“There’s no future for the youth.” —Tun Myint, Professor of Political Science at Carleton College VOA In Myanmar, youth are forced to confront a deadly choice. The country’s precarious position is under constant threat from rebel groups. Since the 2021 coup that replaced democratically elected leadership with a military junta, Myanmar has teetered on the […]
Tag: South Korea
Not My Child: Parental Pressure on Teachers in South Korea
In South Korea, suicide is the leading cause of death among teenagers. It is the number one cause of death for young people since 2017, and the number of deaths continues to rise. Popular media and expert surveys pin the blame on the country’s rigorous educational system. Students are not only weighed down by long […]
The Koreas: Stars of a Familiar Global Standoff
70 years after South Korea and North Korea called a ceasefire on their ongoing armed conflict, tensions have run high between the two countries, but not culminating in mass violence. Their diplomatic relations continue to remain frosty, and their differences have diverged further through their respective alliances with the United States and Russia. Given the […]
Japan and South Korea Seek Reconciliation Amidst North Korean Missile Threats
Following a North Korean missile launch on the 14th of April, the U.S., Japan, and South Korea have agreed to increase the frequency of missile defense exercises and discussed resuming joint training. While the U.S. has maintained its presence in East Asia as well as its good relationships with both Japan and South Korea, this […]
South Korean “Feminism” Must Go
The growing social divide between the men and women of South Korea shows no signs of subsiding in the near future and threatens to seep into the upcoming presidential election. Never has the country experienced such vicious conflict between the sexes. The mere mention of gender is bound to spark an argument in nearly any […]
Womad: The New Face of Feminism in Korea?
On May 1, 2018, a South Korean female nude model at an art class in Hongik University uploaded numerous photographs showing a fellow male model posing nude onto a website called Womad. Its users reacted enthusiastically to the post, mocking the male model’s features and applauding the “bravery” of the female model’s action. Overnight, the […]
To Engage or Not to Engage: Diplomacy with North Korea?
Editors’ disclaimer: this debate was crafted during early 2018, before the development of new events between North and South Korea’s possible peace treaty that would formally end the Korean War. The contents discussed in the debate below ought to be evaluated as if such a groundbreaking event has yet to occur. RESOLVED: The United States […]
An Olympic Thaw, or Not
The opening ceremony of the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics was a symbol of hope. Dressed in all white, athletes from North and South Korea marched together under the same flag. The Olympics have long been a site of international sportsmanship, but the last time the two Koreas marched together was in the Olympics of Winter 2006, under the […]
Whose Allies Are They, Anyway? : North Korea’s Illicit Trade and the Role of China
North Korea. The world’s least free society, behind the world’s most militarized border, with the world’s most threatening nuclear weapons program. Despite a fanatical ideology of self-reliance, juche, Pyongyang maintains selective contacts with the outside world. These contacts are primarily aimed at maintaining the stability of the North Korean economy, and they have generally been […]
The North Korean Nuclear Crisis: Where to Go From Here
On September 15th, North Korea fired an intercontinental ballistic missile over the Japanese island of Hokkaido for the second time in the span of three weeks. This provocative launch comes just four days after the U.N. Security Council’s unanimous adoption of new U.S.-drafted sanctions on North Korea. Despite the new sanctions’ unprecedented severity and the […]