RealClearWorld - South Korea

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Worrisome Trend of Hate Toward Koreans - Japan Times

In demonstrations repeatedly held in Tokyo’s Shin-Okubo district, home to many Korean shops and restaurants, participants have shouted threatening words such as “Kill b...

China Is Not the Solution in Korea - Mitchell Lerner, The Diplomat

Beijing calls the shots in North Korea? History shows that thinking is misguided....

Top 10 Most Popular Countries in the World - RealClearWorld

Ranking global popularity can be tricky, as world approval can vary radically from region to region and country to country. That being said, global surveys can be a useful tool for...

For Korea's Comfort Women, War Never Ended - Lucy Williamson, BBC

Elderly women once forced to work in Japan's military brothels live out their days in a unusual retirement home next to a museum that records their suffering. Their numbers dwindli...

North Korea's State-Sanctioned Girl Band - Tim Stanley, Telegraph Blogs

For all his faults, Kim Jong-Un is a man who knows how to have a good time. When not building ski resorts or sexting wife #2 on his smartphone, he’s trying to raise the peopl...

Does South Korea Have a Foreign Policy? - Jeffrey Robertson, The Diplomat

The way Seoul defines its middle-power status could offer the best insight into its policy direction....

Abe's Unhelpful Historical Interventions - J. Berkshire Miller, GPS

Abe, regarded by supporters as a pragmatist, but as a dangerous nationalist by many Chinese and South Koreans especially, is no doubt aware of the trepidation his return to office ...

Japanese Leaders Must Truly Repent for War Sins - Korea Times

Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto on Monday apologized for his remarks on May 13 that American soldiers should patronize adult entertainment venues in Japan as a way to reduce sex offense...

A Bloody History Haunts Asia - Jonathan Tepperman, New York Times

The political turmoil currently roiling Northeast Asia — a region that should otherwise be basking in success right now — can often seem bewildering to outsiders. One key to un...

Kim Jong-un: More Bellicose than Dad? - Stangarone, Kwon & Taves, CNN

Whether threatening to turn Seoul into a “sea of fire” or describing the recent summit meeting between Presidents Barack Obama and Park Geun-hye as a prelude to war, over-the-...

China Nears Point of No Return with Kim - Francesco Sisci, Asia Times

China is losing patience with North Korean leader Kim Jong-eun, slowly but surely moving into the US orbit to deal with his threats and blackmail. As Beijing will sooner than later...

An Encouraging Sign from North Korea - Korea Times

This may be premature, but our hope is that the peninsula will see a virtuous circle of positive development, the resumption of the Gaeseong Industrial Complex and Seoul’s aid in...

Time Running Out for Japanese Abductees in Korea - Todd Crowell, RCW

The new conservative government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is making a push to try and resolve the decades-long dispute with North Korea over the fate of a dozen Japanese it clai...

End the Korean War-of-Nerves and Reopen Talks - Korea Times

One point that distinguishes the Park Geun-hye administration from its predecessor is a more flexible policy toward North Korea. But whatever the reason may be, inter-Korean relati...

Infantilizing North Korea - John Feffer, Huffington Post

Political cartoonists love to portray North Korea as an irrational and infantile force. It's either a baby with a nuclear rattle or a little truant in need of a timeout. The relati...

Is This the Father of N. Korea's Nuclear Program? - Bill Streifer, NK News

Accounts suggest that Pyongyang acquired scientists for developing nuclear program decades before publicly acknowledging it....

Benghazi: History of Pueblo Repeats Itself - Todd Crowell, RealClearHistory

Comparisons have been made, especially by conservatives, that the terrorist attack on the American consulate in Benghazi last September was another Watergate. In fact, the Pueblo I...

Gangnam Forever: K-Pop Could Invade U.S. - Eileen Hong, Korea Times

In the last 20 years K-pop has become globally recognized with acts such as Rain, Wonder Girls, and Psy creating a window of opportunity for Korea’s celebrated pop culture....

Does Young Kim Control North Korea's Military? - Korea Times

North Korea watchers say Pyongyang's frequent military shakeups ― most frontline commanders have allegedly been replaced in recent months ― may be proof that the young North Ko...

Countries Lobby for More in Race for U.S. Visas - Eric Lipton, NY Times

The government of South Korea hired a former C.I.A. analyst, two White House veterans and a team of ex-Congressional staff members to help secure a few paragraphs in the giant immi...

Asia's New Prize: 'Fire Ice' Gas - Elliot Brennan, The Diplomat

Every few decades a new energy source comes online and promises to revolutionize the way the world fuels its economies. This was true of the shift from coal and whale oil to conven...

Don't Sweat the Closure of Kaesong - Robert E. Kelly, The Diplomat

Although a symbol of inter-Korean cooperation, the once noble Kaesong experiment has long been a failure....

Asian Tough Talk Hides Failure of Leadership - Pankaj Mishra, Bloomberg

The exploration of 'ancient enmities' can only take us part of the way in understanding the real sources and potential of conflict today. It is always worth asking about resurgent ...

On North Korea, We've Been Here Before - Lowell Schwartz, CS Monitor

As history shows, new nuclear states such as North Korea usually probe the limits of their power and test how other international actors respond. But consider this: Once escalation...

Selling a Unified Korea to the United States - Korea Times

Between the 1960s and ’80s, South Korea’s general-turned-presidents visited the United States to seek economic aid, security guarantees and U.S. endorsement of their legitimacy...

The Isolationists Are Coming! - Matthew Duss, The American Prospect

Ask yourself: Do you oppose putting U.S. troops everywhere, all the time? If you answered yes, you might be an isolationist, according to the word’s new definition....

North Korea's Dangerous Hostage Game - Gordon Chang, The Daily Beast

When North Korea’s Supreme Court sentenced the American citizen Kenneth Bae to 15 years of hard labor for “hostile acts” – a lesser charge than the capital ...

What's 'Hard Labor' Like in North Korea? - John Hudson, Passport

On Thursday, North Korea sentenced U.S. citizen Kenneth Bae to 15 years of hard labor for committing "hostile acts" against the government. The severe punishment raises a...

Syria a Dry Run for Iran, North Korea? - Brian Jenkins, World Report

Both Israel and the United States now believe that chemical weapons have been used in Syria's civil war, most likely by Syrian government forces. If the rebels have even some of th...

How to Negotiate with North Korea - Joel Wit & Jenny Town, The Atlantic

The crisis on the Korean peninsula appears to have died down, but we shouldn't be fooled just because it's no longer front-page news. Serious problems remain that could flare...

Restarting Talks with North Korea - Japan Times

North Korea has not ended its hostile moves, causing a fear that it may carry out rocket launches and its fourth nuclear explosion test. South Korea has decided to withdraw its rem...

How to Keep North Korea in Check - Donald Gross, Huffington Post

Thanks to sure-footed diplomacy by Secretary of State John Kerry, South Korea's President Park Geun-hye and Chinese leaders, the outrageous rhetorical threats of nuclear attack by ...