South Korea’s perfect storm and no one’s at the helm
South Korea stands at a precarious crossroads where economic challenges, security concerns, and shifting diplomatic alliances are converging in ways that could define its trajectory for years to come.
2025 01 30
Lies, damned lies, and South Korean opinion polls
Opinion polls are big in Korea. You can find one to support your views, no matter what they are. Now, this is concerning in itself, and from what I’ve seen, it pays to be pretty skeptical about polls when it comes to gauging public sentiment.
2025 01 24
Trump and Korea back on the roller coaster
On Tuesday morning, North Korea watchers in Seoul awoke to the news that President Trump made a video call from the stage at the Commander in Chief Ball, and asked U.S. service members in South Korea a question - How’s Kim Jong Un?
2025 01 23
The burgerflipper attitude in foreign policy
By focusing on substance over form, and by leaning on informal networks of trust and mutual understanding, burgerflippers navigate the world of foreign policy and diplomacy with a mix of irreverence and skill, quietly shaping policies that matter while resisting the fecklessness of imposed authority.
2025 01 19
The North Korea watcher ego trap
In the peculiar realm of the North Korea Watcher, a curious phenomenon unfolds: a seemingly insatiable desire among watchers, commentators, and analysts to remind us, repeatedly, of their former positions in government, think tanks, and academia. It's as if proximity to power—even when that power produced failure—is a badge of honor. This ostentatious display of credentials is not just unseemly; it’s counterproductive, undermining the credibility of the very insights they purport to offer.
2025 01 07
North Korea watchers and insight peddlers
In the world of the North Korea Watcher, there is an abundance of variety. One particularly interesting group is the insight peddler - the consultancy services that seek to sell their wares. Of these, there are five broad groups who, just like itinerant peddlers of old, can be categorized according to the wares they’re selling - in this case, the level of analysis undertaken.
2025 01 06
The Ugly American and Korea
The Ugly American (1958) by William J. Lederer and Eugene Burdick is a novel, which exposed the failings of U.S. foreign policy through a series of fictionalized stories about American diplomats and their interactions abroad. Though the novel was set in the context of Southeast Asia during the Cold War, its insights into the importance of humility, cultural understanding, and the dangers of arrogance remain relevant today.
2025 01 01
The seven best books for Korea analysis
This curated list provides not just information, but a more nuanced way to interpret and understand the complex realities of the Korean Peninsula, making them essential reading for any foreign policy analyst seeking clarity in a region defined by uncertainty.
2024 12 28
Creativity in diplomatic analysis
Diplomatic analysis has often been regarded as the domain of hard-nosed realists, relying on historical precedent and strategic interests to shape the world’s most consequential decisions.
2024 12 28
What if Korea had unified in 1950?
The Korean War remains one of the defining conflicts of the Cold War, shaping the geopolitical landscape and the Korean Peninsula. Both sides came close to complete victory. What if the war had ended in 1950 with a unified Korea?
2024 12 19