FALL 2007
South Korea's Presidential Elections: Growing Pains of a Young Democracy
Charles K. Armstrong, Associate Professor of History and Director of the Center for Korean Research at Columbia University; Haeran Lim, Visiting Fellow at the Brookings Institution and Associate Professor and Chair of Seoul National University's Political Science Department; and Kristin Burke, Research Associate at Stanford University's Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (APARC); discuss the main factors which contributed to Lee Myung-bak's landslide victory in South Korea's 2007 presidential election such as dissatisfaction with Roh Moo-hyun's presidential record and Lee Myung-bak's perceived competence on issues concerning the Korean economy.
IRP Gatekeeper Editors Report from Korea (audio and report available)
The International Reporting Project at SAIS (IRP) and USKI discuss the findings of the IRP report, Crossing the Divide: IRP Gatekeeper Editors Cover the Two Koreas. This report was based on a ten-day fact finding mission to Korea, where they interviewed a wide cross-section of leaders in government, politics, business, health, academics, media and other walks of life. This mission coincided with a trip to North Korea by a U.S. technical team sent to dismantle North Korea's nuclear reactor at Yongbyon.
The U.S. in Korea: The Economic Dimension (audio available)
Tami Overby, President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea (better known as AMCHAM), along with Seok Young Choi, Minister of Economic Affairs at the Embassy of the Republic of Korea and key U.S. business representatives, analyze the strategic opportunities of the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA).
Min Jin Lee’s first novel, Free Food for Millionaires, has been compared to 19th century Victorian classics such as Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Free Food for Millionaires takes place in the present and tackles difficult topics such as love, betrayal, class and race. Lee is joined by Yoonmee Chang, Professor of English at George Mason University, in a discussion and reading of Lee’s masterpiece.
What North Koreans Know: By a Recurrent Visitor to the DPRK Countryside
Stephen Linton, Chairman of the Eugene Bell Foundation, has visited North Korea several times since 1979, providing medicine and equipment to curb tuberculoses. Unlike most others, Linton was not restricted to Pyongyang, but was allowed access to cities and towns throughout the countryside. In a closed session, Linton described the great changes he has observed in the information available to North Koreans over the years.
Inside North Korea: A Report by Good Friends (audio and transcripts available)
The Venerable Pomnyun, Chairman of the Good Friends Center for Peace, Human Rights, and Refugees, reported on the conditions inside North Korea including issues surrounding the current food crisis and the breakdown of the education system. Dr. Seung-joo Baek of the Korea Institute for Defense Analysis discussed security issues on the Korean peninsula and the conditions necessary for peace between the two nations.
The Confidante: Condoleezza Rice and the Creation of the Bush Legacy (audio available)
Glenn Kessler, Washington Post Diplomatic Correspondent, discusses his book, The Confidante: Condoleeza Rice and the Creation of the Bush Legacy. The book is a detailed and newsy look at Rice's tenure as U.S. Secretary of State, including her policies toward North Korea, the Middle East, Europe and terrorism.