Country Report: South Korea (February 2023)

Marking the first anniversary of the Russia-Ukraine war, the regional division around the Korean Peninsula, the US-led alliances on one side and North Korea-China-Russia on the other, has […]

Introduction

What made South Korean foreign policy different in the early 2020s? The balance between conservatives and progressives was little changed; a leader from one party gave way to […]

South Korea Confronts the New Missile Age: 2020-2022

For South Korean policy toward North Korea, the 2020-2022 period proved to be a watershed. Ever since the Sunshine Policy launched in 1998, leaders in Seoul had envisioned […]

South Korea in the Crosswinds: Battling Partisan Narratives

The second half of Moon Jae-in’s presidency was marred by diplomatic deadlock, as talks between North Korea and the United States collapsed, tensions between China and the United […]

Country Report: South Korea (December 2022)

In the months of November and December, as in previous months, Pyongyang continued its missile salvo firing 25 ballistic missiles in 12 rounds, amounting to a total of […]

Country Report: South Korea (August 2022)

In July and August, the strategic dilemma of South Korea in navigating the contest between the US and China was put into sharp relief by the ratcheted-up military […]

Introduction

The four years from 2016 through 2019 were the most eventful in the post-democratization and post-Cold War period of South Korean history. Three goals had defined the entirety […]

Great Hopes, Shattered Dreams

President Park Geun-hye entered office with high hopes of making progress with the North by pursuing a more balanced, middle-of-the-road policy than her predecessors. Yet, her so-called “trustpolitik” […]

South Korea

On the one hand, the Biden visit to Seoul drew praise for Yoon Suk-yeol in his inaugural summit on the world stage. He boosted the image of Seoul […]

Country Report: South Korea (June 2022)

Country Report: South Korea (May & June 2022) Munkyoung Shin and Jung Seyoon President Yoon Suk-yeol’s first two months in office gave a glimpse of South Korea’s shift […]