Foreign Relations

Seoul has gradually adopted a more outspoken position regarding the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and framed it in increasingly expansive terms—as a regional and global…

The development of the concept of the Indo-Pacific strategy, since its adoption by the United States in 2017, has primarily been driven by the emergence of China as an object…

What Happened: Anti-China sentiments are increasing over allegations that Korean athletes at the Winter Olympics are being treated unfairly to advantage Chinese competitors. In response to widespread discussions on these incidents, candidates in the upcoming presidential election made public comments on these allegations. South Koreans were further infuriated with the display of traditional Korean attire…

A Chinese woman dressed in traditional Korean clothing (hanbok) at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony ignited another wave of popular backlash towards China in Korea. South Korean viewers accused China of cultural appropriation, while China claimed it was representing the ethnic Korean minority. Coming on the heels of similar incidents in which China…

What Happened: On February 1, Tokyo moved forward with the recommendation that a gold and silver mine on Sado Island that had used forced labor during WWII receive UNESCO heritage status. Seoul described Tokyo’s move as an attempt “to cause conflict with member states and politicize UNESCO.” In 2015, the coal mine on Hashima Island…

As 2021 began, the world was still in the depths of the pandemic and vaccines to protect against COVID-19 were only beginning to become available to the public in a small number of countries. As 2022 begins, the pandemic continues to impact lives and economies around the world but there are signs of recovery. Among…