IA a quick question about historical investigation

[hanykoo12]

I have decided to do my investigation on North Korea, particularly about Kim Ill Sung, in conjunction with my revision on communism in crisis. Do you think this topic is over-used and cliched? Or do you guys think I'm good to go?

I go to a small school and my history class is even smaller, so I just wanted to know what other students thought about this.

Thank you

[ak18]

I think it's a relatively good topic to research on. It's definitely not cliched.

[alefal]

Hey there!

The North Korean Kim dynasty is very interesting indeed, and, as far as I know, Kim Il Sung is mostly discussed with regards to the Korean War and the creation of the two Koreas. We didn't study Communism in Crisis at my school, but I'd expect most people to discuss the fall of the Berlin Wall and Gorbachev's policies of Glasnost and perestroika rather than Kim Il Sung. I read some EEs before I started with mine, and not one of them did mention Kim Il Sung. That's not necessarily saying that no-one writes about him, but at the very least it indicates that it is far from being one of the more popular topics. The only EE I know which mentions Kim Il Sung is actually my own (though, I did not discuss Communism in Crisis!). Therefore, I don't find your topic to be either overused or a cliché.

However, keep in mind that IBO also judges after originality, and analysing a topic that has been analysed a thousand times previously by historians would not lead to a good EE. Therefore, it might be helpful to know exactly what your research question is (if you have one at this stage, that is).

Good luck!

EDIT: If you need any first-hand sources, you should check out Cold War International History Project. They have a digital archive filled with telegrams, memorandums, speeches and whatnot. I know for a fact that they have a lot on North Korea too, so it should be worth a check!

Edited June 27, 2013 by alefal