From April 9 to 10, 2026, Research Training Group GRK 2833 “East Asian Futures” doctoral student Eetu LAUSTELA attended the 9th Annual Conference of the Social Science Korean Studies Network in Europe, held at the University of Turku in the city of Turku, Finland. While the conference was mainly focused on the theme of “Democratic Resilience and Social Movements in South Korea”, Mr. LAUSTELA’s presentation brought North Korea, state planning and authoritarian resilience into the discussion. His presentation, titled “State Planning for the 21st Century: Adaptation and Future Visions in North Korea’s Five-Year Plans 2016–2026”, dealt with the many ways that multi-year plans by states are not just economic in nature but also complex ideological tools and social events.

Impressions from Mr. LAUSTELA’s presentation © UDE, Laustela

The conference offered Mr. LAUSTELA a great opportunity for getting to know better scholars working on Korea in Finland, his home country, as well as to meet other academics with interest in Korea from all around the globe.