Korea On Point by the Korean Association of International Studies

Korea On Point by the Korean Association of International Studies aims to provide an open forum for debates on the most pressing issues that affect the Korean Peninsula. Each week, the editorial board invites a select group of experts from around the world to contribute their views and analyses. Korea On Point does not advocate particular views, beliefs, or ideologies; rather, it strives to publish balanced and incisive commentaries that lay bare key points of agreement as well as differences among relevant actors. Ultimately, Korea On Point aims to further stimulate discussions in the international community that lead to consensus and dialogue.
*The opinions expressed by our invited authors do not represent the official positions of Korea On Point or the Korean Association of International Studies.

Editor-in-Chief

Myong-Hyun GO

GO Myong-Hyun is a senior research fellow at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies. Previously, Dr. Go was a postdoctoral researcher at the University of California, Los Angeles, He received a B.A. in Economics and an M.A. in Statistics from Columbia University and the Ph.D. in policy analysis from the Pardee RAND Graduate School. Dr. Go was a Munich Young Leader of the Munich Security Conference 2015, and is currently a member of the Advisory Committee of the ROK Ministry of National Defense, a Senior Adjunct Fellow at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS), and an Associate Fellow at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI).

Editorial Board

Ihn-hwi PARK

Sung-Yoon CHUNG

PARK Ihn-hwi is a professor of the Division of International Studies at Ewha Womans University in Korea. Prof. Park is the President of the Korea Association of International Studies which is the largest academic society in the area of international relations, security studies, foreign policy, and regional studies in Korea. He also serves as a member of the Korea Social Science Research Council. He has been a member of the Advisory Committee of the Office of National Security between 2017 and 2019, and a member of the Preparatory Committee for Unification in which the Chairperson of the committee was the president of Korea between 2014 and 2017. He is actively engaged in many NGOs and Think-tanks such as the Korean Council for Reconciliation and Cooperation, the Korea Peace Foundation, The Ahnmin Institute for Public Policy, etc. He was a visiting scholar at the Jackson School of International Studies of the University of Washington in 2010. Prof. Park has written many book chapters and articles including The Koreas between China and Japan(Cambridge, 2014), International Journal of Korean Unification Studies, Korea Journal of Defense Analysis, the Korean Journal of International Studies, Global Economic Review, and etc. He received his Ph. D. in the area of international politics from Northwestern University in 1999.

Dr. Chung Sung-Yoon is a Research Fellow at the Korea Institute for National Unification. His research area includes North Korea’s nuclear issue, security strategy, and U.S.-North Korea relations. He is currently serving as an advisory member for the National Security Office of the Office of the President and the Office of Korean Peninsular Peace and Security Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He received his B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. in political science and international relations from Korea University.

Wonho YEON

Hyo Won LEE

Wonho YEON is a research fellow and head of the Economic Security Team at the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy (KIEP). He received his B.A. in East Asian History and English Literature from Yonsei University, M.A. in International Relations with a concentration in both Korea and Japan Studies from UC San Diego’s School of Global Policy and Strategy, and Ph.D. in Economics from Stony Brook University. His current research interests include U.S.-China trade conflict, U.S.-China technological rivalry, and economic security. His recent publications include: “The U.S. Leads China in the Chip Race” (GlobalAsia 2022), “U.S.-China Strategic Competition and Economic Security Strategy of Korea” (Wilson Center 2022), “Restructuring Global Supply Chains,” Korea’s Medium- and Long-Term Trade Strategies by Region and International Economic Cooperation Plans (KIEP 2021) and U.S.-China Technological Rivalry and Its Implications for Korea (KIEP 2020). Currently, He is a member of the policy advisory committees for the National Security Office (Office of the President) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In April 2022, He was also a member of then-President-elect Yoon Suk Yeol’s R.O.K.-U.S. Policy Consultation Delegation, where he was in charge of economic security issues.
Dr. Hyo Won Lee is an assistant professor in the department of Political Science at Incheon National University, South Korea since 2021. Previously, she was an assistant professor for International Commerce at Global Leaders College in Yonsei University (2016 - 2020). She earned her B.A and M.A from department of Political Science at Yonsei University and received her Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Washington, Seattle in 2015. Her area of expertise are international political economy and international organizations. Her research explores the role and efficacy of international organizations. She is interested in utilization of the WTO and other intergovernmental organizations by various international and domestic actors. Her recent works are published at the Review of International Organizations, European Journal of International Relations, The World Economy, Political Studies and etc.

Jiyoun PARK

Taehee WHANG

Jiyoun Park is Associate Professor at the School of International Studies, Jeonbuk National University (ROK). She was a Research Fellow at the Research Institute for North Korea and Northeast Asia Development, the Export-Import Bank of Korea. She received her Ph.D. from the Ewha Womans University (ROK) following an MA from the University of York (UK). Her research interests are related to economic statecraft including both positive and negative sanctions. She has recently published “Cash-based aid and civil war violence” in Research and Politics (2022), “Are smart sanctions smart enough?” in International Political Science Review (2022), “The clean development mechanism (CDM) as a financial platform for North Korea's development” in Journal of the Asia Pacific Economy (2018). She can be reached at jyp@jbnu.ac.kr
Taehee Whang is a Professor of Political Science and International Studies, at Yonsei University. After receiving his Ph.D. from the University of Rochester in 2007, he worked at Texas A&M University as an Assistant Professor for five years. He joined Korea University in 2012 and moved to Yonsei University in 2015. His research interest includes international relations, economic sanctions and aid, and politics and economy of North Korea. His work appears in American Journal of Political Science, British Journal of Political Science, European Journal of International Relations, International Organization, International Studies Quarterly, Political Analysis, Journal of Peace Research, and Journal of Theoretical Politics.

Ramon Pacheco Pardo

HOO Chiew-Ping

Ramon Pacheco Pardo is Professor of International Relations at King's College London and the KF-VUB Korea Chair at the Centre for Security, Diplomacy and Strategy (CSDS) of the Brussels School of Governance (BSoG-VUB). He is also Non-Resident Fellow at Sejong Institute, Adjunct Fellow (Non-Resident) with the Korea Chair at CSIS, Committee Member at CSCAP EU, and Scientific Council Member at Elcano Royal Institute. His publications include the books Korea: A New History of South and North (Yale University Press, 2023; with Victor Cha), South Korea's Grand Strategy: Making Its Own Destiny (Columbia University Press, 2023), Shrimp to Whale: South Korea from the Forgotten War to K-Pop (Hurst and Oxford University Press, 2022), and North Korea-US Relations from Kim Jong Il to Kim Jong Un (Routledge, 2019).
Dr. HOO Chiew-Ping is Senior Lecturer in Strategic Studies and International Relations, National University of Malaysia (UKM). She is concurrently Co-Founder and Co-Convenor of East Asian International Relations (EAIR) Caucus, Adjunct Lecturer at the Malaysian Armed Forces Defence College (MAFDC), and Editorial Board Member of the AUP Politics and IR in Asia Series, Amsterdam University Press. Her main research interests include US-ROK alliance strategy towards North Korean provocations, Southeast Asia-North Korea relations, ASEAN-Korea partnership, and nuclear security in Asia-Pacific. From 2021 until early 2023, Dr. Hoo was a member of Asia Pacific Nuclear Advisory Panel (APNAP), established by the British American Security Information Council (BASIC), a think-tank based in London promoting understanding on nuclear risks and nuclear security. Hoo is the editor of The New Southern Policy: Catalyst for Deepening ASEAN-ROK Relations (ISIS Malaysia, 2020), and a forthcoming co-editing book volume (with Shine Choi and Brian Bridges) on Southeast Asia-DPRK relations. She received her PhD in Politics and International Relations from La Trobe University, Australia.

Emily Kilcrease

So Jeong Kim

STAFF

Associate Editor

Do Hee KIM

Do Hee Kim is currently in the Ph.D. program in Economics at Seoul National University and has worked at the Institute of Economic Research at Seoul National University. She was a researcher at the Korea Institutes of Public Finance (KIPF) and the Korea Institutes for International Economic Policy (KIEP). She received her M.A. in Applied Economics from Georgetown University and her B.S. in Economics from the Pennsylvania State University (UP).

Editorial Assistants

  • Yujin KO

    Seoul National University, Graduate School of International Studies

  • Chaerim (Emily) AN

    Seoul National University, Graduate School of International Studies

  • Yoonseo LEE

    Seoul National University, Graduate School of International Studies

  • Han Na JUN

    Seoul National University, Graduate School of International Studies

  • Jae Eun HAN

    Graduate of School of International and Public Affiars, Columbia University

Interns

Contact Us

Korea on Point aspires to raise awareness on vital issues involving the Korean Peninsula and encourage candid, inclusive discussions. We welcome our readers to comment on or respond to our articles via koreaonpoint@kaisnet.or.kr. To be considered for republication, responses must be in English, at least 500 words in length, and deemed to be of merit by our editor-in-chief and editorial staff.

About the Korean Association of International Studies (KAIS)

The Korean Association of International Studies (KAIS) was founded in 1956 by Korean political scientists to advance research and education in international relations. It maintains a neutral stance without affiliations to political parties and has grown to include over 2,100 members, making it a prominent academic association in Korea. KAIS hosts annual meetings, international conferences, and special seminars while also publishing academic journals and textbooks, contributing significantly to the quality of scholarship in the field of international studies.
More information can be found here: https://kaisnet.or.kr/kais_eng