Inhwan Oh, Senior Research Fellow and Executive Director at EAI, analyzes the Trump administration’s 2025 Maritime Action Plan (MAP) as a watershed moment in U.S. grand strategy, interpreting it as a response to China’s rapid naval buildup and the erosion of America’s maritime industrial base. Dr. Oh notes that while the United States retains qualitative superiority in maritime power, China’s overwhelming shipbuilding output constitutes a structural challenge unprecedented in the post-Cold War era. The author concludes that South Korea, facing simultaneous pressures from the U.S.-China...

Commentary

• Inhwan OH
• June 04, 2025

Seunghee Ha, Research Professor at Dongguk University, contends that the culture of lyrical parody among North Korean residents functions as a form of cultural praxis that dismantles the symbolic language of state propaganda and confronts lived reality. Professor Ha argues that the emotions and creativity expressed through these adaptations embody a form of “quiet resistance,” revealing fractures in the regime’s apparatus of control. This phenomenon, the author concludes, signals the erosion of symbolic authority and the expansion of unofficial discourse within North Korean society.

Commentary

• Seunghee HA
• May 29, 2025

Chaesung Chun, Chair of the EAI National Security Research Center and Professor at Seoul National University, characterizes the Trump administration’s negotiation strategy as broker-style, privileging narrow tactical gains over structural resolution. Professor Chun asserts that future U.S.-North Korea summits are likely to adhere to this paradigm, cautioning that a diplomatic failure would likely precipitate renewed provocations, a gradual erosion of the international sanctions regime, and a deterioration of alliance cohesion. In light of these potential repercussions, the author advocates ...

Commentary

• Chaesung CHUN
• May 28, 2025