Korea — English Posts — 국제전략센터/The International Strategy Center

It was eerily beautiful as we walked along the fortress wall of the Democracy and Human Rights Memorial building. It was peaceful standing beneath trees that hung over the security gate as we were introduced to the place where we stood.

ISC ArticlesInternational Strategy CenterAugust 8, 2019democracy, Korea

Learning Our Still Present Past

I had the opportunity to attend two back to back events by the ISC about democracy and human rights in downtown Seoul, South Korea. Sounds boring right? However, these events were engaging and new for two reasons.

ISC ArticlesInternational Strategy CenterAugust 8, 2019democracy, Korea

Peace, A New Beginning — National Security Law, Our Task Ahead

On April 27, 2018, Chairman Kim Jong-un crossed the military demarcation line to be greeted by President Moon Jae-in in the South Korean side of Panmunjom.

The [su:p], ISC ArticlesInternational Strategy CenterJune 7, 2018Korea, North Korea, Peace, Peace Process, USA, Moon Jae-in, Kim Jeong-UnComment

Is a Korean Spring Around the Corner?

Since Korea’s Candlelight Revolution of 2016, the changes on the peninsula seem to herald a spring. Amid high hopes that the country, divided for over 70 years…

ISC ArticlesInternational Strategy CenterJune 7, 2018Korea, North Korea, USA, Peace, Peace Process, Candlelight RevolutionComment

Reclaiming Peace of Mind: The Fight Over Yongsan’s U.S. Military Base

My father and his family moved to the US from South Korea when he was just eleven years old. Now, at twenty, I made my first-ever trip to Korea.

The [su:p]International Strategy CenterJune 7, 2018Korea, USA, North Korea, Peace, Peace Process, US militaryComment

GM Korea a Sacrificial Lamb for Dine-and-Dash GM: Our Union’s Fight for Another Five Years

GM Korea and its union reached a tentative agreement on April 23, one hour before the deadline to file for court receivership (the first step in declaring bankruptcy).

Publications, The [su:p], Korean NewsInternational Strategy CenterApril 27, 2018Korea, USA, union, GM, Labor, labor rights, worker's rightsComment

Samsung’s Documents Expose Union Busting

Samsung is South Korea’s biggest conglomerate. It is famous for having been union free ever since its foundation. It has, recently, been accused of creating documents containing detailed plans for busting the labor unions…

Korean News, The [su:p]International Strategy CenterApril 27, 2018Korea, union, Candlelight Revolution, SamsungComment

The Long Road to Peace in the Korean Peninsula: the South-North-Korea-US Summit

2017 was a nerve-racking year for the Korean Peninsula, a tinderbox that could have exploded into war. In July, North Korea announced the successful launch of the long range…

[Report] Workers Become Owners — Woojin Traffic, A Korean Case Study of Workers' Self-Management union

It is important to identify factors behind workers’ self-management (WSM) companies’ success that can be applied to other cases: empowerment of workers through…

Research PaperInternational Strategy CenterMarch 29, 2018Korea, unionComment

GM Plans on Shutting Down GM Korea Plant That Would Impact Thousands of Workers

The U.S. multinational General Motors (GM) is planning on shutting down GM Korea’s Gunsan plant. This would mean a loss of 2,000 jobs. GM has requested bailout funds from the Korea Development Bank.

Korean NewsInternational Strategy CenterMarch 29, 2018Korea, USA, GMComment

Former President Lee Myung Bak is Arrested for Corruption

On Mar. 14, President Lee Myung Bak (MB) was finally summoned on suspicion of possessing illegal slush funds estimated at 10 billion won (a bit less than 10 million dollars). Testimony from former aides are…

Korean NewsInternational Strategy CenterMarch 29, 2018Candlelight Revolution, Korea, Lee Myung-BakComment

It Was Always #MeToo: Korea’s Fight Against Sexual Violence

On Oct. 2017, in the U.S., the hashtag #MeToo went viral as women shared online incidents of sexual harassment and assault in the workplace. The hashtag soon made news headlines with accusations…

The [su:p]International Strategy CenterFebruary 27, 2018MeToo, Me Too, Feminism, Seo Ji-Hyun, Korea, equalityComment

What Iceland’s Crowdsourcing Constitutional Reform Teaches Us

In Korea, dictators and corrupt presidents such as Rhee Synghman, Chun Doo-hwan and Park Geun-hye have been brought down by people’s power. And while people’s anger towards these…

ISC ArticlesInternational Strategy CenterFebruary 27, 2018Europe, Iceland, KoreaComment

Finding the Seeds of a Better World: Worker Self-Management

When I set out as part of a small team to write a report on workers’ self-management (WSM) in Korea last spring I had no idea how laborious an undertaking it would be.

The [su:p]International Strategy CenterFebruary 26, 2018Korea, Woojin, Paris Baguette, unionComment

Singori Nuclear Reactors 5 and 6’s Public Consultation and the Tasks Ahead

On Dec. 16, the International Strategy Center invited our Advisor Director of Energy Justice Actions Lee Heon-seok to present on “Singori Nuclear Reactors 5 and 6's Public Consultation and the Tasks Ahead.”

ISC ArticlesInternational Strategy CenterFebruary 26, 2018Korea, Energy, Environment, Nuclear, Nuclear Reactor, Moon Jae-inComment

Telling the Government to First Solve North Korea’s Nuclear Weapons Problem Is Absurd

On Jan. 9, high level North-South Korea took place for the first time in two years. In his New Year's address, President Moon Jae-in even mentioned the possibility of a North-South Summit talk.

If You Don't Raise the Minimum Wage, Then a Bigger Calamity Will Follow... Let’s Not Become Like Japan

In light of the recent efforts by the Moon administration's efforts to raise the minimum wage and the arguments by his detractors, this article investigates Japan's lost 20 years to argue for increasing…

Korean NewsInternational Strategy CenterFebruary 26, 2018Korea, minimum wage, lost 20 years, Japan, NEET, AsiaComment

Why North Korea developed nuclear bombs: US-North Korean relations (1990 to today)

Few people are aware that before taking out its nuclear card, North Korea had approached the United States in earnest. As Communism crumbled and the Soviet Union established diplomatic…

The [su:p]International Strategy CenterNovember 29, 2017Kim Jeong-Un, Nuclear, Peace Process, Peace, North Korea, Korea, Bill Clinton, George W Bush, USAComment

President Moon gives up on nuclear phase-out and a renewal of the nuclear free movement

After the election, the political winds changed on the Shin Kori 5 and 6 nuclear reactors’ issue. President Moon shifted…

Dongpo: Korean Education and Exposure Program

For twenty-three years, KEEP has immersed Korean diaspora into Korea’s social movements and struggles on a nearly two week trip. Adoptees, multiracial, Korean-born, he, she, they, 1.5, 2nd generation…