[Wang Son-taek] Making the liberal international order 2.0

The World Congress of the International Political Science Association in Seoul, often dubbed the “Olympics of Politics,” could not have been more timely. With over 3,500 scholars from around 80 countries in attendance, the congress revolved around the theme “Resisting Autocratization in Polarized Societies.” This theme captured the world’s most pressing concern: the global erosion of democracy. South Korea — regarded as a democratic success story — experienced a severe political crisis from late

July 17, 2025

[Editorial] Knotty trade issue

Further opening of the Korean agricultural and livestock markets has emerged as a major issue in Korea's tariff and trade negotiations with the US. Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo said that trade negotiations on the agricultural sector always come with pain, but that there are some parts in which the country can make strategic decisions for a broader trade deal. He made the remark Monday during a meeting held with reporters to brief them on the progress of tariff negotiations he had during his visit

July 17, 2025

Winter has come

As we head into the second half of 2025, I wanted to share some scattered thoughts on the chilly state of the industry. A favorite parlor game these days is asking at every social gathering, “What are you watching?” Quickly followed by, “When was the last time you went to the theater?” The results, while more empirical than scientific, are alarming. Of the twenty non-industry folks I’ve asked over the past few weeks, exactly zero have stepped into a movie theater in 2025. Some haven’t gone in ov

July 16, 2025

[Hal Brands] A new chapter in US foreign policy

Nearly six months into Donald Trump’s presidency, a Trump Doctrine is coming into view. Contrary to the fears of his critics, and the hopes of some admirers, Trump is no isolationist. And contrary to those who claim Trump is simply a marvel of ac hoc-ery and inconsistency, there is a distinctive pattern to the policies he has pursued. This Trump Doctrine emphasizes using American power aggressively — more aggressively than Trump’s immediate predecessors — to reshape key relationships and accrue

July 16, 2025

[Kim Seong-kon] Standing before the sign, “not a through street”

When I lived in New York a long time ago, I frequently saw street signs marked “dead end” here and there. While I stayed in Provo, Utah, for one year, I saw “cul-de-sac” road signs before dead-end alleys. Now I am living in Hanover, New Hampshire, where I frequently see another sign: “not a through street.” “Dead end” sounds intimidating because it implies that there is no way out and you are stuck there. Naturally, you are likely to be frustrated, dismayed and may even despair when you reach a

July 16, 2025

[Editorial] Restoring medical education

After nearly 17 months of disruption, South Korea’s medical students have announced a return to school. The Korean Medical Students’ Association, in coordination with the Korean Medical Association and parliamentary committees, declared on July 12 that students would resume classes “in trust of the government and the National Assembly.” This is a welcome turn in a prolonged standoff that has caused lasting damage to both medical education and public health. However, normalization must not come a

July 16, 2025

[Editorial] Focus on tariffs

President Lee Jae Myung presided over a general meeting of the National Security Council on July 10, three weeks before the US is scheduled to impose tariffs. People expected the meeting to deal mostly with the issue of negotiations with the US over its tariffs. But officials related to trade were absent from the meeting. During the meeting, Lee called for efforts to mend inter-Korean ties. He was also reportedly briefed by the Ministry of National Defense on security issues, including an early

July 15, 2025

[Alex Hinton] Trump’s America Is a tinderbox

“Bomb threat! You need to exit — now,” a security officer shouted at me as I observed the Principles First conference, a gathering of moderate Republicans in Washington, on Feb. 22. Moments later, we learned that the threat had come from an untraceable email claiming that four pipe bombs had been planted “to honor the J6 hostages recently released by Emperor Trump.” Sadly, I wasn’t surprised. Just days earlier, former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio and other insurrectionists pardoned by Presid

July 15, 2025

[Grace Kao] Andrew Choi as Jinu in 'KPop Demon Hunters'

BTS, Stray Kids, Ateez and now Saja Boys. These are the only K-pop boy bands that have made it to the US Billboard Hot 100. However, Saja Boys is a fictional K-pop boy band composed of Korean demons ("joseung saja" or Korean grim reapers) from the animated Netflix film, “KPop Demon Hunters.” It is currently No. 1 on Netflix in the US, and has been in the Top 10 Netflix films in 93 countries. In addition, seven of its songs are on the July 12 US Billboard Hot 100 Chart. The fictional girl group i

July 15, 2025

[Editorial] Consensus under strain

After nearly two decades of deadlock, South Korea’s Minimum Wage Commission last week reached an agreement to raise the hourly minimum wage by 2.9 percent for 2026. The increase, from 10,030 won to 10,320 won ($7.51), marks the first such accord among labor, business and public interest representatives since 2008. The importance of this agreement lies less in the numerical increase than in the process by which it was reached. For the first time in 17 years, the commission finalized its proposal

July 14, 2025

[Lee Kyong-hee] Dr. Oh’s surgical tool bags in Pyongyang

As the Lee Jae Myung administration’s North Korea policy stirred expectations of detente and potential geopolitical tremors, an obituary in a newspaper caught my eye last month. Dr. Oh Indong, a well-known Korean American orthopedic surgeon and unification activist, passed away on June 19 at his Pasadena, California, home at age 86. Oh enjoyed international acclaim for his expertise in artificial hip joint replacement. A former Harvard Medical School faculty member, he invented major improvement

July 14, 2025

[Koichi Hamada] How to negotiate with Trump

Since Donald Trump returned to the White House in January, it has been virtually impossible to keep up with all the extreme measures, incendiary rhetoric, personnel changes, policy reversals, and breaches of rules and norms. That is by design: Like European fascists in the 20th century, Trump knows that it is far easier to manipulate and suppress an overwhelmed, divided, and disoriented public than an informed, engaged and assured one. The relentless stream of declarations, policy U-turns, and l

July 14, 2025

[Robert J. Fouser] Misguided university reform plan

Over the past several weeks, talk of a promise from President Lee Jae Myung to “create 10 universities on par with Seoul National University” has stirred debate. The plan has its origins in a book by Kim Jong-young, a professor at Kyung Hee University, published in 2021. The plan aims at investing heavily in nine regional national universities to raise their “level” to close to Seoul National University. The impetus for the plan comes from a broader push to promote balanced regional development.

July 11, 2025

[Editorial] Korea’s industrial drift

Giants don’t stumble quietly. The latest earnings from Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics, two pillars of South Korean manufacturing, signal not just a downturn but deeper structural cracks. Their second-quarter profits more than halved, falling far short of even the most conservative forecasts. While escalating US tariffs, rising logistics costs and fierce competition from China are the immediate culprits, the roots of this crisis stretch further, exposing an industrial model increasingly i

July 11, 2025

[Wang Son-taek] July: A defining month for Korea-US alliance

The world is bracing for another tariff storm from US President Donald Trump. Delayed initially to take effect on July 9, the new tariff regime has now been postponed again until August 1, giving countries a few more weeks to negotiate. The delay was not a gesture of goodwill but a tactical maneuver. Trump's initial negotiation timeline was unrealistically short, virtually guaranteeing failure. Yet after the bruising experience of the first round, almost no country can claim to be caught off gua

July 10, 2025