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Pillars of Our Work

Korea in Global Affairs examines four vital pillars that shape Korea's global role and its profound impact on the world: Economic Security, Korean Peninsula and Historical International Relations, Korea-China Relations, and Korea-Japan Relations.

Through each pillar, our scholars will unravel the intricate tapestry of Korea's global contributions and their implications for our world through publications, media commentary, and public events.

Economic Security

More than ever, the economic, security, and technological dimensions of US-Korea relations are tightly linked today, with significant implications for the future of the international order. It is no longer possible to discuss the future of the alliance between Seoul and Washington without addressing global issues at the intersection of international political economy and national security. Our activities seek to offer thought leadership on economic security issues, such as supply chain resilience, clean energy, critical minerals, and emerging technologies such as biotechnology and artificial intelligence.

  1. Ji-Young Lee, Eugeniu Han, and Keren Zhu, “,” Australian Journal of International Affairs 76, no. 5 (October 2022): 486-506.
    • Shortlisted for the 2023 Boyer Prize, awarded annually to the best article published in the Australian Journal of International Affairs
  2. Ji-Young Lee, “” in Ashley Tellis, Alison Szalwinski, and Michael Wills, eds. Strategic Asia 2020: US-China Competition for Regional and Global Influence (Seattle: National Bureau of Asian Research, 2020), 74-101.

  3. Gwanhoo Lee and Jaeho Kim, “,”Communications of the ACM 65, no. 1 (2022): 68-75

  4. Gwanhoo Lee, “,” Telecommunications Policy 43, no. 5 (2019): 434-444.

  5. Eleni Ekmektsioglou, “,” Strategic Studies Quarterly 9, no. 2 (Summer 2015): 43-68.

  6. Nina Serafino and Eleni G. Ekmektsioglou, “,” in Derek S. Reveron, Nikolas K. Gvosdev, and John A. Cloud, eds. The Oxford Handbook of U.S. National Security (online edn, Oxford Academic, 2018).

  1. Nikkei Asia, “” (April 2023)

  2. Japan Times, “” (April 2023)

  3. Christian Science Monitor, “” (January 2023)

  4. The Wall Street Journal, “” (March 2022)

Introducing a new dialogue series that focuses on a global Korea, the US-Korea economic security partnership, and their impact on the shifting global order. As part of this series, our AU Korea Economic Security Forum is a convening space in which SIS’s academic expertise engages with government and think tank policy experts in DC. Between December 2023 and September 2024, participants meet five times to discuss the US’s industrial policy, “ally-shoring,” and the future of global supply chains.

Korean Peninsula and Historical International Relations

This project illuminates Korea’s international relations in a broad global historical perspective. The aim is to develop a strong intellectual foundation for thinking about historical international orders that Korea has been part of shaping. It not only helps understand Korea on its own terms but also brings to life histories that have implications for issues of contemporary significance.

  1. Ji-Young Lee,(New York: Columbia University Press, 2016).

  2. Ji-Young Lee, “,”Security Studies 25, no. 2 (April-June 2016): 320-52.

  3. Ji-Young Lee, “,”Journal of East Asian Studies 13, no. 2 (May-Aug. 2013): 309-36.

  4. Ji-Young Lee, “,” EAI Fellows Program Working Paper Series, no. 47 (December 2014).

  1. The Conversation, “” (February 2018)

  2. The Conversation, “” (January2018)

The Korean Peninsula and Historical International Relations Speaker Seriesfacilitates interdisciplinary dialogue on Korea in its broad web of interconnections and relations with other global actors. The Series hosts events that elucidate Korea/Asia's key historical moments of war, peace, and international order that shaped the contours of world politics.

Associated Scholars

Korea-China Relations

How are Beijing’s growing power and influence affecting relations between South Korea and China? South Korea’s evolving relations with China will have implications for the US alliance network in Asia, and vice versa. We'll look at topics including China’s attitude toward the US-South Korea alliance, China’s position toward Korean unification, and China's approach toward North Korean nuclear and missile threats.

  1. Ji-Young Lee, (Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 2020).

  2. Eleni Ekmektsioglou and Ji-Young Lee, “,” The Pacific Review 35, no. 4 (July 2022): 587- 616.

  3. Ji-Young Lee, The Great Power Next Door: The Past and Present of Chinese Military Intervention in the Korean Peninsula (under contract with Columbia University Press). This is a work-in-progress.

  1. Ji-Young Lee, “,” Asia-Pacific Bulletin, no. 62 (May 28, 2010).
  2. CNN Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer, “Experts See Body Language Clues in Kim Jong Un’s China Trip” (March 29, 2018)
  3. Washington Post, “,” (April 26, 2018)
  4. South China Morning Post, “” (June 5, 2020)
  5. WAMU 88.5 FM1A, “China: How a Superpower Sets Its Agenda,” (October 12, 2017)
  6. Chicago Public Radio WEBZ 91.5 FM Worldview, “What THAAD Means for US and South Korea Relations,” (June 15, 2017)
  7. Yonhap News “한국 내 ‘사드논란’ 너무 커져 [Growing Controversy over THAAD in Korea]” (March 17, 2015)
Associated Scholars

Korea-Japan Relations

In the minds of many, Seoul and Tokyo should make ideal partners for each other’s security and foreign policy, but their bilateral relations have often been stalled over a violent and tragic historyduring East Asia’s tempestuous transformation in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

  1. Ji-YoungLee and Jaehyun Lee, “,”The Korean Journal of International and Comparative Law7, no. 1 (June 2019): 67-87.
  2. Ji-YoungLee, “Historical Memory and Reconciliation: A South Korean Perspective,” in Tatsushi Arai, Shihoko Goto, and Zheng Wang, eds.(Washington, DC: The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, 2015), 37-47.
  3. Ji-YoungLee and Andy Lim, “”Comparative Connections25,no. 2(September 2023): 151-160.
  4. Ji-YoungLee, “”Comparative Connections22, no. 2 (September 2020): 121-128.
  5. Ji-YoungLee andMintaro Oba, “,”Comparative Connections20, no. 3 (January 2019): 97-106.
  1. Ji-YoungLee, “,”Center for Strategic and International StudiesJapan Chair Platform(December 16, 2013).
  2. Le Monde, “” (September 2021)
  3. National Journal, Global Security Wire, “”(Dec. 2, 2013)
  4. The Washington Times, “”(Feb. 25, 2013)
Associated Scholars