4.0

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This course examines pressing geopolitical and economic issues confronting South Korea, which have immense implications not just for its own national security but also for regional and global security. The course consists of two parts: 1) traditional and emerging security issues related to the Korean Peninsula, and 2) Korea’s economic security and other global issues. The first part is designed to understand North Korea in terms of its regime and nuclear capabilities as well as its implications for regional and global security. The first part also examines other pressing security and defense issues such as the Taiwan Strait and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with a focus on the role of South Korea and the policy implications for South Korea. It will also survey emerging multilateral frameworks, including the Quad and AUKUS, to discuss Korea’s potential role and contributions to regional and global multilateralism. Also discussed will be the future trajectory of the US-ROK alliance. The second part of the course assesses how South Korea’s economy fits with the changing economic architecture of the Indo-Pacific and across the globe. The topics include global supply chains of critical technologies, climate change and clean energy, infrastructure development and connectivity, digital commerce and trade, the pandemic and public health, and the “soft power” of the Korean wave (hanryu). After an overview of these topics, the course will assess how the US-ROK alliance and economic partnership affects the region and the world’s economic security. The course aims to provide students with the information necessary to understand contemporary issues for South Korea and to understand how those issues relate to the evolving concept of the US-ROK alliance and economic partnership, as well as how South Korea can position itself as a global leader.