B. R. Myers
| Brian Reynolds Myers | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Brian Reynolds Myers 1963 (age 54–55) New Jersey, U.S. |
| Residence | Yeongnam, South Korea |
| Other names | B.R. Myers |
| Alma mater |
Ruhr University University of Tübingen |
| Occupation | Professor |
| Organization |
Dongseo University, Busan, South Korea |
| Known for |
The Cleanest Race (2010) A Reader's Manifesto (2002) |
| Website | http://www.sthelepress.com/ |
Brian Reynolds Myers (born 1963), usually cited as B. R. Myers, is an American professor of international studies at Dongseo University in Busan, South Korea, best known for his writings on North Korean propaganda. He is a contributing editor for The Atlantic and an opinion columnist for the New York Times and Wall Street Journal. Myers is the author of Han Sǒrya and North Korean Literature (Cornell, 1994), A Reader's Manifesto (Melville House, 2002), The Cleanest Race (Melville House, 2010), and North Korea's Juche Myth (Sthele Press, 2015).
Myers was born in New Jersey to a British mother, spent his childhood in Bermuda and his high school youth in apartheid-era South Africa, and received graduate education in Germany. He earned an MA degree in Soviet studies at Ruhr University (1989) and a PhD degree in Korean studies with a focus on North Korean literature at the University of Tübingen (1992). Myers subsequently taught German in Japan and worked for the Mercedes-Benz Beijing Liaison Office in 1996.
Before his appointment at Dongseo University, Myers lectured in North Korean literature and society at the Korea University's North Korean Studies Department. He also taught globalization and North Korean literature at the Inje University Korean Studies Department.
Myers’ opinion columns for the Atlantic, New York Times, and Wall Street Journal generally focus on North Korea, which he says is not a Marxist-Leninist or a Stalinist state, but a "national-socialist country." He has also commented in The New York Times on the common view of the ROKS Cheonan sinking in South Korea with regard to its perception of North Korea. He stated that there was a lack of outrage over the incident among South Koreans due to the racialized nature of Korean nationalism; in other words, there was no major uproar over the incident in South Korea because of the concept of racial solidarity with the North Koreans that many South Koreans feel, which Myers said overruled patriotism towards South Korea in some cases. Myers stated that inter-Korean racial solidarity manifests itself by South Koreans supporting the North Korean soccer team at the World Cup and such. He contrasted the racialized nature of South Korean nationalism with the civic nature of U.S. nationalism, stating that South Korea's antipathy over attacks by North Korea was potentially dangerous to the national security of South Korea:
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