Episodes

  • The 1946 Autumn Uprising: North Korea's Grassroots Revolt

    The 1946 Autumn Uprising: North Korea's Grassroots Revolt
    Jul 4 2026
    In October 1946, less than a year after Soviet troops established Kim Il-sung's regime in Pyongyang, a wave of spontaneous uprisings swept across North Korea's southern provinces. Farmers, workers, and even local officials rose up against grain collection quotas, forced labor, and the new Soviet-backed order. The revolt in Taejon (now part of South Hamgyong) saw crowds of thousands march on county offices, only to be met with brutal suppression by the newly-formed Korean People's Army and Soviet tanks. Lucas and Luna explore the little-known Autumn Harvest Uprising: its roots in wartime destruction and Japanese colonial legacy, the role of Christian networks and rightist guerrillas, and how Kim Il-sung responded by purging rival communist factions and tightening his grip. They discuss key figures like Kim Tu-bong and Choe Yong-gon, the conflicting narratives between North and South Korean historiography, and how this forgotten revolt foreshadowed the Korean War. A rare look at ordinary North Koreans pushing back against their new rulers—and the cost of their defiance. #AutumnHarvestUprising #KimIlSung #NorthKorea #1946 #SovietOccupation #KoreanPeople #KimTuBong #ChoeYongGon #GrainCollection #KoreanWar #History #FexingoHistory #EastAsia #ColdWar #PeasantRevolt #Pyongyang #Communism #Stalinism Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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    7 mins
  • Kim Jong-un's Purge of Jang Song-thaek: Inside the 2013 Execution

    Kim Jong-un's Purge of Jang Song-thaek: Inside the 2013 Execution
    Jul 4 2026
    In December 2013, Kim Jong-un ordered the execution of his own uncle, Jang Song-thaek, the second most powerful man in North Korea. The charge: treason, corruption, and forming a 'reactionary faction.' This episode unpacks the stunning purge — the televised trial, the public humiliation, the immediate execution by anti-aircraft gun, and what it reveals about Kim Jong-un's consolidation of power. We explore Jang's rise as a reformist figure in the 2000s, his role in economic experiments like the Rajin-Sonbong special economic zone, and his eventual fall as Kim Jong-un eliminated rivals and reshaped the Workers' Party of Korea. Drawing on testimonies from defectors and leaked North Korean documents, we examine the broader context: the shifting power dynamics between the Kim family, the party, and the military. What does Jang's fate tell us about leadership in North Korea today? And how does it connect to the earlier purges of the Soviet, Yan'an, and Domestic factions under Kim Il-sung? This is a story of ambition, loyalty, and the absolute nature of North Korean rule. #KimJongun #JangSongthaek #NorthKorea #Pyongyang #WorkersPartyKorea #Purge #Wonsan #RajinSonbong #AntiAircraftGun #2013 #KumsusanPalace #KimIlSung #KimJongIl #Juche #Songbun #History #FexingoHistory #EastAsia Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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    6 mins
  • The 1998 Taepodong-1 Launch: North Korea's First Ballistic Missile Test

    The 1998 Taepodong-1 Launch: North Korea's First Ballistic Missile Test
    Jul 3 2026
    In August 1998, North Korea shocked the world by launching a ballistic missile over Japan — the Taepodong-1. At the time, the country was reeling from famine, its economy in ruins, its diplomatic isolation near-total. How did Pyongyang pull it off? This episode traces the secretive missile program from its Soviet-era roots, through the acquisition of Scud technology from Egypt, to the illicit network of suppliers that kept it alive during the Arduous March. We explore the role of the Maddi factory, the Nodong medium-range missile, and the personal involvement of Kim Jong-il, who staked his legitimacy on the program. The launch itself — dubbed a 'satellite' attempt by the North — triggered a crisis in Tokyo and Washington, reshaped security policy in East Asia, and set the stage for the nuclear tests to come. Along the way, we discuss the Yongbyon nuclear complex, the A.Q. Khan network, and the enduring question: what did Kim Jong-il really want? #Taepodong1 #NorthKorea #BallisticMissiles #KimJongIl #ArduousMarch #Nodong #Scud #Yongbyon #EastAsiaSecurity #1998 #MissileLaunch #Japan #A.Q.Khan #MaddiFactory #Famine #NuclearProgram #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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    10 mins
  • Ryugyong Hotel: North Korea's Doomed Skyscraper

    Ryugyong Hotel: North Korea's Doomed Skyscraper
    Jul 3 2026
    Rising 1,080 feet above Pyongyang, the Ryugyong Hotel was meant to be North Korea's triumph — a futuristic pyramid with 3,000 rooms and five rotating restaurants. Construction began in 1987 with Soviet backing, but when the USSR collapsed, the project froze for 16 years, earning the nickname 'Hotel of Doom.' This episode follows its strange story: the race with a Seoul hotel to claim the world's tallest, the 46 billion won already spent, the Egyptian-led revival in 2008, the solar panels on its unfinished roof, and the lingering mystery of whether anyone has ever stayed inside. We also explore what the building reveals about Kim Il-sung's late-era ambitions and North Korea's relationship with foreign capital. Through eyewitness accounts, diplomatic cables, and satellite imagery, Lucas and Luna piece together the true story of a building that was never meant to open — and may never fully close. #RyugyongHotel #NorthKorea #Pyongyang #KimIlSung #SovietUnion #Skyscraper #HotelOfDoom #Egypt #Orascom #NaguibSawiris #Juche #Architecture #ColdWar #1990s #Propaganda #History #FexingoHistory #EastAsia Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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    8 mins
  • The 1994 Agreed Framework: North Korea's Nuclear Deal Collapse

    The 1994 Agreed Framework: North Korea's Nuclear Deal Collapse
    Jul 2 2026
    In this episode, Lucas and Luna delve into the 1994 Agreed Framework between North Korea and the United States, a landmark deal that froze Pyongyang's plutonium program in exchange for heavy fuel oil and two light-water reactors. They explore the fraught negotiations leading up to the framework, the role of the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization (KEDO), and the eventual collapse under the George W. Bush administration when North Korea admitted to a secret uranium enrichment program. The conversation touches on key figures like Kang Sok-ju and Robert Gallucci, the impact of 'axis of evil' rhetoric, and the lasting consequences for nonproliferation efforts. Listeners will gain a concrete understanding of why this diplomatic breakthrough failed and how it set the stage for North Korea's nuclear weapons program today. #NorthKorea #AgreedFramework #NuclearNonproliferation #KEDO #KangSokJu #RobertGallucci #Plutonium #UraniumEnrichment #AxisOfEvil #GeorgeWBush #BillClinton #Pyongyang #Yongbyon #LightWaterReactor #HeavyFuelOil #1994 #ColdWar #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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    6 mins
  • The Kumsusan Palace: Inside North Korea's Mausoleum of the Immortals

    The Kumsusan Palace: Inside North Korea's Mausoleum of the Immortals
    Jul 2 2026
    In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, the massive mausoleum in Pyongyang where the embalmed bodies of Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il lie in state. They trace the building's journey from a Soviet-style government office to a shrine of the Kim cult, describing the eerie rituals of reverence—bowing at statues, walking through moving walkways, and the strict dress code enforced on visitors. Lucas explains how the palace functions as a tool of political legitimacy, drawing on Juche ideology and the myth of the Kim family as eternal guardians of the nation. The conversation also touches on the wider use of mausoleums in authoritarian regimes, from Lenin's Tomb to Mao's Memorial Hall, and what the Kumsusan Palace reveals about North Korea's obsession with control over memory and death. This episode offers a rare, grounded look at a place most outsiders will never see, but which shapes the lives of millions of North Koreans. #KumsusanPalace #KimIlSung #KimJongIl #Juche #Pyongyang #Mausoleum #CultOfPersonality #NorthKorea #KimFamily #EmbalmedBodies #LeninsTomb #MaosMemorialHall #Authoritarianism #PoliticalReligion #EastAsia #KoreanHistory #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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    12 mins
  • The 1968 Blue House Raid: North Korea's Boldest Assault

    The 1968 Blue House Raid: North Korea's Boldest Assault
    Jul 1 2026
    In January 1968, a 31-man commando unit from North Korea infiltrated South Korea with a single objective: assassinate President Park Chung-hee at the Blue House, the presidential residence in Seoul. This episode tells the story of the Blue House Raid—how the commandos crossed the DMZ, evaded South Korean defenses, and came within 800 meters of their target before a civilian encounter unraveled the plot. We follow the raid from its origins under Kim Il-sung's direct orders to the brutal firefights in Seoul's streets, the escape attempts, and the fate of the captured. We also explore the raid's aftermath: the creation of South Korea's Unit 684 for a retaliatory mission that never launched, the increased militarization of the DMZ, and the mysterious fate of the commandos who survived. Along the way, we meet key figures like Kim Il-sung, Park Chung-hee, and Kim Shin-jo, the sole South Korean defector from the Blue House Raid. This is a story of audacity, failure, and the high cost of a single miscalculation. #BlueHouseRaid #KimIlSung #ParkChungHee #1968 #KoreanDMZ #KimShinJo #Unit684 #Seoul #NorthKorea #SouthKorea #ColdWar #KoreanHistory #SecretHistory #CommandoRaid #AssassinationPlot #Miscalculation #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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    6 mins
  • The August 1956 Crisis: Pyongyang's Forgotten Coup Attempt

    The August 1956 Crisis: Pyongyang's Forgotten Coup Attempt
    Jul 1 2026
    In August 1956, North Korea came within hours of a political earthquake. A faction of senior Workers' Party officials, led by Soviet Koreans and Yan'an returnees, plotted to remove Kim Il-sung from power during the August Plenum. The coup attempt failed, but its aftermath reshaped the North Korean state forever. In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the intricate web of post-war politics, the factional struggles between the Soviet, Yan'an, and Domestic factions, and the brutal purge that followed. They discuss key figures like Pak Chang-ok, Choe Chang-ik, and Yun Kong-hŭm, the secret role of the Soviet Union and China, and how Kim Il-sung turned a near-disaster into the foundation of his absolute rule. The episode also examines how this crisis led to the intensification of the cult of personality and the creation of the monolithic ideological system that defines North Korea today. #AugustPlenum #KimIl-sung #WorkersPartyOfKorea #SovietKoreans #Yan'anFaction #PakChang-ok #ChoeChang-ik #YunKong-hum #Purge #NorthKorea #KoreanHistory #ColdWar #1956 #CoupAttempt #Juche #Pyongyang #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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    7 mins