Guest Commentary by Moon Chung-in, professor emeritus at Yonsei University – After Republic of Korea President Yoon Suk-yeol broached the possibility of South Korea developing its own nuclear weapons in January, discussion of that possibility has been picking up intensity. According to the results of a poll of 1,000 people…
Aerial Concave Without Cloud – 113 pages – $16.95 – Nightboat Books, New York, NY ANGELINE KEK WRITES — Grief is a lonely process as much as it is all-encompassing. Like all pain, it takes away, gives back wisdom, and breaks people open. Aerial Concave Without Cloud (2022) by Sueyeun…
BRIANNA HIRAMI WRITES — Historians often skip over the pain that war leaves on the countless hearts of those who have lost their loved ones to senseless violence. Whether it is a soldier caught on the battlefield, a parent praying for their drafted child, or a refugee actively escaping a…
MOON CHUNG-IN WRITES — Since South Korean President Moon Jae-in asked the international community to support formally declaring the end of the Korean War during his speech at the UN General Assembly on Sept. 21, the issue has been at the forefront of the government’s diplomatic efforts as Moon’s presidency…
KAMRAN ALISHOV WRITES-The United Nations Security Council announced an emergency meeting following North Korea’s latest missile launch. On October 19th, North Korea fired a submarine-launched ballistic missile into waters off the coast of Japan. The information was immediately confirmed by South Korea’s military. At around 10:17 am, South Korea’s Joint…
TOM PLATE WRITES — Frustrations come with any occupation, and writing columns about Asia and America, as I have without stop for 25 years, is no exception. Asia is powerful and dynamic, and one size does not fit all. But, for me, no one subject has proven more elusive and…
AIDAN SMITH-FAGAN WRITES — President Joe Biden hosted South Korean President Moon Jae-in at the White House last Friday. After a day that included a medal of honor ceremony and a long, private discussion between the two heads of state, Biden and Moon held a joint press conference at which…
VALERIA GURROLA WRITES — April 30th, 2021, marks US President Biden’s first one hundred days since taking office in January at the height of the Coronavirus pandemic in the United States. He has wasted no time setting the tone for the future of North Korean relations. North Korea must denuclearize—or…
VALERIA GURROLA WRITES — Jang Yeong-jin has found love as a gay man nearly twenty-five years after his escape from North Korea. He first made international headlines in 2015 with A Mark of Red Honor’s release, his memoir about living as an openly gay defector in South Korea. In the…
TOM PLATE WRITES — Minari is both the name for a celery-like herbal plant and the title of a wonderful new Korean-American movie that is stealing people’s hearts and winning major recognition. The plant is also a symbolic plot point that is as rich in the movie as the real-life…
VALERIA GURROLA WRITES – Nuclear Orientalism deeply permeates US media. In December 2019, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un warned the US of a “Christmas gift” dependent on the outcome of nuclear negotiations with the Trump administration. Days after the announcement, satellite images uncovered new activity at the previously dormant Sohae…
MOON CHUNG-IN WRITES — While it doesn’t appear that the Joe Biden administration has completed its review of North Korea policy yet, the outlines of that policy seem to be slowly taking shape. Ned Price, a spokesperson for the US State Department, said on Feb. 12 that the North Korean…
ANDREA PLATE WRITES — This year, the best-selling North Korean novel Friend was translated into English and approved for publication in the US by the Democratic People’s Republic of North Korea – a first in that nation’s history. Immanuel Kim, 42, professor of Korean Literature and Culture Studies at George…
(This is the fifth in an original series about new wave feminist writers in Korea whose work has started to reach English language readers via superb translations.) ANDREA PLATE WRITES — Thirty-eight years. That’s how long it took for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to approve, for publication in…
EMILY CAPOUYA WRITES — According to a United Nations confidential report, North Korea has violated resolutions made with the United Nations Security Council by continuing to enhance its ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons program. Recently, a summary of the report was submitted to the UN Security Council. Six sections of…
(The following is the most recent analysis of the North Korean impasse by the special advisor on this issue to the president of South Korea) MOON CHUNG-IN WRITES — A Dec. 31 deadline passed without Pyongyang delivering to the United States its threatened “Christmas gift” if Washington didn’t alter its…
