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Ninth Annual Korean Studies Writing Prize Awarded
APARC Announces Diversity Grant to Support Underrepresented Minority Students Interested in Contemporary Asia
Koret Conference Convenes Virtually to Discuss Human Rights Crisis in North Korea
FSI Hosts APARC Panel on COVID-19 Impacts in Asia
Ninth Annual Writing Prize in Korean Studies
Gi-Wook Shin Offers Analysis of 2020 Korean National Election
APARC Announces New Fellowship and Internship Opportunities for Stanford Students
Amid the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, students are facing summer internship cancelations and hiring freezes. They are left wondering about the long-term implications of the current crisis for their academic careers and their access to future jobs and valuable work experience.
Korean Democracy Is Sinking Under the Guise of the Rule of Law
There is a Korean expression that means “to become soaked by a drizzle without noticing.” This metaphor is a timely warning against the gradual decline of democratic norms. Though some of the changes underlying this global phenomenon are subtle, they are producing creeping, piecemeal erosions of democracy and pluralism. The signs of democratic backsliding are now emerging everywhere in South Korean society, and a failure to recognize and robustly counter their effects may create future costs that prove unbearable.
The Role of Human Rights in Policy Toward North Korea
Despite the coronavirus pandemic, North Korea continues to carry out weapons testing and to declare that not a single COVID-19 patient has emerged in the country. Analysts and medical experts, however, are highly skeptical of Pyongyang’s claims. A coronavirus outbreak would overwhelm the North’s weak healthcare system and would be devastating to its people, who suffer from relatively high levels of malnutrition and have no access to information about the pandemic.
U.S. Tech Companies Can Do More During the COVID-19 Outbreak
As a resident of Silicon Valley heading into our second week under the shelter in place order, what surprises me is the sudden low profile of the tech companies that dominate this area. Until just a month ago it seemed like these companies were taking over the world - churning out new products, connecting people online, providing information and news, and in turn driving equity and real estate prices to unprecedented new highs. But as the COVID-19 cases explode in the US, we rarely hear about them.
A Perfect Storm: Victor Cha Talks COVID-19 Threat to North Korea, Nuclear Deadlock
North Korea continues to declare that it has not had a single case of COVID-19, but health experts find it inconceivable that the infectious disease would not be in the country given its proximity to China and South Korea, two early victims of the pandemic. A coronavirus outbreak in the North could be devastating, says Asian affairs and security expert Victor Cha, as it would act on an extremely vulnerable population with already-compromised immune systems and outdated health care infrastructure.
Shining Light on the Threats to Democracy and Human Rights in Asia
Around the world, democracy is in retreat. In its Freedom in the World 2019 report, the independent watchdog organization Freedom House records the 13th consecutive year of global declines in political rights and civil liberties.
Japan and South Korea on the Brink: International Affairs and Trade Relations Experts Elucidate the Conflict between the Two U.S. Allies
The recent escalation of diplomatic and trade disputes between South Korea and Japan has alarmed numerous observers and is rather confusing to many around the world to whom the two countries seem to have much to lose and little to gain by the deterioration of the bilateral relationship. What underlying forces are driving the conflict? Are these new forces, or the same historical forces coming to a head? How much are factors from the international environment, such as the behavior of the United States, influencing the current escalation?
On Korean Nationalism and Its Role in the Escalating Japan-South Korea Friction
Tension and discord in Japan-South Korea relations are nothing new, but the unfortunate, intensifying conflict between the two countries — a manifestation of right-wing Japanese nationalism and left-wing South Korean nationalism — seems headed toward a collision course. To understand the escalating friction between Tokyo and Seoul one must recognize the unique characteristics of Korean nationalism, and particularly its historical origins, development, and political role in shaping Korean attitudes toward Japan.
"Trilateral Framework at Risk" – APARC Director on South Korea's Decision to End Its Military Agreement with Japan
"The Japan-South Korea relationship may not have hit rock bottom, but it could further deteriorate in the coming months," Gi-Wook Shin tells The Korea Times.
Korea’s Migrants: Towards Diversity and Transnationalism
South Korea (hereafter Korea) is widely regarded as among the world’s most ethnically and linguistically homogeneous countries. In 1990, Korea counted only 49,000 foreigners amongst its population. But over the last two decades, the number of migrants in the country has grown dramatically, reaching 2.3 million (or 4.5% of the population) in 2018. Just as important is the growing diversity of migrants coming to Korea.
Two Experts to Join the Korea Program as Koret Fellows in Korean Studies
The Korea Program at the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center is pleased to welcome Robert R. King and Victor Cha as Koret fellows in Korean studies during the 2019-20 academic year.
8th Annual Korean Studies Writing Prize Awarded
Taehwa Hong (BA '21 International Relations) has been awarded the 8th annual Korea Program Prize for Writing in Korean Studies for his paper, "North Korea in the Soviet-Albanian Dispute." Yong Suk Lee, deputy director of the Korea Program at Shorenstein APARC, says, "Hong's paper is an outstanding piece of research and writing." "The paper delves into a rather novel topic - how North Korea diplomatically responded to the Albanian Crisis between two socialist powers, the Soviet Union and China." The details of the announcement may be viewed
Stanford Asia-Pacific Innovation Conference Examines New Pathways for Aging Societies
The world is “graying” at an unprecedented rate. According to the UN’s World Population Prospects 2019, the number of persons over the age of 65 is growing the fastest and expected to more than double by 2050, then triple in another 50 years’ time.
On the Centennial of the March First Independence Movement of Korea
The year 2019 is the centennial of several anti-colonialist movements that emerged in Asia, including the March First Movement of Korea. On that day a century ago, protesters shouting “Mansei!” (“Long live Korean independence!”) gathered in Seoul and formed what would become the first nationwide political protest in Korea under Japanese colonial rule. Although the movement failed to achieve national sovereignty, it left important legacies for Korea and other parts of Asia under foreign dominance.
Audio: Pacific Settlement of Disputes in East Asia: Inter-State Arbitration and Judicial Diplomacy
On May 10, 2019, Eun-Young Park presented his lecture "Pacific Settlement of Disputes in East Asia: Inter-State Arbitration and Judicial Diplomacy." Audio and a transcript of that event is now available.
Listen to the Seminar:
How to Keep the Ball Rolling on North Korean Negotiations
The current stalemate should not be taken as a restless waiting game or a prelude to dejected failure. The situation is frustrating and nerve-wracking to some, but the good news is that neither side is willing to close the window of talks and jump off the lurching — but still running — train of diplomacy.
At Carleton College, APARC Scholars Lay Out North Korea's Economic Quandary
Scholar Andray Abrahamian organized many projects to promote economic change in North Korea over the past decade, including that country’s first two ultimate frisbee tournaments. So when he spoke at Carleton College in Northfield last week, the first thing Abrahamian did was acknowledge the school’s prominence in the sport. [Its intercollegiate team is a perennial power and most of the school’s students play in intramural leagues.]
8th Annual Writing Prize in Korean Studies
The Korea Program Prize for Writing in Korean Studies recognizes and rewards outstanding examples of writing in an essay, term paper, or thesis produced during the current academic year in any discipline within the area of Korean studies, broadly defined. This competition is open to both undergraduate and graduate students. The prize will be awarded at a special ceremony in the fall, and the first place winner will receive a certificate and $1,000; Honorable mention winner(s) will receive a certificate.
Academic Prize Awarded to Korea Program Deputy Director
We are happy to share that FSI’s SK Center Fellow and APARC's Korea Program Deputy Director Yong Suk Lee is the recipient of the 2018 Urban Land Institute United Kingdom Academic Prize for his paper “Entrepreneurship, small business and economic growth in cities.”