What does it mean to be Korean?
Is a person's Korean identity contingent on their birth on the Korean Peninsula, their parents’ ethnicity, or their ability to speak Korean?
100 years ago - this was an easier question to answer - a person self-identifying as Korean was likely born on the Korean Peninsula, to two ethnic Korean parents, and spoke Korean.
But the complexity of Korean identity in the 21st century parallels the turbulence of Korea’s history in the 20th century: displacement of caused by Japanese colonialism, Stalin’s deportation of ethnic Koreans to Central Asia, Zainichi Koreans left in limbo after the second world war in Japan, and the migration of Koreans to the Americas in search of new opportunities.
Now there is a vast Korean diaspora around the world - and also a new multi-cultural Korean community in the Korean Peninsula.
Our guest Joseph Juhn spent the last 3 years developing a documentary about one particular group: the Korean Cubans. His project focuses on the life of one Korean-Cuban in particular - Jeronimo Lim who fought alongside Fidel Castro and Che Guevara in the 1958 Revolution. "Jeronimo: An Untold Tale of Koreans in Cuba" premiers in South Korea on November 21, 2019.
What are Domestic Politics Doing to the U.S.-Korea Alliance?
Charting China’s Use of Armed Coercion: James Siebens (Part 2)
Charting China’s Use of Armed Coercion: James Siebens (Part 1)
Where are North Korea's Relations with Russia Headed?
The U.S.-ROK-DPRK Strategic Triangle in the Indo-Pacific Era
How Can Korea and Australia Cooperate in the Indo-Pacific?
Energy Insecurity: How Resource-Poor Korea and Japan Powered Their Economies
The Costs of War: Deepening North Korea-Russia Ties
Economic Security and U.S.-China Competition: The View From North Korea
Rhetoric Vs. Reality: Seoul and Washington’s Strategic Alignment on Taiwan
Korea’s Cultural Wave: The Story Behind the Strength
South Korea: Caught in the Crosshairs of U.S. China Competition Over Semiconductors
The ROK-U.S. Alliance at 70: Expanding Diplomatic Horizons Through Public Diplomacy
What We Know and Don’t Know about North Korea
From K-Pop to K-Beauty: KEI at KCON
South Korea and Global Public Health Beyond the Pandemic: Dr. Jerome Kim
Building Trilateral Momentum: The U.S.-Korea-Japan Summit
The Challenges of Implementing Sanctions on North Korea: An Expert’s Perspective
Democracy and Duty in Korea: Aram Hur
Humanizing Korea: E. Tammy Kim
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