Making Peace with Nature

“How can a space frequently described as the most dangerous place on earth, filled with fences and land mines, contested among military nuclear powers and still formally at war, become a site of more-than-human flourishing? Eleana J. Kim’s interrogation of the Korean DMZ is both shocking and vital—a must-read for those rethinking multispecies ecologies and governance. What, she ultimately asks, would a fully demilitarized environment even look like? Can one even imagine it?” - Joseph Masco, author of The Future of Fallout, and Other Episodes in Radioactive World-Making

“Politically astute and intellectually compelling, this provocative ethnography asks new questions about the interrelationship between human and nonhuman actors while offering fresh understandings and possibilities for political action. In the best tradition of critical thought, it takes a topic that is of passing familiarity to most readers and upends it. Making Peace with Nature will have an immediate impact across cultural anthropology, East Asian studies, environmental studies, political science, and policy studies.” - Christopher T. Nelson, author of Dancing with the Dead: Memory, Performance, and Everyday Life in Postwar Okinawa

"Making Peace with Nature is to be commended for its thoughtful attention to the competing priorities and placemaking of the DMZ region by both human and more-than-human actors. In decentring the human, Kim makes a critical intervention in discourses of peace that instrumentalise the DMZ for political or economic gain. Making Peace with Nature makes a valuable contribution across disciplines and may be of particular interest to scholars and students in Korean studies, Asian studies, cultural anthropology, political science, and the environmental humanities." - Ivanna Sang Een Yi, Asian Studies Review

"Kim offers an opportunity to think of the ecological ramifications of the closed borders of the last few years. One particularly powerful chapter is her study of undetonated mines along the DMZ from the Korean War." - Adrian De Leon, Public Books

"Kim’s astute theoretical work … is a refreshing approach to the puzzle of nonhuman agency."

"Eleana Kim’s book stands as a thought-provoking contribution to our understanding of the Korean DMZ. ... She presents a compelling case for the future sustainability of the Korean DMZ area and leaves an indelible mark on the discourse surrounding this historic landmark."

“Making Peace with Nature is an exceptional book that deserves wide readership.” - Lisa M. Brady, Journal of Anthropological Research

"Making Peace with Nature is a highly innovative and exciting scholarly contribution to the growing body of research on environmental humanities." - Su-kyoung Hwang, Journal of Military History

"I love this book—it aligns with my research into the environmental history of Korea’s DMZ, and it pushes me to think about my assumptions about the place and how it has been represented in both popular and academic writing. Kim’s approach, founded in ethnography, requires readers to rethink their views on the DMZ, its history, and its nature. It certainly caused me to reconsider how I characterize the DMZ and its reputation as an “accidental nature preserve!” Very highly recommended for all interested in the region, in conservation, and in war and environment issues generally."
  - Lisa M. Brady, Edge Effects

"Making Peace with Nature offers an excellent anthropological analysis of the interaction between militarization, local residents, and wildlife in the DMZ. . . . Kim’s book provides deep insights beyond the DMZ region. It focuses on the academic activities related to the DMZ’s nature and demonstrates that nature helps certain groups of people build connections, overcoming the political division of the peninsula." - Horus Tan, H-Environment, H-Net Reviews

“Eleana J. Kim poi­gnantly de­tails the last­ing im­pact of the Demilitarized Zone. . . . At a time of mul­ti­ple eco­log­i­cal cri­ses cou­pled with geo­po­lit­i­cal con­flicts, Making Peace with Nature warns us that we ig­nore our re­la­tional ontologies and sym­bi­otic re­la­tion­ship with natureculture at our own per­il.” - Suzy Kim, Journal of Asian Studies

"Provides a thoughtful and detailed account of the military-environment relationship." - David Havlick, Nature and Culture

“A book that is both a pleasure to read and offers insights . . . Kim’s exploration of biological peace in Korea is well worth a read.”