Christopher Richardson

Background

About Christopher Richardson

Dr Christopher Richardson is an author and teacher from Sydney, Australia. He teaches IB Global Politics, IB Language & Literature, English and Philosophy at Santa Sabina College in Sydney. Richardson graduated with a PhD from the University of Sydney for a thesis investigating the childhood policies and practices of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea). Richardson has a BA (Hons) in English Literature and Master of International Security (with Merit) from the Centre for International Security Studies at the University of Sydney. He also has a Master of Teaching (Secondary) from the University of New England, Armidale. In July 2015, Penguin published Richardson’s debut novel 'Empire of the Waves' to wonderful reviews. Junior Books + Publishing described the novel as “beautifully written, action packed and engaging.” Since publication, Richardson has spoken frequently at schools, libraries, and literary festivals about his writing. He is also the author of six non-fiction picture books from Scholastic. Richardson’s research about North Korea has been featured in Sino-NK, The Guardian, The Washington Post, El Pais, the BBC World Service, BBC News Magazine, ABC Radio National, ABC Weekend Breakfast, 3AW, SBS Radio, The Christian Science Monitor, UPI, The Daily Telegraph (Sydney), Radio Free Asia, Voice of America Korean, the Daily Mail, Izvestia, Triple J, Observador (Lisbon) and Vice. Dr Richardson has a particular interest in the history of Christianity in northern Korea. Richardson is also researching the life of Cyril Birnie, the Australian man whose legacy of peace is the extraordinary national park in Hakone, Japan. During the Covid-19 Pandemic, he researched the impact of the Spanish Flu in Korea. Richardson has guest lectured undergraduate and postgraduate IR and Security Studies classes at the Australian National University, University of Sydney, University of New South Wales, and Bond University. In 2013 Richardson co-directed Voices in Exile: Panoptic Perspectives in Sydney and Canberra, a film festival investigating North Korean human rights and culture. In 2017, he joined the Hon. Michael Kirby to explore religious freedom in North Korea for the St. James’ Institute in Sydney.