2007 Posts located
It has become conventional wisdom in recent years to characterize the PRC as an “assertive” power. Since 2008, many commentators and analysts insist that China has become forceful and activist…
When scholars and commentators discuss Japan’s response to nuclear-armed North Korea, many jump to the conclusion that Japan will start thinking about arming itself with nuclear weapons while others contend…
Change over continuity is now the tenor of the times on the Korean peninsula and beyond. For one thing, the year 2012—dubbed “Super Year”—has begun with election-year politics in many…
Read the Chinese Internet and mainstream publications, and you will find virulent charges against South Korean attitudes toward China.1 Peruse even a small sample of a vast outpouring of Japanese…
With worldwide familiarity of Korean pop culture increasing through the viral exposure of Korean musician Psy’s hit record “Gangnam Style”, this episode Korean Kontext speaks to Mark James Russell, author…
In this episode we spoke to B.R. Myers, author of “The Cleanest Race” and regular contributor to the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and The Atlantic. Having been raised…
In this interview Korea Kontext speaks with Dr. Jennifer Lind, assistant professor at the Department of Government, Dartmouth College. Well known for her work on North Korea and N.E. Asia…
In this episode we spoke to comedian and actor Steven Byrne, of the brand new TBS series “Sullivan and Sons”. Known as one of the hardest working and energetic comics in…
By Sarah K. Yun North Korea’s 2012 New Year Editorial had a few highlights with ample unsharpened messages. The overall objective was to emphasize strength and unity under the new Kim Jung-un leadership. In doing so, however, the editorial portrayed an undertone of crouching inwards with a few sprinkles of the typical rhetoric of criticism…
By Troy Stangarone While 2011 will ultimately be remembered for the passing of Kim Jong-il, it was also a year of significant change and new milestones for both South Korea and the U.S.-Korea alliance. In many ways, 2011 really began in the waning days of 2010 for South Korea. On November 23 last year, North…
By Chad 0'Carroll Hundreds of thousands of mourning North Koreans lined the bitterly cold streets of Pyongyang today to say goodbye to their leader, Kim Jong-il. How real the tears were is impossible to say, but the images were nonetheless extremely reminiscent of what was seen at Kim Il Sung’s funeral – aside from the…
By Michael J. Mazarr The most significant thing about the dramatic change in North Korea is how little has changed. Kim Jong-il has died, inaugurating a period of complex maneuvering and potential instability within the North’s ruling clique. The succession to his son Kim Jong-un will be perilous: The regime’s legitimacy is grounded in personalities,…