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Pillars of Our Work

Korea in Global Affairs examines four vital pillars that shape Korea's global role and its profound impact on the world: Economic Security, Korean Peninsula and Historical International Relations, Korea-China Relations, and Korea-Japan Relations.

Through each pillar, our scholars will unravel the intricate tapestry of Korea's global contributions and their implications for our world through publications, media commentary, and public events.

Economic Security

More than ever, the economic, security, and technological dimensions of US-Korea relations are tightly linked today, with significant implications for the future of the international order. It is no longer possible to discuss the future of the alliance between Seoul and Washington without addressing global issues at the intersection of international political economy and national security. Our activities seek to offer thought leadership on economic security issues, such as supply chain resilience, clean energy, critical minerals, and emerging technologies such as biotechnology and artificial intelligence.

  1. Ji-Young Lee, Eugeniu Han, and Keren Zhu, 鈥,鈥 Australian Journal of International Affairs 76, no. 5 (October 2022): 486-506.
    • Shortlisted for the 2023 Boyer Prize, awarded annually to the best article published in the Australian Journal of International Affairs
  2. Ji-Young Lee, 鈥溾 in Ashley Tellis, Alison Szalwinski, and Michael Wills, eds. Strategic Asia 2020: US-China Competition for Regional and Global Influence (Seattle: National Bureau of Asian Research, 2020), 74-101.

  3. Gwanhoo Lee and Jaeho Kim, 鈥,鈥澨Communications of the ACM 65, no. 1 (2022): 68-75

  4. Gwanhoo Lee, 鈥,鈥 Telecommunications Policy 43, no. 5 (2019): 434-444.

  5. Eleni Ekmektsioglou, 鈥,鈥 Strategic Studies Quarterly 9, no. 2 (Summer 2015): 43-68.

  6. Nina Serafino and Eleni G. Ekmektsioglou, 鈥,鈥 in Derek S. Reveron, Nikolas K. Gvosdev, and John A. Cloud, eds. The Oxford Handbook of U.S. National Security (online edn, Oxford Academic, 2018).

  1. Nikkei Asia, 鈥溾 (April 2023)

  2. Japan Times, 鈥溾 (April 2023)听

  3. Christian Science Monitor, 鈥溾 (January 2023)听

  4. The Wall Street Journal, 鈥溾 (March 2022)

Introducing a new dialogue series that focuses on a global Korea, the US-Korea economic security partnership, and their impact on the shifting global order. As part of this series, our AU Korea Economic Security Forum is a convening space in which SIS鈥檚 academic expertise engages with government and think tank policy experts in DC. Between December 2023 and September 2024, participants meet five times to discuss the US鈥檚 industrial policy, 鈥渁lly-shoring,鈥 and the future of global supply chains.

Korean Peninsula and Historical International Relations

This project illuminates Korea鈥檚 international relations in a broad global historical perspective. The aim is to develop a strong intellectual foundation for thinking about historical international orders that Korea has been part of shaping. It not only helps understand Korea on its own terms but also brings to life histories that have implications for issues of contemporary significance.

  1. Ji-Young Lee,听听(New York: Columbia University Press, 2016).听

  2. Ji-Young Lee, 鈥,鈥澨Security Studies 25, no. 2 (April-June 2016): 320-52.

  3. Ji-Young Lee, 鈥,鈥澨Journal of East Asian Studies 13, no. 2 (May-Aug. 2013): 309-36.听

  4. Ji-Young Lee, 鈥,鈥 EAI Fellows Program Working Paper Series, no. 47 (December 2014).

  1. The Conversation, 鈥溾 (February 2018)

  2. The Conversation, 鈥溾 (January听2018)

The Korean Peninsula and Historical International Relations Speaker Series听facilitates interdisciplinary dialogue on Korea in its broad web of interconnections and relations with other global actors. The Series hosts events that elucidate Korea/Asia's key historical moments of war, peace, and international order that shaped the contours of world politics.

Associated Scholars

Korea-China Relations

How are Beijing鈥檚 growing power and influence affecting relations between South Korea and China? South Korea鈥檚 evolving relations with China will have implications for the US alliance network in Asia, and vice versa. We'll look at topics including China鈥檚 attitude toward the US-South Korea alliance, China鈥檚 position toward Korean unification, and China's approach toward North Korean nuclear and missile threats.听听

  1. Ji-Young Lee, (Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 2020).

  2. Eleni Ekmektsioglou and Ji-Young Lee, 鈥,鈥 The Pacific Review 35, no. 4 (July 2022): 587- 616.

  3. Ji-Young Lee, The Great Power Next Door: The Past and Present of Chinese Military Intervention in the Korean Peninsula (under contract with Columbia University Press). This is a work-in-progress.

  1. Ji-Young Lee, 鈥,鈥 Asia-Pacific Bulletin, no. 62 (May 28, 2010).
  2. CNN Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer, 鈥淓xperts See Body Language Clues in Kim Jong Un鈥檚 China Trip鈥 (March 29, 2018)
  3. Washington Post, 鈥,鈥 (April 26, 2018)听
  4. South China Morning Post, 鈥溾 (June 5, 2020)听
  5. WAMU 88.5 FM1A, 鈥淐hina: How a Superpower Sets Its Agenda,鈥 (October 12, 2017)
  6. Chicago Public Radio WEBZ 91.5 FM Worldview, 鈥淲hat THAAD Means for US and South Korea Relations,鈥 (June 15, 2017)
  7. Yonhap News 鈥滍暅甑 雮 鈥橃偓霌滊吋霝鈥 雱堧 旎れ牳 [Growing Controversy over THAAD in Korea]鈥 (March 17, 2015)
Associated Scholars

Korea-Japan Relations

In the minds of many, Seoul and Tokyo should make ideal partners for each other鈥檚 security and foreign policy, but their bilateral relations have often been stalled over a violent and tragic history听during East Asia鈥檚 tempestuous transformation in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

  1. Ji-Young听Lee and Jaehyun Lee, 鈥,鈥澨The Korean Journal of International and Comparative Law听7, no. 1 (June 2019): 67-87.听
  2. Ji-Young听Lee, 鈥淗istorical Memory and Reconciliation: A South Korean Perspective,鈥 in Tatsushi Arai, Shihoko Goto, and Zheng Wang, eds.听听(Washington, DC: The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, 2015), 37-47.
  3. Ji-Young听Lee and Andy Lim, 鈥鈥澨Comparative Connections听25,听no. 2听(September 2023): 151-160.
  4. Ji-Young听Lee, 鈥溾澨Comparative Connections听22, no. 2 (September 2020): 121-128.
  5. Ji-Young听Lee and听Mintaro Oba, 鈥,鈥澨Comparative Connections听20, no. 3 (January 2019): 97-106.
  1. Ji-Young听Lee, 鈥,鈥澨Center for Strategic and International Studies听Japan Chair Platform听(December 16, 2013).
  2. Le Monde, 鈥溾 (September 2021)
  3. National Journal, Global Security Wire, 鈥溾(Dec. 2, 2013)
  4. The Washington Times, 鈥溾澨(Feb. 25, 2013)
Associated Scholars