Asia

During the past few years, the United States has begun three important initiatives that alter its defense commitment to South Korea (Republic of Korea [ROK]). First, Washington started to decrease…

In October 2006, Kim Jong-il’s North Korea again seized international attention. With its claimed underground nuclear test, Pyongyang upped the ante in its confrontation with the United States and the…

This spring, Han Kang became the first Korean author to win the prestigious Man Booker International Prize for her novel, "The Vegetarian." And, for the first time in the prize's…

North Korea recently experienced one of the worst natural disasters in its history, as flood waters swept through towns in the northeast part of the country. Up to 600,000 people…

Middlebury College, famous for its immersive language programs, added Korean as its 11th language in 2015. Now, after two summers, the School of Korean is helping students from a variety…

With the goal of supporting the next generation of scholars interested in Korea and Northeast Asia, the U.S.-Korea Next Gen Scholars Program brings together young professionals from various backgrounds to…

By Jenna Gibson After nearly nine months of suspicion and speculation about Chinese economic retaliation for South Korea’s decision to deploy THAAD, it seems Beijing has finally taken its gloves off. First, major Chinese streaming sites announced they would no longer add popular Korean content to their pages. Then, just a few days after Korean…

By Troy Stangarone Under Kim Jong-un North Korea has continued to commit a wide range of human rights violations including political and religious discrimination, forced abductions, rape, and murder. These and other violations of the North Korean people’s rights have been well documented by both the UN Commission of Inquiry’s (COI) report and the continuing…

By Greg Scarlatoiu Since the days of the great famine, for more than two decades, 30,000 North Koreans escaped and resettled in South Korea. Others have resettled in other countries, including 211 in the United States by the end of 2016. They have been the heroes of the movement. Their testimony has informed investigators and…

By Greg Scarlatoiu The crimes against humanity and other shocking human rights violations committed by North Korea’s Kim regime have received more attention after the February 2014 report of the UN Commission of Inquiry on human rights in the DPRK. In the 21st century, North Korea continues to be the only country on the face…