The Documentary Podcast Folgen

Over 800 ethnically-Korean refugees fled Ukraine for Koryo Village in South Korea’s Gwangju province following Russia’s invasion. Many Koryoin are women and children who escaped Ukraine when male family members were drafted. Some have secured legal status and jobs, while others await document processing. They are descendants of Koreans who fled to the Soviet Union during the Japanese occupation of Korea. Journalist So Jeong Lee visits the village, observing new arrivals and a school where children learn Korean. But recent elections have led to new government policies which will impact the Koryoin.

Fighters from dissident armed groups in Colombia are using TikTok to glorify their lives as guerrillas and recruit youngsters. These armed groups did not like the terms of a peace treaty negotiated between the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the government in 2016, and they kept fighting against the Colombian government. Videos glorifying life inside the guerrilla: money, cars, guns, women, community and purpose, have struck a chord with teens, particularly in rural areas like the Cauca region in west Colombia. So how popular are these TikToks and what does it mean for Colombia?

Is Russia Europe’s last empire? Is its invasion of Ukraine a “colonial war”? Is “decolonising” the country the only way of ensuring it stops being a threat to its neighbours and world peace?Since last year, “decolonising Russia” has become a buzz-phrase in Ukraine and other former members of the soviet union, among many Western strategists and politicians, Russian studies experts – and Russia’s own liberal opposition and ethnic minorities.And that’s triggered a vigorous debate about whether the term “decolonisation” is really relevant to Russia – and what it means. Is it about challenging the “imperial mindset” of its rulers – and perhaps of every ordinary Russian? Or perhaps it means dismembering the country itself?In “Assignment: Decolonising Russia” Tim Whewell dissects a new and vital controversy with the help of historians, policy makers and activists in the former Soviet Union, the West and the Global South.