May 16th, 2013

A premier program in Korean Studies

Since 2001, the Stanford Korean Studies Program has developed into a world-renowned center offering impactful programs addressing current, policy-relevant issues and events. Read more »

October 29th, 2012

Former British ambassador on North Korea's citizens, reform and engagement

In the coverage of failed rocket launches and Kim Jong Un's new wife, North Korea's ordinary citizens are often overlooked. A new book by former British diplomat John Everard, delves into the daily life of North Koreans and examines the challenges of developing successful diplomatic relations with this isolated country. Everard spoke at Stanford on Oct. 26. Read more »

September 17th, 2012

In-depth on life in North Korea

John Everard spoke candidly with NK News about his experiences as UK ambassador to North Korea. In a related review, his new book, Only Beautiful, Please, is described as "a real commodity, offering an up to date snapshot of life on the ground."

• » John Everard Q&A
• » Book review

April 23rd, 2012

An on-the-ground perspective of North Korean society

Life in North Korea today is much more vibrant than the stark slopes and muted grey concrete buildings Katharina Zellweger encountered when she began traveling to North Korea in the mid-1990s. The 2011-12 Pantech Fellow spoke with Shorenstein APARC about the positive change she has watched slowly ripple throughout the country for 17 years. Read more »

November 11th, 2011

Development aid to North Korea urged

Development cooperation with North Korea is critical to dealing with the country's chronic food shortage. Katharina Zellweger, Stanford KSP 2011-2012 Pantech Fellow and the former head of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation office in Pyongyang for the past five years, spoke with the Voice of America about her observations and experiences of the country and its people.

• » Voice of America (article in Korean): Development aid to North Korea urged

November 10th, 2011

Korean-American community is important for the future of U.S.-ROK relations

During the recent North American Chasedae Forum, 2011 Koret Fellow Joon-woo Park stated: "[...As the United States and Korea] grow closer together, the role of the Korean-American community becomes crucial for the future of U.S.-ROK relations." The forum, held November 4-6, was organized by the San Francisco Chapter of the National Unification Advisory Council.

• » U.S.-ROK Relations and the Role of the Korean-American Community

August 16th, 2011

Volume takes multidimensional look at South Korean security

Beyond North Korea, co-edited by Byung Kwan Kim, Gi-Wook Shin, and David Straub, is the first in a new series of policy-related studies on contemporary South Korea sponsored by the Koret Foundation of San Francisco. In this volume, top American and Korean academics and officials offer a fresh and timely perspective on traditional and non-traditional threats to South Korea's security and provide authoritative advice for meeting them. The book is based on research findings from the first Koret conference, Enhancing South Korea's Security: The U.S. Alliance and Beyond, held March 2009.

• » Beyond North Korea: Future Challenges to South Korea's Security

June 23rd, 2011

Joon-woo Park, 2011-2012 Koret Fellow, to explore South Korean foreign policy

In September, Joon-woo Park, a former senior diplomat from Korea, will join the Korean Studies Program at Stanford University's Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center as the program's 2011-2012 Koret Fellow. Read more »

Incoming Pantech Fellow Katharina Zellweger brings a humanitarian perspective on North Korea

The Korean Studies Program at Stanford University's Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center announces that Katharina Zellweger, currently the North Korea country director for the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, will be the program's 2011-2012 Pantech Fellow. Read more »

Incoming Koret and Pantech Fellows bring extensive bilateral and North Korea experience

Stanford University's Korean Studies Program (KSP) looks forward to welcoming its Koret and Pantech Fellows for the 2011-2012 academic year. Joon-woo Park, a former senior diplomat from Korea with over thirty years of foreign policy experience, will arrive in September to serve as the program's Koret Fellow. While at Stanford, he will conduct research on South Korean foreign policy, including increased U.S.-Korean collaboration on China and prospects for East Asian regional integration based on the European Union model. Katharina Zellweger, currently residing in Pyongyang as the North Korea country director for the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, will join KSP in November as the Pantech Fellow. She is a Swiss national who has spent over fifteen years conducting humanitarian work in North Korea. Her research will explore how aid intervention can stimulate positive sustainable change in that country. The Koret Foundation of San Francisco and the Pantech Company and Curitel Communications (known as the Pantech Group) of Korea generously fund these fellowships.

• » Joon-woo Park, 2011-2012 Koret Fellow, to explore South Korean foreign policy
• » Incoming Pantech Fellow Katharina Zellweger brings a humanitarian perspective on North Korea

March 29th, 2011

John Everard, Pantech Fellow, to join UN Security Council Panel of Experts

John Everard, 2010–2011 Pantech Fellow with the Stanford Korean Studies Program at the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center and former UK Ambassador to North Korea, left Stanford at the end of March to take up a position with the UN Security Council's Panel of Experts, which advises and assists the UN committee that enforces military and economic sanctions against North Korea. Read more »

March 21st, 2011

Everard discusses social change and reform in North Korea

How is North Korean society changing and what is the potential for an Egypt-style revolution? John Everard, 2010-2011 Pantech Fellow and former U.S. Ambassador to North Korea, addressed this question in a recent Radio Free Asia (RFA) interview, noting that senior government leaders pose the greatest obstacle to reform. Korean-language transcripts of two segments of the interview are available on the RFA website.

• » RFA: Unclear for now what effect will be on North Korea of events in Egypt
• » RFA: Senior leadership, and their fear of loss of legitimacy, is the biggest obstacle to reform in North Korea

February 28th, 2011

Celebrating ten years of Korean studies at Stanford

Gi-Wook Shin came from the University of California, Los Angeles to Stanford University in 2001 to establish a program in Korean studies. "Naturally, I had mixed feelings—of excitement and hope, but also of anxiety and uncertainty," says Shin. "Looking back, I made the right decision." The Stanford Korean Studies Program, today a thriving and vibrant program at the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center, recently held a series of major events to celebrate its tenth anniversary in February 2011. Read more »

February 9th, 2011

Pantech Fellow John Everard's observations of markets in North Korea's capital city

During his time as UK Ambassador to North Korea from 2006 to 2008, John Everard frequently studied the bustling official and unofficial markets in the capital city of Pyongyang. The markets are places to purchase everything from food to domestic wares to even luxury goods, and they are probably also centers for the exchange of information. Everard concludes that the North Korean government warily tolerates the markets due to their economic importance, and that they serve as "both an ideological and a political challenge to the regime." He shared his observations at a talk held at the Korea Economic Institute of America (KEI) on February 2, 2011. Full audio and video recordings of the event are available on the KEI website, as well as a copy of Everard's presentation slides and his paper "The Markets of Pyongyang." Everard is the 2010-2011 Pantech Fellow with the Stanford Korean Studies Program.

• » KEI: The markets of Pyongyang
• » Dong-A Ilbo: Rice aid in North Korea's black markets

October 12th, 2010

North Korea is a real country, with real people, says John Everard

"North Korea is a real country with real people getting on with their lives," said John Everard, former British ambassador to North Korea, to a full-house audience at a Korean Studies Program (KSP) lunchtime seminar on October 8, 2010. In his introduction of Everard, David Straub, KSP's associate director, noted the lack of reliable information about North Korea. Official government information is limited and everyday life is perhaps even less understood. Everard, who served in North Korea from 2006-2008, offered a firsthand perspective of ordinary people living inside North Korea, giving a very human dimension to a country often regarded only as a closed military state. Audio transcript available
Read more »

April 26th, 2010

Appointment of 2010-2011 Pantech Fellow in Korean Studies Program

The Korean Studies Program of the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (APARC) is pleased to announce that Mr. John Everard will join the Center for the 2010-2011 academic year. Mr. Everard's research will be on North Korean life and society. During his fellowship at the Center, he will hold seminars related to his research and will be involved in various projects on Korea. Read more »

April 22nd, 2010

Behind the plot to assassinate North Korean defector Hwang Jang-yop

David Straub, associate director of the Korean Studies Program, discussed the reported infiltration of North Korean agents into South Korea to kill senior North Korean defector Hwang Jang-yop. Straub said that Hwang's former closeness to North Korean leader Kim Jong Il and Kim's late father Kim Il Sung probably made Kim Jong Il regard Hwang's outspoken criticism of North Korea as a personal betrayal.

• » Interview on PRI's "The World" radio show

April 21st, 2010

North Korea's radio waves of resistance

Pantech Fellow Peter M. Beck explains that North Korea is not as isolated as many observers believe, as millions of North Koreans regularly tune in to foreign radio broadcasts. This article originally appeared as "Breaking the News to North Koreans" as part of the Shorenstein APARC Dispatch series, original articles distributed monthly to the center's friends and supporters. Read more »

February 9th, 2010

North Korea: humanitarian and human rights dilemmas

The San Francisco-based Intercultural Institute of California's Korea Center held the first in a three-part series "North Korea: The Human Face" on February 3. Inviting specialists on North Korea from around the world, the first lecture featured Peter Beck of APARC, who discussed the challenges the world faces in dealing with humanitarian assistance and human rights in North Korea.

• » Koreatimes (article in Korean)

January 12th, 2010

Lessons from South Korea's Economc Policy during the Global Financial Crisis

South Korea is recovering from the global financial crisis and ensuing recession much more quickly than most other countries. Byongwon Bahk, Koret Fellow of Korean Studies Program at APARC, spoke on South Korean economy at the World Affairs Council in San Francisco. flyer available
Read more »

January 5th, 2010

Cost of Korean unification

Peter Beck, Pantech Fellow of Korean Studies Program, estimates that Korean unification would cost at least $2 trillion over 30 years.

• » Wall Street Journal (for complete article)

September 23rd, 2009

Obama keeping steady course on North Korea

The Obama administration's willingness to talk bilaterally with North Korea does not signify any weakening of U.S. support for the Six Party Talks and North Korean denuclearization, stresses David Straub, associate director of the Korean Studies Program at APARC, in an interview with major South Korean daily Dong-A Ilbo.

• » Dong-A Ilbo (complete article in Korean)

September 4th, 2009

Korean Studies Program welcomes visiting fellows and scholars for 2009-2010 academic year

The Korean Studies Program at Asia-Pacific Research Center welcomes Pantech Fellow, Koret Fellow, and visiting scholars from diverse backgrounds and experiences for 2009-2010 academic year. Read more »

August 20th, 2009

POSCO NGO Fellowship Program ended after three years

The POSCO NGO Fellowship Program which has been generously supported by the POSCO TJ Park Foundation of Korea is terminated as of August 2009. A consortium, consisting of Columbia University, Indiana University, George Washington University, Stanford University, and the University of British Columbia, has hosted thirty Korean NGO fellows for the past three years. Professor Gi-Wook Shin, director of Shorenstein APARC, has been the Chair of the Fellowship committee.

• » POSCO TJ Park NGO Fellowship Program 2008-2009

June 22nd, 2009

Appointment of the Koret Fellow in Korean Studies Program for 2009-10

The Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center is pleased to announce that Mr. Byongwon Bahk, former Senior Advisor to President Lee Myung-bak of Korea, will join the Center as the recipient of the Koret Fellowship in the Center's Korean Studies Program for 2009-2010 academic year. Read more »