Korean Attitudes Toward the U.S. Rebalance to Asia and Korean Unification

Unification has also reemerged as a topic of discussion and has even been described by South Korean President Park Geun-hye as “a jackpot” for Korea. However, South Korean views on unification have often been mixed about the timing, cost, and support from the international community. For both of these issues, knowledge of South Korean public opinion are vital for crafting and explaining policies that affect how the United States and South Korea work together as allies. 

Join KEI for its first ever Academic Paper Series program where two reports will be presented, deliberated, and compared. Karl Friedhoff from the Asan Institute for Policy Studies will talk about his paper on South Korean views on the U.S. rebalance to Asia. Dr. Thomas Dolan and his colleagues from Columbus State University will then deliver their latest research conducted in South Korea which examined Korean views of unification and feelings toward the U.S. military presence in South Korea, as well as their observations from a subsequent visit to North Korea. This event will be a great forum to discuss views on two important issues that impact bilateral engagement and cooperation between the United States and South Korea.

Previously scheduled for Thursday | February, 13, 2014, the program was postponed due to weather conditions in the DC metro area.

Please click here to view the paper by Karl Friedhoff
Please click here to view the paper by Thomas P. Dolan, Kyle Christensen, and Kimberly Gill