[Lim Woong] America’s reckoning with Trump

When Donald Trump was first elected in 2016, my spouse stared at the TV in disbelief and asked, “How on earth did America elect this president?” Wanting to give a thoughtful answer, I tried to explain the political logic as I understood it. “It’s the Republican base,” I said — especially many white working- and middle-class voters in the Rust Belt in states like Michigan and Pennsylvania — who probably felt deeply frustrated with the political establishment. After decades of globalization (remem

Jan. 27, 2026

[Lee Jae-min] Stepping back but not stepping away

The single most common question that I hear at conferences and events these days is about the future of the WTO. They ask: After all this, what is in store for the World Trade Organization? The Geneva-based international organization has been a lynchpin of multilateral trade with 166 members, but it has almost vanished from the radar screen in the face of ever-intensifying trade conflicts and disputes over tariffs, non-tariffs and everything else in many parts of the world. Few media outlets men

Jan. 27, 2026

[Jack Spencer] Meta's commercial nuclear energy

“The biggest risk is not taking any risk,” as Mark Zuckerberg famously put it. Judging from the announcement by Meta Platforms, Inc., parent company of Facebook, that it’s investing in new nuclear energy -- supporting up to 6.6 gigawatts -- he wasn’t kidding. The plan includes two plant life extensions, three power expansions and two advanced reactor designs. That’s enough electricity to power nearly 5 million homes. Much of this will be used to power Meta’s operations, but the benefits to every

Jan. 26, 2026

[Lee Kyong-hee] Restarting the Kaesong industrial park

On Feb. 10, 2016 — the last day of the Lunar New Year holidays — owners of South Korean companies operating at the Kaesong industrial park received an unexpected phone call from the Ministry of Unification. They were instructed to gather at 2 p.m. for an emergency briefing. At 5 p.m. the same day, then-Unification Minister Hong Yong-pyo announced that the complex would be shut down the following day. The decision was abrupt and unilateral, underscoring the vulnerability of the first joint inter-

Jan. 26, 2026

[Robert J. Fouser] Reuniting Korea’s cities and provinces

On Jan. 16 Prime Minister Kim Min-seok announced a plan to merge Daejeon with South Chungcheong Province and Gwangju with South Jeolla Province. The government would provide up to 40 trillion won ($27.3 billion) in financial incentives over the next four years to these newly formed “integrated special cities.” The cities would be given greater administrative autonomy and priority in the relocation of public institutions in the hope of revitalizing local economies. The plan is a key part of Presi

Jan. 23, 2026

[Francoise Nicolas] The end of an era, whither the global trading system?

2025, a watershed moment From an economist’s perspective, 2025 will likely be remembered as the year when the global rules-based trade order as we had known it since the end of the Second World War came to an end. To be fair the system had been under strain for some time, and gradually sliding into irrelevance, primarily because of its inability to adapt and respond to changing circumstances. What made this time different, however, is the fact that the attacks on the existing order came from the

Jan. 22, 2026

[Wang Son-taek] Disruption is not collapse

US President Donald Trump’s recent rhetoric and conduct on the international stage have increasingly unsettled observers across the world. From Venezuela to Greenland and Iran, he has repeatedly conveyed a troubling message: that international norms are negotiable, and that pressure, threats, and coercion can be mobilized as routine instruments of statecraft. Naturally, reactions vary. Unease is reasonable. Alarm is understandable. But some reactions move too quickly from anxiety to surrender: “

Jan. 22, 2026

[Kim Seong-kon] How to be strong: Case of Dartmouth and Hanover

Koreans are strongly attached to their hometowns. Even after living in another place for a long time, Korean people never forget their hometowns and have a profound nostalgia toward them. The hometown is a point of reference, a place to which a person returns repeatedly, whether physically or spiritually. However, medieval theologian Hugh of St. Victor wrote, "The tender soul has fixed his love on one spot in the world; the strong has extended his love to all places; the perfect man has extingui

Jan. 21, 2026

[Paola Subacchi] Is there life after the dollar?

US President Donald Trump’s relentless attacks on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, together with his destabilizing foreign policy — notably the seizure of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and subsequent threats to bomb Iran and invade Greenland — have called into question the entire postwar international order, including the dominance of the dollar. There has never been a more appropriate moment to reflect on the dynamics that have kept the international monetary system relatively stable

Jan. 21, 2026

[Grace Kao] Polyrhythmic diplomacy of K-pop in Korea-Japan ties

A week ago, South Korea’s President Lee Jae Myung and Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi drummed to “Golden” from “KPop Demon Hunters” and BTS’ 2020 smash single “Dynamite.” It’s not the first time that K-pop has been so prominently displayed in the flexing of Korea’s soft power. However, this particular event was especially memorable and full of symbolism of the past and future of Korea-Japan relations. It also highlighted the leaders’ deft diplomatic skills. I am reminded that when Japanese

Jan. 20, 2026

[Stefanie Stantcheva] The economics and politics of welfare support

Recently in the United States, a partial government shutdown meant millions of low-income families missed their food assistance payments. The disruption reignited an old question that every developed nation grapples with: How much should societies help their poorest members, and in what form? This question matters everywhere, including in Korea, where debates about welfare expansion, working-age poverty, and the sustainability of social programs have intensified in recent years. Over the past fo

Jan. 20, 2026

[Man-Ki Kim] Korea’s strategic UN positioning

Why did the United States decide to withdraw from or disengage with dozens of United Nations agencies, despite being the country that designed the Bretton Woods system in 1944 and helped shape the modern multilateral order after World War II? While domestic political considerations may have played a role, the decision reflects a deeper reassessment of whether multilateral institutions continue to serve national interests as effectively as intended. The move raises a question that other major con

Jan. 19, 2026

[Yoo Choon-sik] Sovereign AI and the limits of autonomy

South Korea’s government-led project to develop sovereign foundation artificial intelligence models capable of competing with — or even surpassing — global leaders such as ChatGPT, Gemini and DeepSeek has cleared its first major hurdle with the completion of its initial evaluation round. Out of five competing consortia, three — led by LG AI Research, SK Telecom and Upstage AI — advanced to the second round, which ultimately aims to designate two teams as national champions with full-scale govern

Jan. 19, 2026

[Lee Byung-jong] Anti-China sentiment in Korea

When President Lee Jae Myung was asked at a press conference last week about rising anti-China sentiment in South Korea in connection with a recent data-theft case involving a Chinese national, his response was terse but firm. “So what?” he retorted sternly. “Should we hate Japan if the person were Japanese? Should we hate the US if they were an American?” The answer was logically sound, but it failed to address the deeper and more troubling reality of growing anti-China feelings among many Kore

Jan. 16, 2026

[Wang Son-taek] How can Korea ease polarization?

During a lunch meeting with religious leaders at Cheong Wa Dae recently, President Lee Jae Myung stressed that social harmony had become an urgent priority for South Korea. He noted that conflict, resentment and hatred have grown sharply in recent years, pledging to work toward a situation where people can live together through reconciliation, forgiveness and inclusion. His remarks deserve close attention because they identify one of the most critical challenges facing the country and point to a

Jan. 15, 2026