I am glad to welcome a new advisor, Prof. Ruediger Frank, to Choson Exchange. Ruediger brings with him a wealth of experience teaching economics in North Korea and will advise us on designing our training materials for relevancy and effectiveness. It is a double-blessing since Ruediger is not only experienced in this area, but served as an inspiration to this project. I still remember my first semester as an undergraduate at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School. Ruediger was giving a lecture about changes in the North Korean economy as well as his interactions with North Koreans he had trained in Pyongyang. "Experts" on North Korea who impresses me most are the ones who not only talk about what they know (or think they know), but are willing to concede what they do not know and couch their analysis in these terms. Professor Frank was such a person. I have attached his bio below. Do check out his webpage too.
Professor of East Asian Economy and Society at the East Asian Institute of the University of Vienna, Austria. M.A. in Korean Studies, Economics and International Relations, PhD in Economics. Teaching and research on East Asia's Economy and Politics with a focus on North and South Korea. Previous positions include Mercator-Universität Duisburg; Humboldt-Universität Berlin; Columbia-University New York; Korea University Seoul. Adjunct Professor at the Graduate School of International Studies, Korea University Seoul and at the University of North Korean Studies (Kyungnam University); Research Affiliate of the Modern East Asia Research Centre of Leiden University. Since July 2007 Director of the Vienna School of Governance. Co-editor ofKorea: Politics, Economy and Society (yearly) and of the European Journal of East Asian Studies.