North Korean Ghost Ships

 Event 

North Korean Ghost Ships

Talk by Robert Winstanley-Chesters and film showing and Q&A by Nicholas Ahlmark

Lecturer in Human Geography at Bath Spa, Robert Winstanley-Chesters has spent the last five years research fishing and fishing communities in North Korea and neighbouring nations, research which constitutes his recent monograph 'Fish, Fishing and Community in North Korea and Neighbours' published as an Open Access book by Springer.

During this research Robert became familiar with ghostly ecologies and ruined environments of the seas surrounding North Korea, China and elsewhere in East Asia and was intrigued by the phenomena of 'Ghost Ships' from North Korea washing up on the coasts of northern Japan and the Russian Federation with skeletal cargoes of dead North Koreans causing fear and anxiety among the Japanese.

The ghost ships and the necro-mobilities of the bodies of these unexpected and unwelcome visitors has become Robert's next research project and he will soon publish his first journal article on the subject for the Journal of International Diaspora and Cultural Criticism. Robert was particularly inspired by the work of Nicholas Ahlmark and this event also features an online showing of his film 'North Korean Ghost Ships' for Channel News Asia's 'Undercover Asia' documentary strand.

Since graduating from the University of Westminster, Nicholas has built an incredible international career and reputation, working on short and long form documentaries for broadcasters like Al Jazeera English, VICE, The Guardian and CNBC, focusing on the Asia Pacific region, on subjects ranging from Japan’s Self Defense Forces to Seoul’s plastic surgery industry. Nicholas will also be attending to offer a Director's Q&A. You can follow Nicholas on Instagram and Twitter.

How to attend

This will be an online event, hosted on Google Meet. Please RSVP to Robert Winstanley-Chesters (r.winstanley-chesters@bathspa.ac.uk), who will add you to the list of invitees.

If you are unable to join the session or would like to view the film in advance, you can watch it on the Channel News Asia website.