Korean Kontext

Starting from the period after the Korean War and continuing today, more than 100,000 Korean children were adopted around the world. As they get older, many of them decide to conduct a search for their birth families in Korea, beginning what often turns out to be a long, difficult and emotional process for all involved.   Today's guest, Katelyn Hemmeke, is currently in Seoul as a Fulbright researcher, speaking to adoptees about their experiences conducting a birth family search. She has found that it's often incredibly difficult to find information that can help track down birth families, and that even when a search is successful, the emotional journey is not over. Learn more about the challenges adoptees face when they decide to conduct a birth family search in this week's episode of Korean Kontext.   Photo taken by Andrew Le.

Much has been said about the power of outside information - news, weather, and even soap operas - to influence the North Korean public. But a new report takes a different angle on a possible information campaign toward the North.   In this new report, North Korea watcher Skip Vincenzo lays out a strategy that would target the North Korean elites and those close to Pyongyang's center of gravity, with the hopes of de-escalating a major crisis. The idea would be to give those elites hope of a life after Kim, encouraging them to lay down arms were an emergency scenario to occur.   Skip joined Korean Kontext host Jenna Gibson for a chat about his report and the information strategy that he proposes, as well as some of the ways it could fit in with what we are already doing to address the North Korean threat.   Please click here to learn more and view the report.   Image from Will De Freitas' photostream on flickr Creative Commons.

Much has been said about the power of outside information - news, weather, and even soap operas - to influence the North Korean public. But a new report takes a different angle on a possible information campaign toward the North.   In this new report, North Korea watcher Skip Vincenzo lays out a strategy that would target the North Korean elites and those close to Pyongyang's center of gravity, with the hopes of de-escalating a major crisis. The idea would be to give those elites hope of a life after Kim, encouraging them to lay down arms were an emergency scenario to occur.   Skip joined Korean Kontext host Jenna Gibson for a chat about his report and the information strategy that he proposes, as well as some of the ways it could fit in with what we are already doing to address the North Korean threat.   Please click here to learn more and view the report.   Image from Will De Freitas' photostream on flickr Creative Commons.

Growing up in Tennessee and Alabama, Dr. David Oh never imagined he would one day be leading a mission to explore a metallic asteroid orbiting between Mars and Jupiter. But as project systems engineer for NASA's Psyche mission and former lead flight director for the Curiousity Mars rover, Dr. Oh has done plenty of extraterrestrial exploring.   Listen to this episode to learn more about these missions, how Dr. Oh sees his Korean-American identity, and what it's like to put your whole family on Mars time.   This is the first of our interviews with the three Korean American Day honorees for 2017, all of whom are doing awesome things in the fields of science and technology. Below are some of our previous Korean Kontext interviews with Korean American Day honorees.   Korean American Day 2016: Chef Edward Lee Korean American Day 2015: Olympic Skier Toby Dawson Actor Daniel Dae Kim  

Growing up in Tennessee and Alabama, Dr. David Oh never imagined he would one day be leading a mission to explore a metallic asteroid orbiting between Mars and Jupiter. But as project systems engineer for NASA's Psyche mission and former lead flight director for the Curiousity Mars rover, Dr. Oh has done plenty of extraterrestrial exploring.   Listen to this episode to learn more about these missions, how Dr. Oh sees his Korean-American identity, and what it's like to put your whole family on Mars time.   This is the first of our interviews with the three Korean American Day honorees for 2017, all of whom are doing awesome things in the fields of science and technology. Below are some of our previous Korean Kontext interviews with Korean American Day honorees.   Korean American Day 2016: Chef Edward Lee Korean American Day 2015: Olympic Skier Toby Dawson Actor Daniel Dae Kim  

In 2017, U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) will complete the move of thousands of troops and support staff from Yongsan Garrison in Seoul to Camp Humphries, 50 miles south of the capital city. This project has taken over a decade to complete, partially because it involved building and rennovating infrastructure for the thousands of troops and their families that will be moving there.   Korean Kontext host Jenna Gibson sat down with Major General James Walton, Director for Transformation and Restationing, who has headed up this relocation project since 2014. They discuss the background of the move and its progress, as well as the future for the land in Yongsan that will be vacated by USFK.

In 2017, U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) will complete the move of thousands of troops and support staff from Yongsan Garrison in Seoul to Camp Humphries, 50 miles south of the capital city. This project has taken over a decade to complete, partially because it involved building and rennovating infrastructure for the thousands of troops and their families that will be moving there.   Korean Kontext host Jenna Gibson sat down with Major General James Walton, Director for Transformation and Restationing, who has headed up this relocation project since 2014. They discuss the background of the move and its progress, as well as the future for the land in Yongsan that will be vacated by USFK.

For the first Korean Kontext podcast of 2017, five members of the KEI staff sat down with host Jenna Gibson for a chat about the volitility of 2016 and what it could mean for the year ahead. They discuss the surprising election of Donald Trump and how his administration is shaping their policy toward Korea, what the political turmoil in Seoul could mean for U.S.-Korea relations, and even how Korean culture will continue to gain popularity.   For more insights and predictions, check out the two blogs that accompany this discussion: The Year of the Unexpected: A Look Back At the Korean Peninsula in 2016 and 10 Issues to Watch for on the Korean Peninsula in 2017.

For the first Korean Kontext podcast of 2017, five members of the KEI staff sat down with host Jenna Gibson for a chat about the volitility of 2016 and what it could mean for the year ahead. They discuss the surprising election of Donald Trump and how his administration is shaping their policy toward Korea, what the political turmoil in Seoul could mean for U.S.-Korea relations, and even how Korean culture will continue to gain popularity.   For more insights and predictions, check out the two blogs that accompany this discussion: The Year of the Unexpected: A Look Back At the Korean Peninsula in 2016 and 10 Issues to Watch for on the Korean Peninsula in 2017.

The last several rounds of UN sanctions against the DPRK have been called the "strongest ever," and the new sanctions passed on November 30 are no different. There are some new provisions, such as a specific cap on coal exports and a strengthened ability to deter other countries from cooperating with the North on illicit activities. But are these sanctions finally enough to change North Korea's calculus and get them back to the negotiating table?   Here to talk about this is renouned North Korea expert Dr. Stephan Haggard. He sat down with KEI senior director Troy Stangarone after the new sanctions were passed to discuss how they are different, and what affect they may have on the North Korean regime.   Image from blake.thornberry's photostream on flickr Creative Commons.

The last several rounds of UN sanctions against the DPRK have been called the "strongest ever," and the new sanctions passed on November 30 are no different. There are some new provisions, such as a specific cap on coal exports and a strengthened ability to deter other countries from cooperating with the North on illicit activities. But are these sanctions finally enough to change North Korea's calculus and get them back to the negotiating table?   Here to talk about this is renouned North Korea expert Dr. Stephan Haggard. He sat down with KEI senior director Troy Stangarone after the new sanctions were passed to discuss how they are different, and what affect they may have on the North Korean regime.   Image from blake.thornberry's photostream on flickr Creative Commons.

Many of the news stories about North Korea that make their way into the Western media fall into one of two categories: 1) breaking news about provocations and the nuclear crisis or 2) look at the crazy thing Kim Jong Un did today. As a journalist who covered the DPRK from both Seoul and Pyongyang, Jean Lee is working to get past the caricatures that often make their way into how we see North Koreans.    Jean, who is now a Global Fellow at the Wilson Center, is here in DC for an event she organized about this very topic. The seminar features journalists, novelists and historians who all face unique challenges in gathering information and writing about the DPRK. She agreed to sit down with us while here in town to give us a preview of the roundtable, which will take place on December 7 at the Wilson Center.   To hear more from Jean and learn about her work covering North Korea, you can follow her on Twitter and Instagram with the handle @newsjean.

Many of the news stories about North Korea that make their way into the Western media fall into one of two categories: 1) breaking news about provocations and the nuclear crisis or 2) look at the crazy thing Kim Jong Un did today. As a journalist who covered the DPRK from both Seoul and Pyongyang, Jean Lee is working to get past the caricatures that often make their way into how we see North Koreans.    Jean, who is now a Global Fellow at the Wilson Center, is here in DC for an event she organized about this very topic. The seminar features journalists, novelists and historians who all face unique challenges in gathering information and writing about the DPRK. She agreed to sit down with us while here in town to give us a preview of the roundtable, which will take place on December 7 at the Wilson Center.   To hear more from Jean and learn about her work covering North Korea, you can follow her on Twitter and Instagram with the handle @newsjean.

For many people who visit Korea for the first time, one of the things that stands out the most is the country's clean, reliable, and efficient public transportation. This was the case for Andy Tebay when he moved to Korea from New Zealand. The system inspired him to begin researching and writing about transportation and urban planning in Seoul and around the country.   Started as Andy's personal blog, Kojects has since grown into a hub for information for English-speakers to get information about Korea's many transportation options as well as news about new projects and improvements. Along with co-author Nikola Medimorec, Kojects aims to help anyone visiting or living in Korea get where they need to go.   Image from Keith Lee's photostream on flickr Creative Commons.

For many people who visit Korea for the first time, one of the things that stands out the most is the country's clean, reliable, and efficient public transportation. This was the case for Andy Tebay when he moved to Korea from New Zealand. The system inspired him to begin researching and writing about transportation and urban planning in Seoul and around the country.   Started as Andy's personal blog, Kojects has since grown into a hub for information for English-speakers to get information about Korea's many transportation options as well as news about new projects and improvements. Along with co-author Nikola Medimorec, Kojects aims to help anyone visiting or living in Korea get where they need to go.   Image from Keith Lee's photostream on flickr Creative Commons.