KEI Live

The last month has seen two North Korean ICBM tests, a new round of UN sanctions, and threats exchanged between Washington and Pyongyang. To catch up on the latest developments from the Korean Peninsula and try to make sense of some of the rhetoric that has been coming out of the Trump Administration, three members of the KEI staff sat down with Korean Kontext host Jenna Gibson for this episode of the podcast. 

 

Mark Tokola, KEI's vice president, Troy Stangarone, our senior director, and Kyle Ferrier, director of academic affairs and research, discuss a variety of topics related to North Korea, including the difference between a preventative strike and a pre-emptive one, possibilities for the use of cyber attacks, and some of the strengths and weaknesses of the new UN sanctions.

 

Photos from the U.S. Coast Guard and Prachatai on flickr Creative Commons.

After more than a decade as the number three sender of foreign students to the United States, last year South Korea dropped to number four, after several years of declining enrollments. Why, after years of sending tens of thousands of students of all ages to study in the United States, are Koreans less keen on coming to the U.S.?

 

To answer this question, Korean Kontext host Jenna Gibson sat down with education expert Vincent Flores, EducationUSA's Regional Educational Advising Coordinator (REAC) for Northeast Asia and the Pacific, who is based in Seoul. Flores shares some of his thoughts on why the numbers are dropping, and also gives some insights into what EducationUSA and American colleges and universities are doing to try to reverse this trend.

As North Korea's largest trading partner and political ally, China is a crucial factor in any potential solution to curb North Korea's weapons programs. President Trump expressed hope earlier this year that China would help in the U.S.'s effort to restrain North Korea, which he would later tweet that it had "not worked out." How important is China to North Korea, and what does this mean for the national security of the U.S. and its Pacific allies? What measures can be taken to encourage China's cooperation in dealing with North Korea's nuclear program?

 

On this week’s episode, we spoke with Gordon Chang, author of The Coming Collapse of China and Nuclear Showdown: North Korea Takes on the World, about China and North Korea’s relationship and what it means for the future of U.S. and South Korean national security.

 

Founded in 2014, Korean startup SAY (Seniors and Youth) is a Korean tutoring company with a social mission behind their work - helping Korean retirees find meaningful work. To do this, they have set up a company that connects young foreigners who are eager to learn the Korean language with older Koreans who are eager to share their time and experience.

 

In this episode, Korean Kontext host Jenna Gibson sits down with two of SAY's founders, Yongmin Cho and Quan Nguyen, to discuss the origins behind the company, their social mission, and how Korean learners can benefit from their lessons.

 

In December 1950, while fighting the advancing Chinese army and bitter Korean winter, Colonel Edward Forney and other American and Korean officers managed to evacuate all troops as well as 100,000 North Korean refugees out of the port city of Hungnam. 

 

Now, 67 years later, Colonel Forney's grandson, Ned Forney, was invited to Washington, DC to take part in a ceremony at the National Marine Corps Museum's new memorial for those who faught in the Chosin Reservoir battle that made the Hungnam Evacuation possible. The ceremony was part of the recent visit by new President Moon Jae-In, whose parents were among the refugess saved by Colonel Forney during the evacuation.

 

In this episode, Ned discusses the history of the evacuation, his grandfather's role, and President Moon's personal connection to this story.

On June 26, a day after the 67th anniversary of the start of the Korean War, KEI hosted an event on Capitol Hill to honor three current and former members of Congress who are veterans of the conflict in Korea. One of them was former Congressman Charlie Rangel of New York, who fought in several major battles in Korea, earning a Purple Heart, the Bronze Star with Valor, and three battle stars.

 

While in Washington for the reception, Rangel sat down with KEI President Donald Manzullo, who served with Rangel in the House of Representatives for many years. In this episode, the two discuss Rangel's time fighting in Korea, his thoughts about how far South Korea has come since he first arrived there in 1950, and his service in Congress.

North Korea is no stranger to news headlines in America. The provocative actions of the secretive nation have made them a prime target for constant media coverage stateside. On the other hand, South Korea often gets overshadowed by the North in American news despite being an important economic and security partner. 

In this special episode, we talk with Korean Kontext host Jenna Gibson about how North and South Korea are covered in U.S. media outlets and the implications for public awareness of Korean issues in America. Jenna recently traveled to South Korea to present at the World Congress for Korean Politics to present her research, and we discuss the findings from her media content analysis. 

Image from Korea Economic Institute of America.

In February 2018, the South Korean city of PyeongChang will play host to the 2018 Winter Olympic Games. With less than a year to go, Korea has been hard at work preparing for the big event, making sure fans from around the world feel welcome in PyeongChang.

 

Recently, host Jenna Gibson sat down with two officials involved in the planning for the Olympics. In this episode, Ok Hee Kang, Executive Vice President of the International Tourism Promotion Division at the Korea Tourism Organization, and Sunny Kim, Head of the Key Client Team for the Organising Committee for Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018, both share their perspectives on how the preparation are going so far and how American fans can get involved.

In 2016, the number of American tourists visiting South Korea grew 12 percent, continuing a trend of slow but steady growth over the last few years. What is making more Americans curious about travelling to Korea? And what kinds of activities are they doing once they get there? 

 

In this episode, Korean Kontext host Jenna Gibson sits down with Sung Kim of the Korea Tourism Organization's New York office to discuss recent trends in tourism to Korea, and how they are trying to encourage more Americans to visit the Land of the Morning Calm.

 

Photo by Jenna Gibson, KEI.