AMI EDITOR IN CHIEF TOM PLATE WRITES – Mutual trust offers priceless value. In the second term of the Clinton presidency, during the reign of Jiang Zemin/Zhu Rongji, when both sides privileged economic engagement over geopolitical jiu-jitsu, the level of trust between the governments appeared on an uptick. When China…
FORMER CHAIR OF US INTELLIGENCE COUNCIL GREG TREVERTON WRITES: More than one American President has been tempted by some form of preemptive attack on North Korea. However, the rub with preemption is that for the limited purpose of taking out the country’s nuclear program, it isn’t likely to work, and…
JAY SEO WRITES – Everyone knows that the first amendment of the US constitution guarantees American citizens the freedom of religion, but that this right is anything but universal. In too many counties, innocent people are being arrested, abused or even killed because of their faith. Rather than ending in…
TOM PLATE WRITES IN THE KOREA TIMES OF SEOUL – The need for China and the United States to come together in a persistently adult geopolitical two-some has never been more urgent. Gamesmanship must be minimized. Statesmanship must be maximized. Just ask Mr. Ban Ki-moon, career diplomat. The other night…
MARY GRACE COSTA WRITES – It’s all fun and games until you’re charged with accessory to murder. A woman allegedly involved in the assassination of Kim Jong-Nam claims that she thought she was carrying out a harmless prank rather than someone’s deadly political agenda. On February 13, local South Korean…
KELCEY LORENZO WRITES – K-Pop idols appear to be present in virtually every aspect of Korean media. They’re acting in television and web dramas, hosting and guest starring on variety shows, promoting various brands and products, and even competing in the Korean E-Gaming scene. On November 1, S.M. Entertainment officially…
SABRINA VERDUZCO WRITES – People often think of the Olympics as a time of both unity and peace between countries. Despite numerous political, economic, social, and religious differences, sportsmanship brings people from all around the world together to celebrate unity and human ability. North and South Korea are no exception. …
JAY SEO WRITES – When I first heard about the documentary Under the Sun, I assumed that the filmmaker used a hidden camera to catch a glimpse of the real lives of citizens in North Korea. I was wrong: Russian filmmaker Vitaly Mansky was permitted by North Korean authorities to…
JAMES ROYCE WRITES — A bad day of surfing might be better than a good day of working, but Australian surf wear brand Rip Curl is experiencing neither of these pleasures after admitting to using factories in North Korea, where work conditions are reminiscent of slave labor, to create the…
SABRINA VERDUZCO WRITES – When that uptight next-door-neighbor yells at you about your music, sometimes the solution is to turn it up. South Korea took this advice to heart in response to North Korea’s most recent hydrogen bomb stunt in early January, countering the North’s explosive behavior by blasting K-pop…
WRITES STEPHEN NOERPER OF THE KOREA SOCIETY — A month and a day after conducting its fourth nuclear test, North Korea launched a multi-stage rocket carrying a 440-pound satellite. The launch of the Taepodong missile defied a United Nations ban, once again placing North Korea in direct defiance of international…
SABRINA VERDUZCO WRITES – On Nov. 3rd, the South Korean government made the controversial, yet entirely legal decision to rewrite history textbooks. Many scholars and political opponents of the Park administration immediately condemned this move. Two weeks later, 70,000 protesters congregated in Seoul in an attempt to confront the South Korean government’s move…
RYAN LIPPERT WRITES – When the state controls the media, what viewers get out of each story depends heavily on whether they live in the country or not. There is no better example of this than North Korea. Earlier this month, North Korea celebrated the 70th anniversary of the ruling Korean…
SABRINA VERDUZCO WRITES – The United States and South Korea displayed a new desire to cement a lasting relationship between the two countries on October 16. Obama and South Korean President Park Geun-Hye demonstrated an eagerness to strengthen the US-South Korea alliance on October 16. In a statement from the White…
RYAN LIPPERT WRITES – How is it that a North Korean refugee, who just five years ago did not know what the Internet was, is now learning how to code? Thanks to a new partnership between Coding Dojo and Link (Liberty in North Korea), there is renewed hope that North…
SABRINA VERDUZCO WRITES – In recent months, relations between North and South Korea have consisted of artillery fire exchanges and confrontations. Tension has abated to a certain extent since then – thanks to Red Cross officials that no doubt mediated the talks from both sides of the North-South spectrum. As…
