ZOOM-IN

Dr. Mark Peterson, professor emeritus of Korean, Asian, and Near Eastern languages at Brigham Young University talks about how traditional Confucian values are shaping — and sometimes clashing with — modern Korean family life, from filial piety and gender roles to growing individualism and the future of family in Korea.

Dr. Yu Ji-hoon, Director of Int’l Cooperation/ Research Fellow at Korea Institute for Defense Analyses talks about rising tensions on the Korean Peninsula, including North Korea–Russia military cooperation, controversy over intelligence disclosures, weapons developments, and the future of inter-Korean relations.

Dr. Abbas Milani, Director of Iranian Studies at Stanford University talks about the roots, escalation, and possible outcomes of the long-standing US–Iran conflict, including its historical origins, political dynamics, nuclear tensions, and future scenarios.

Terry Hart, former NASA astronaut and Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Lehigh University talks about NASA’s Artemis II mission, its historic lunar flyby, and the future of human space exploration.

Sahar Razavi, Director of Iranian and Middle East Studies Center, California State Universitytalks about the causes of ongoing conflict and uncertainty despite the U.S.-Iran ceasefire, and the key issues at stake .

Paige Aniyah Morris, literary translator talks about translating Han Kang’s works, the significance of the NBCC award, the globalization of Korean literature, and the translation landscape.

Dr. Amin Saikal, Emeritus Professor of Middle Eastern Studies at the Australian National Universitytalks about the ongoing Iran conflict one month in, focusing on stalled ceasefire efforts, the opposing strategies of the U.S. and Iran, rising regional tensions, and what the path forward might look like.

Dr. Yu Ji-hoon, Research Fellow at Korea Institute for Defense Analyses
talks about escalating tensions in the strait of Hormuz and South Korea’s security and energy supply crisis.

Sahar Razavi, Director of Iranian and Middle East Studies Center, California State University talks about Iran’s new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei, rising Iran–U.S. tensions, and whether Donald Trump is looking for a way to end the conflict.

Paik Seung-hoon, Principal Researcher at HUFS Institute of Middle East Studies talks about the escalating conflict between the United States and Israel and Iran following a joint strike that killed Iran's supreme leader, exploring the motives behind the attack, the possibility of regime change, Iran's next leadership, and the risk of a wider Middle East war.