Junotane

My name is Jeffrey Robertson, aka Junotane. On this site, I write on foreign policy, diplomacy and the Korean Peninsula.

As an advisory warning, it’s direct, no holds barred, cutting commentary from in-country. It may offend. There’s no government baloney, no corporate cream, and no thinktank spruiking. Just free-thinking insight - commentary, analysis and fiction.

From here you can head on over to read About Junotane, including subscriptions and contact details; or you can head straight to the Writing section where you will find Analysis, Commentary, and Fiction on the Korean Peninsula and the the region.

Thanks for visiting and remember: be thankful, be nice, and help people - life is short :)

Trump, Iran, and Seoul’s steady, silent turn to self-reliance
Trump, Iran, and Seoul’s steady, silent turn to self-reliance

U.S. soft power is disappearing faster than a bouffant comb-over on a windy day - and in Seoul the winds are blowing hard.

2025 06 19

The liberal-democratic ephemera that was South Korea
The liberal-democratic ephemera that was South Korea

As the Trump Administration sends in troops against the wishes of the Governor of California to quell riots and near-daily ICE raids rock American cities, it’s hardly becoming to point out challenges to democracy anywhere else in the world - let alone South Korea.

2025 06 17

Strategic flexibility and Korea’s return to the frontlines of conflict
Strategic flexibility and Korea’s return to the frontlines of conflict

Strategic flexibility—the U.S. doctrine that deems forward-deployed forces, including those in South Korea, ready to respond to crises anywhere in the region—is knitting the Korean and Taiwan theaters together once again.

2025 06 16

South Korea’s early move on broadcasts demonstrates poor diplomatic advice
South Korea’s early move on broadcasts demonstrates poor diplomatic advice

Significance. President Lee’s loudspeaker suspension aligns with his liberal mandate and appeals to domestic stakeholders. Yet the lack of pre-coordination with the Trump Administration reflects a critical oversight in diplomatic choreography.

2025 06 11

Will geography determine South Korea’s future?
Will geography determine South Korea’s future?

Geography is more than a backdrop—it often shapes the grand arcs of national strategy. While political will, technology, ideology, and the vagaries of fortune do override geography, it is always momentary. Like the rocks and earth on which it rests, geography tells tales over millenia, not centuries or decades.

2025 06 10

The pointlessness of North Korea policy
The pointlessness of North Korea policy

At the moment, it’s impossible to escape. The parade of think tank briefs, university reports, blog posts, and earnest social media threads is already in full swing. After all, the moment seems irresistible — a relatively new U.S. president and a freshly minted South Korean one.

2025 06 09

South Korea’s social media problem
South Korea’s social media problem

The Lee Administration faces a dilemma. It wants to clean up the internet. And who can blame it? The country’s digital spaces—once the pride of a hyper-connected, democratic society—have become a swamp of hate speech, deepfake porn, conspiracy theories, and coordinated harassment. Social media reform is not just overdue; it’s essential.

2025 06 09

The American left’s misguided crush on Lee Jae-myung
The American left’s misguided crush on Lee Jae-myung

It was inevitable. Like watching porn in tracksuit pants, America’s left-leaning commentators can’t hide their fondness for Lee Jae-myung. A plucky human rights lawyer who survived child labor in a factory; a human rights lawyer; and someone who stared down authoritarianism at the barricades. It’s classic Western leftist fetishism—a script-ready narrative for a Michael Moore documentary. Unfortunately, this sentimental packaging misunderstands both Lee and Korea.

2025 06 05

South Korea needs a content strategy
South Korea needs a content strategy

It didn’t take long. Just minutes after it became clear that Lee Jae-myung won South Korea’s presidential election, American conservative social media lit up with a verdict: “RIP South Korea.” According to Laura Loomer: “the communists have taken over.”

2025 06 04

South Korea’s strategic futures between continental and maritime powers
South Korea’s strategic futures between continental and maritime powers

Attention has turned to the re-emergence of a Cold War-like division in East Asia, with China, North Korea, and Russia on one side and the United States, South Korea, and Japan on the other.

2025 06 03