122 – Taekwondo and Korean History Explains Everything (Part 1) w/ Jay

On Southpaw, we speak to Jay from Red Star Over Asia (@RedStarOverAsia) about his article "When Taekwondo Ruled the World": https://www.midwesternmarx.com/articles/when-taekwondo-ruled-the-world-by-jay 

In part 1, we discuss:

Churches, cults, political sects, and taekwondo
Taekwondo's final form: juche
How romanization sucks
Using karate against the Japanese
Showmanship and mythmaking
The Bruce Lee template
The Great Man rightwing mythology
Belt wrestling
The myth of democracy in Korea
Martial arts as a rightwing tool
Taekwondo's historical baggage
Kanto massacre and Korean ethnic cleansing
Decolonial movements and sabotage
Brazilian jiu-jitsu using the same anticommunist ethnonationalist template, except Brazil admired Japanese Imperialism whereas Korea tried to distance itself from it
Syngman Rhee's role in taekwondo mythic origin story
The myth of Hwarang aristocrat warriors
A Japanese collaborator's coup and taekwondo's acceleration
Korean social movements and land redistribution from collaborators
Toxic masculinity admiring your oppressors
Cobra Kai
Ethnonationalism and pro-Americanism
Anti-Americanism as a red flag for international rightwingers
Korea as a US project in neoliberalism, anticommunism, and ethnonationalism run by former Japanese collaborators

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Part 2: https://ko-fi.com/post/123-Taekwondo-and-Korean-History-Explains-Everyt-X8X3BE8QR
Red Star Over Asia: https://anchor.fm/red-star-over-asia 
A Killing Art by Alex Gillis: https://amzn.to/3LI2D5I
Cobra Kai, the Twilight of American Empire, and the Allure of Paramilitary Violence: https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/cobra-kai-the-twilight-of-american-empire-and-the-allure-of-paramilitary-violence/ 
120 – Squid Game and the Long Shadow of American Empire: https://ko-fi.com/post/120-Squid-Game-and-the-Long-Shadow-of-American-E-W7W27LG4S 

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