Academic work | |
| Discipline | International relations, Korean studies |
Main interests | Korean history |
Andrei Nikolaevich Lankov (Russian: Андре́й Никола́евич Ланько́в; born 26 July 1963) is a Russo-Australian scholar of Asia and specialist in Korean studies[2] [3] and Director of Korea Risk Group, the parent company of NK News and NK Pro.[4] In the 1990s, he worked in South Korea and Australia, and has been teaching in Seoul since 2004.[2]
Life and career
[edit]Early years and education
[edit]Lankov was born on 26 July 1963, in Leningrad, Soviet Union (modern day Saint Petersburg, Russia). He completed undergraduate and graduate degrees at Leningrad State University in 1986 and 1989, respectively. He studied at Kim Il Sung University in Pyongyang for a 10-month period from 1984 to 1985.[5][6][7]
Career
[edit]Following his graduate studies, Lankov taught Korean history and language at his alma mater of Leningrad State University, where he was an assistant professor from 1990 to 1992. In 1992, he moved to South Korea for work. He was a lecturer at Chung-Ang University in Seoul from 1992 to 1994 and then at Osan College until 1996. He moved to Australia in 1996 to take up a post at Australian National University in Canberra, where he taught Chinese and Korean studies and history. He moved back to Seoul in 2004 to teach at Kookmin University.[8][9] Lankov has written in Russian (his native language), Korean, and English. He runs a North Korea–themed Livejournal blog[10] in Russian, where he writes about life in North (and South) Korea, together with his musings and links to his publications. He has written a column for the English-language daily The Korea Times for 15 years[11][12] and also for Bloomberg News[13] and Al Jazeera English.[14]
Since 2012, Lankov has been a regular contributor to NK News and its premium research platform NK Pro. In May 2017, he became a director of Korea Risk Group, the parent company of these platforms, and committed to writing exclusively for the group outside of his academic commitments.
In 2013, he was invited by then-U.S. President Barack Obama to visit the White House and advise on North Korea policy.[2]
In April 2025, a Moscow court reportedly fined him 10,000 rubles ($130) for participating in the activities of an organization considered “undesirable” in Russia.[2]
In 2026, Lankov was detained in Latvia just before he was scheduled to give a lecture. His detention occurred because he had been declared persona non grata a few days prior, a decision he claimed was politically motivated.[15] That same day, he was transferred to the Estonian border.[16][17]
Lankov has been known for "his cool, realist view of North Korea, which he often describes as a Machiavellian regime squeezing limited resources and manipulating major powers to ensure its survival." He has also expressed critical views of Russia’s war in Ukraine.[2]
Bibliography
[edit]Books
[edit]- Lankov, Andrei (October 2003). From Stalin to Kim Il Sung: The Formation of North Korea, 1945–1960. Rutgers University Press. ISBN 0-8135-3117-9.
- — (December 2004). Crisis in North Korea: The Failure of De-Stalinization, 1956. University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 0-8248-2809-7.
- — (2005). КНДР вчера и сегодня: Неформальная история Северной Кореи [The DPRK Yesterday and Today: An Unofficial History of North Korea] (in Russian). Vostok-Zapad. ISBN 5-478-00060-4.
- — (2006). Быть корейцем (Being Korean) (in Russian). Vostok-Zapad. ISBN 5-17-032481-2.
- — (April 2007). North of the DMZ: Essays on Daily Life in North Korea. McFarland and Company. ISBN 978-0-7864-2839-7.
- — (2008). The Dawn of Modern Korea. EunHaeng NaMu publishing. ISBN 978-89-5660-214-1.
- — (2009). Август, 1956 год. Кризис в Северной Корее (August 1956, A Crisis in North Korea). ROSSPEN. ISBN 978-5-8243-0907-2.
- — (2013). The Real North Korea: Life and Politics in the Failed Stalinist Utopia. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0199964291.
References
[edit]- ↑ Palmer, James (1 December 2017). "Andrei Lankov". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 17 June 2019.
- 1 2 3 4 5 "Prominent Russian scholar of North Korea says he was expelled from Latvia following detention". Associated Press News. 25 February 2026.
- ↑ Plate, Tom (10 August 2006). "North Korea's evolution". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 31 May 2007.
- ↑ "Korea Risk Group".
- ↑ "Contributors: Andrei Lankov". Lowy Institute.
- ↑ Lankov, Andrei (January 2006). "The Natural Death of North Korean Stalinism". Asia Policy. 1 (1). National Bureau of Asian Research: 95–121. doi:10.1353/asp.2006.0015.
- ↑ Enjoying a very unusual life indeed: North Korea in 1984
- ↑ Lankov, Andrei (31 October 2005). "Вновь за железным занавесом: Северная Корея двадцать лет спустя". Delo (393). Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 31 May 2007.
- ↑ Lankov, Andrei. "Андрей Ланьков". Vostochny Portal. Archived from the original on 12 July 2007. Retrieved 31 May 2007.
- ↑ Andrei Lankov's blog about DPRK
- ↑ Lankov, Andrei (16 April 2017). "A note to my readers". The Korea Times. Retrieved 1 May 2017.
- ↑ "Opinion: Columnists: Andrei Lankov". The Korea Times. Archived from the original on 8 April 2015. Retrieved 4 April 2015.
- ↑ "Andrei Lankov". Bloomberg News. Retrieved 1 May 2017.
- ↑ "Andrei Lankov". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 1 May 2017.
- ↑ "Krievu vēsturnieks, Ziemeļkorejas speciālists Laņkovs Latvijas «melnajā sarakstā» iekļauts pēc drošības dienesta lūguma" [Russian historian Lankov, expert in North Korean matters included in "blacklist" after request from the security service]. LSM (in Latvian). 25 February 2026.
- ↑ "Учёного Андрея Ланькова, задержанного в Риге, выдворили в Эстонию" [Scholar Andrei Lankov, detained in Riga, deported to Estonia]. RFE/RL (in Russian). 24 February 2026.
- ↑ "В Латвии во время лекции задержали корееведа Андрея Ланькова" [In Latvia, North Korea scholar Andrei Lankov was detained during a lecture.]. Kommersant (in Russian). 24 February 2026.
External links
[edit]
- Andrei Lankov on X
- Andrei Lankov's channel on YouTube
- The Interview with Lankov on YouTube[permanent dead link] by RT
- North Korea’s missionary position at the Wayback Machine (archived 2005-03-18) by Andrei Lankov, Asia Policy
- "The Natural Death of North Korean Stalinism". by Andrei Lankov, Asia Policy (The National Bureau of Asian Research (NBR) (January 2006)
- "Pyongyang Strikes Back: North Korean Policies of 2002–08 and Attempts to Reverse "De-Stalinization from Below"". by Andrei Lankov, Asia Policy (The National Bureau of Asian Research (NBR) (July 2009)
- Death of Juche? A roundtable discussion about the growth of markets in North Korea on YouTube by Center for Free Enterprise, (28 September 2011)
- 1963 births
- Living people
- Academics from Saint Petersburg
- Russian Koreanists
- Russian expatriates in North Korea
- Russian expatriates in South Korea
- Scholars of North Korea
- Saint Petersburg State University alumni
- Academic staff of Kookmin University
- Academic staff of the Australian National University
- Academic staff of Saint Petersburg State University
- Soviet expatriates in North Korea