Clint Work is a Fellow and Director of Academic Affairs at KEI

About Clint Work

Clint Work is a Fellow and Director of Academic Affairs at the Korea Economic Institute of America (KEI). In addition to his work on KEI’s publications and publication-related programs, Clint leads KEI’s University Outreach and conducts research, writing, and public engagement focused on US-Korea relations.

Before joining KEI, Clint served as a Fellow in the Henry L. Stimson Center’s 38 North Program from 2020-2022, where he focused on issues related to the US-ROK alliance transformation, led Congressional engagement about peace and security on the Korean Peninsula, and organized and moderated a military working group centered on North Korea’s evolving “checkerboard” threat. He also worked with a broad range of universities and state and local organizations throughout the country to foster public engagement on US-Korea relations. Prior to joining Stimson, Dr. Work was an assistant professor at the University of Utah’s Asia Campus in South Korea and the regular foreign policy writer for The Diplomat Magazine’s Koreas page. He holds a Doctorate in International Studies from the University of Washington and a Master’s in International Relations from the University of Chicago, and his work focuses on the Korean Peninsula, US-Korean relations, East Asia, and US foreign policy. He is currently writing on the history and evolution of the US force presence on the Korean Peninsula and the US-ROK alliance transformation in the post-Cold War era. In addition to his academic publications, he has written extensively for popular media, including the Washington Post, Foreign Policy, The Diplomat Magazine, The National Interest, 38 North, and Sino-NK. He regularly provides commentary to U.S. and foreign media outlets, such as The Economist, Time Magazine, NPR, and Arirang News.

Podcasts

Humanizing Korea: E. Tammy Kim

In 2023, KEI has set out on its “Rethinking Korea initiative,” which explores the evolution of U.S.-Korea relations, Korea’s place in the world, and rapid changes in Korean society itself.…

June 26, 2023

Clint Work, E. Tammy Kim

Implications of the War in Ukraine for the Korean Peninsula

On May 10, 2023, KEI held a special hybrid rollout event for the inaugural volume of its new flagship journal, Korea Policy. Event description below: “Like our previous publications, Korea Policy…

June 26, 2023

Randall S. Jones, Ramon Pacheco Pardo, Sue Mi Terry, Andrei Lankov, Darcie Draudt, Yeo Han-Koo

U.S.-Korea Relations at 70: A Post-Summit Evaluation

On April 28, 2023, the KEI team discussed the outcome of the Biden-Yoon summit and what it signifies for the future of the US-South Korea relationship. Event description below: “On…

June 26, 2023

Troy Stangarone, Sang Kim, Kathleen Stephens, Mark Tokola, Clint Work

Four Decades of Korea, In & Out: Rob Rapson (Part 2)

In 2023, KEI has set out on its “Rethinking Korea initiative,” which explores the evolution of U.S.-Korea relations, Korea’s place in the world, and rapid changes in Korean society itself.…

June 26, 2023

Clint Work, Robert Rapson

Publication

The South Korean Nuclear Armament Debate

KEI’S SPECIAL PROJECT ON THE SOUTH KOREAN NUCLEAR ARMAMENT DEBATE South Korea’s nuclear armament debate received renewed attention in 2023. But, this issue is one that has animated Korean politics,…

March 14, 2023

Karl Friedhoff, Terrence Matsuo, Andy Hong, Clint Work, Jennifer Ahn, Taehwa Hong

Spotlight

[Op-ed] The Impact of the Camp David Trilateral, A Perspective from the United States

This article was published on The Asan Forum on September 4, 2023. The first ever stand-alone leader-level summit at Camp David between President Biden, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida of Japan,…

Clint Work

[Op-ed] UN Sending States: The Forgotten Parties in the Korean War

This article was published on The Diplomat on August 7, 2013. On the July 27 anniversary of the Korean Armistice Agreement, there were numerous tributes to the ultimate sacrifice so…

Clint Work

Navigating South Korea's Plan for Preemption

This article was published on War on the Rocks on June 9, 2023. South Korea has invested in systems designed to preempt North Korean nuclear launch and attack missiles before they are…

Clint Work

How, Exactly, Can the US Strengthen Extended Deterrence?

This article was published on The Diplomat on November 8, 2022. During the 54th ROK-U.S. Security Consultative Meeting (SCM) on November 3, strengthening the United States’ extended deterrence commitment to…

Clint Work

Peninsula Blog

Quick Takeaways from the Washington Declaration

During the arrival ceremony for his state visit, President Yoon Suk Yeol rightly observed the ROK-U.S. alliance is not a transactional relationship but an alliance of values or, as he later remarked, an everlasting partnership. However, effusive language aside, it’s a partnership that includes tradeoffs. And such tradeoffs were evident in the Washington Declaration. While…

April 27, 2023

Clint Work

History’s Long Shadow: Contradictions in the U.S. Commitment to Korea

This piece is one of 12 contributions to KEI’s special project on South Korea’s nuclear armament debate that will run on The Peninsula blog over the next month. The project’s contributors include young, emerging, and mid-career voices, examining the debate from a historical, a domestic, and an international perspective. On Wednesday, March 15, KEI will host…

March 13, 2023

Clint Work

10 Issues to Watch for on the Korean Peninsula in 2023

A video version of the 10 Issues to Watch for on the Korean Peninsula in 2023 with the blog's authors is available on KEI's YouTube channel. The most significant event to impact the Korean Peninsula in 2022 was Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. As in much of the world, the war had the effect of furthering…

January 31, 2023

Troy Stangarone, Sang Kim, Robert King, Mark Tokola, Mai Anna Pressley, Hae Kyung Ahn

2022 in Review: An End to the Korean War?

This is the sixth piece in a series looking at how the issues identified in KEI’s annual “10 Issues to Watch for on the Korean Peninsula” series and other issues of note developed in 2022. The original “10 Issues” piece can be found here. The prospect of ending the Korean War is even more dismal now…