Strong critique of Lee Jae Myung's pursuit of nuclear submarines from a progressive also interested in improving Korea's defense. english.hani.co.kr/arti/english...

Its fairly shocking how the rhetoric out of Trump 2.0 towards South Korea has been so different from Trump 1.0. I keep wondering if this isn't just some bait-and-switch operation. When does Trump come back and demand $5 billion for US troops in Korea? koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/2025-11...

Proof that a certain kind of talent in or knowledge about one field doesn't make you knowledgeable about politics nor renders you unsusceptible to propaganda and misinformation. koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/2025-11...

New banner near campus. After the second Lee Jae Myung-Trump meeting I thought they might give up, but then again I suppose the Yoon Again folks have no other play.

If you think tipping isn’t a thing in Korea you’ve been to the wrong restaurants

American responses to the golden crown gift getting some attention in the Korean media. KBS translated the entire Daily Show segment. youtu.be/tPIcpHn_K9A?...

Looking back years from now we may find that yesterday’s meeting between Trump and Lee Jae Myung was a major milestone in South Korea developing nuclear weapons. Korea seems closer than ever to closing the nuclear fuel cycle and securing enrichment capability. www.chosun.com/english/nati...

Many people understand the game South Korea is playing but giving Trump a gold crown a week or so after massive No Kings protests in US is a really bad look. edition.cnn.com/2025/10/29/w...

Nothing new here, but one thing that strikes me about Trump lately is that he talks as if he isn’t in charge. How can you “oppose” what your administration is doing? You’re the boss. He takes 0 responsibility. www.koreatimes.co.kr/world/202510...

Big game today~ M-I-Z!

Most wouldn't guess it, but the University of Missouri has long, deep, and lasting ties to Korea. As a Mizzou grad, I'm happy to be a party of that legacy. www.koreaherald.com/article/1059...

For the first time a poll has found that a majority of South Koreans say unification with North Korea is not necessary. This is the continuation of a trend, especially among young people, as South Koreans fear the economic costs of unification. koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/2025-10...

You don’t even have to insinuate Republicans are Nazis anymore. They proudly label themselves as such. www.politico.com/news/2025/10...

I'm sure they were already operating in the country, but why come out and say your are violating international law and norms on sovereignty? Why put your agents in danger? www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...

Finally feels like a real Korean autumn. For the last several weeks Seoul had inexplicably tuned into Seattle with gloomy clouds and constant rain.

I'm not sure why anybody should take the Unification Ministry seriously if Korean politicians won't. Its absurd that the Yoon administration dissolved bodies for inter-Korean dialogue. Its absurd that the Lee administration is dissolving bodies for human rights. www.chosun.com/english/nati...

Democratic Party introduces a bill to restrict protests that incite discrimination and use hate speech. If the Korean far right is as dangerous as they say, they should think long and hard about how this law will be used when the right returns to power. www.koreatimes.co.kr/foreignaffai...

Argentinian voters cannot vote out the guy who destroyed their economy or the bailout to save the economy will disappear. Honestly I’m surprised Trump can so consistently find new lows for US foreign policy. www.nytimes.com/live/2025/10...

The Democratic Party is floating the idea of forcefully dissolving the People Power Party as unconstitutional due to its alleged role in martial law. But that won't kill the movement behind the PPP and only opens the DP up to more criticism of itself by tyrannical. www.chosun.com/english/nati...

My latest article is finally published: "Paving the Way for the Marlboro Man: Bilateral U.S.-South Korea Negotiations on Liberalizing the South Korean Cigarette Market, 1985–1988." 1/ brill.com/view/journal...

A shelter for 1,000 people in a city of 10 million. Is this really about defense or a very expensive attempt to hype North Korea as a threat? koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/2025-10...

Descendants of Japanese commanders during the Imjin War offer apologies for Japan's brutal invasion of Korea. You know there is deep animosity between two countries when an apology for a war over 400 years ago makes the news.

North Korea has a law to try and keep English loan words from being used. Meanwhile, South Korea is leading a cultural explosion that is now forcing Korean loan words into the English language. english.hani.co.kr/arti/english...

isanet-org.zoom.us/webinar/regi... On Nov. 3, I'll be moderating an APEC 2025 retrospective webinar, a partnership of ISA and the Korea International Studies Association. Experts joining: Michelle Lee (WaPo), Peter Ward (Sejong Inst.), and Moamen Gouda (HUFS). Register at link, if interested.

It was great talking with Noah Sneider as he prepared this awesome look at competing views of history in South Korea. www.economist.com/1843/2025/10...

These protests are just as much about actual anti-Chinese sentiment as they are getting the Lee Jae Myung administration to crack down on them to fuel their claims that Lee is authoritarian and China’s man in South Korea. Sounds like Lee is going to oblige them www.koreatimes.co.kr/foreignaffai...

Quite the column. Because the American security commitment is weakening we need to deregulate the economy and help the chaebol just like Park Chung Hee. One step away from because the American commitment is weakening we need an authoritarian like Park Chung Hee. 1/ www.chosun.com/opinion/colu...

“Instead of the stars and stripes, he pinned a gold medallion in the shape of President Trump’s profile” Koreanists watching the news coming out of America as it all sounds way to familiar… www.nytimes.com/2025/04/22/s...

Jon Stewart's Post-Kimmel Primer on Free Speech in the Glorious Trump Era | The Daily Show www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GXN...

Just really sad to see what Trump is doing to America. Business decisions about cancel culture are one thing. Having the FCC policing political speech is another. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/17/b...

Anger at the US for the ICE raid on a Korean factory continues to boil. First-term lawmakers from the ruling Democratic Party demand an official apology from the US and that Trump respect the KORUS FTA and end the tariffs on Korea. Pretty strong words koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/2025-09...

Reports from Koreans detained by ICE are shocking Korea making this response from the Lee administration necessary. Bruised wrists from handcuffs and zip ties. Force tuberculosis shots. Slow response to medical emergency by facility staff. 1/ m.yonhapnewstv.co.kr/news/MYH2025...

Good background info if you’re curious about the connections between the American and Korean far-right. Importantly, Annie Chan is the somewhat silent or at least lesser known funder of much of the activity of KCPAC and other Korean far-right activities in the US english.hani.co.kr/arti/english...

This is quickly mushrooming into a real international incident www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/0...

One of the first public signs the Korean govt is coming to grips with the new reality in the US. Fon Min Cho Hyun: “I could feel this is no longer the US which had really cooperated well with allies and friendly nations in the past.” 1/ www.joongang.co.kr/article/2536...

Nobody knows why the assassin did it, but it no longer matters. Only half of America will believe what the investigators find now because the shooting has political meaning well beyond what actually happened. MAGA needs this as their excuse to round up opponents. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/15/u...

Young Koreans are taught like most kids not to talk to strangers or accept gifts like candy, but the older Korean generation still finds it perfectly acceptable to try and talk to kids and give them things. It’s huge generation norm gap. 1/ koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/2025-09...

Jeon Han-gil, one of the most visible far-right figures in Korea who actively protested against Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment and arrest, at an event in the US on Saturday he said he bought a bulletproof vest and feared for his life after Charlie Kirk's assassination 1/ www.chosun.com/english/nati...

Facebook is hard to look at right now. It’s sad to see people I went to high school with supporting a guy who actively hated on other people I went to high school with. Was there hate in their hearts all along?

Wasn’t Charlie Kirk’s shtick partly about freedom of speech? Glad the State Department clears things up for us: he meant freedom of speech for white people thehill.com/homenews/adm...

Disagree with this characterization of Trump's comments during press availability. Korean media didn't even mention it. Even Chosun Ilbo framed summit as success. Instead, this is evidence that foreign and immigration policy is running on two different tracks.

Good column on MAGA's movement in Korea. And I think its exactly right to point out they may be more successful here than in Europe because of the Korean right's often slavish devotion to the US. english.hani.co.kr/arti/english...

Lee Jae Myung continues his efforts to make symbolic gestures to the conservative establishment in Korea. This time by appointing the son of Roh Tae Woo, the first president of Korea after democratization in 1987 who was dictator Chun Doo Hwan's right-hand man. www.koreaherald.com/article/1057...

As Lee Jae-myung nears 100 days in office, here's how he stacks up against previous presidents. 63% approval. Yoon at a similar period was at just 28%. Only region where is underwater is Daegu (36%) , and he is above water in every age cohort.

The active exporting of MAGA is beyond disturbing. Also disturbing is how many Koreans embrace a white-supremacist, ultranationalist movement which would ultimately end of the US-South Korea alliance they supposedly cherish. english.hani.co.kr/arti/english...

Korean progressives and independents disappointed in US raid on plant in Georgia while conservatives are mostly understanding. Not surprising. Anti-Americanism is a leftist tradition in Korea that has been tampered since the mid-2000s. However... 1/ www.koreaherald.com/article/1057...

Right conclusion, wrong frame. It shouldn’t take a new Cold War for Americans to value science and research. It makes us healither, fuels economic growth, and satisfies an innate curiosity which leads to new discoveries. Why is everything about beating China? www.nytimes.com/2025/09/08/o...

Despite Trump’s claim, this has very much harmed relations. Many Koreans are angry they are being bullied to invest only for the US to imprison their workers. Companies are rethinking investments. Korean govt rethinking commitments and whether US is trustworthy www.koreatimes.co.kr/foreignaffai...

Much of my research concerns US human rights diplomacy towards S. Korea during the 1970s and 80s while Korea was under military rule. It’s wild to see the script flipped with Korea concerned about its citizens and noting human rights violations in the US koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/2025-09...

On the one hand I always thought that people evaluating Bridge Colby’s preferred strategy talk was grossly overestimating the power he would have in the administration. But I’m still shocked the Trump admin will move this far away from the new cold war rhetoric. www.politico.com/news/2025/09...