Online Engagement and Researchers’ Careers: SinoNK.com Adam Cathcart Queen’s University, Belfast

Research Goals  Documenting the Chinese-North Korean border  Since 1945  North Korean cultural history

Source Analysis

North Korean Music

Documenting the China- Korea Frontier  Regular fieldwork on the North Korean border  Translations from Chinese materials  News reports  Foreign Ministry documents  Public Security reports

Durham University North Korean Human Rights Campaigners  Byul Ryan-Im  Meeting tonight at 7:30 p.m. in Elvet 148

Outline  I. Building an Online Community  II. Research, Editing and Professionalism  III. Demonstrating Impact and Rigour

I. Building an Online Community  “Sinologistical Violoncellist”   Sole-authored blog by junior professor at an American liberal arts college in Seattle  University of Hong Kong journalism conference, summer 2011 – CNN delegate  A death in the family  Kim Jong-il RIP, December 2011

The Dear Leader

SinoNK.com

The Respected Successor

Media Impact  Resource for journalists  Quoted in The Economist, The Guardian, Le Monde, The Telegraph, Time, Washington Post, New York Times, Reuters.  Located between academia and journalism

Assembling a Team/Model  Editor with scholarly credibility and some experience engaging broader audience  Call for applications  CV and cover letter  Highly defined roles for graduate students and undergraduates  The role of the Managing Editor  Embrace hierarchy

Assembling a Team

Thinking about Geography

II. Research, Editing and Professionalism  Research-driven engagement  Publishable prose  Short online essays as building blocks to larger peer- reviewed journal submissions  Editing and sub-editing  Slow is OK

Professionalization  Twitter  Head shots  Online bios  Conference activity  Doing it to reach the group aspiration and standards; actually doing it for yourself

Digital Mentoring  Young professors at undergraduate institutions = pair up with grad students or post-grads who need feedback, modeling, and guidance  “Accidental intergenerational” work  Post-M.A. “gap year” students  Hierarchy and level of achievement within the group  Opening up lateral communication channels  External readers on M.A. theses, etc.

Funding  No funding for first 1.5 years  Academy of Korean Studies recently awarded a $15,000 research grant  Still looking for models and sources

It’s Alright to Cry

III. Demonstrating Impact and Rigour  Standards for membership  Peer-reviewed publication submissions  Sub-editing  Ongoing academic work  Time horizon  Research Coordinator

Hitting Targets