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Jean H. Lee

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IN THE NEWS

Featured
National Geographic: Inside North Korea's Dynasty
Nov 22, 2018
National Geographic: Inside North Korea's Dynasty
Nov 22, 2018

With North Korea's relations with the rest of the world at a new and unpredictable inflection point, National Geographic Documentary Films presents INSIDE NORTH KOREA'S DYNASTY, a groundbreaking four-episode documentary series that examines the extraordinary history of the world's only communist dynasty, three generations in the making. Featuring interviews with journalist Jean H. Lee.

Read More →
Nov 22, 2018
ABC national radio in Australia: North Korea from the Inside
Oct 28, 2018
ABC national radio in Australia: North Korea from the Inside
Oct 28, 2018

When experienced reporter Jean Lee took on the role of AP bureau chief in Seoul, she was asked to establish a bureau in North Korea’s capital, Pyongyang.

The task, which seemed almost impossible, became even less certain when the Supreme Leader, Kim Jong Il, disappeared. 

Jean managed to open the news bureau in 2012, and was witness to the momentous change brought to North Korea by Kim Jong Il’s death.

Read More →
Oct 28, 2018
CBS News' Face the Nation
Jun 6, 2018
CBS News' Face the Nation
Jun 6, 2018

Jean Lee joins host Margaret Brennan and Sue Mi Terry of CSIS to discuss the latest on North Korea on Face the Nation.

Read More →
Jun 6, 2018
VICE News Tonight: Binge watching North Korean TV is surreal — and educational
Feb 22, 2018
VICE News Tonight: Binge watching North Korean TV is surreal — and educational
Feb 22, 2018

To understand more about what North Koreans are watching and what the government wants them to think, we arranged a screening with Jean Lee, who became an expert in North Korean television when she worked as a journalist in Pyongyang.

Read More →
Feb 22, 2018
VICE News Tonight (HBO): North Korean soap operas
Feb 21, 2018
VICE News Tonight (HBO): North Korean soap operas
Feb 21, 2018

In order to learn more about Kim’s policy priorities and everyday life in the secretive kingdom, VICE News binges North Korean soaps with the Wilson Center’s Jean Lee.

Read More →
Feb 21, 2018
NPR's All Things Considered: The Political Gamesmanship Behind The 2018 Winter Olympics
Feb 10, 2018
NPR's All Things Considered: The Political Gamesmanship Behind The 2018 Winter Olympics
Feb 10, 2018

Michel Martin asks North Korea expert Jean Lee, former Ambassador to South Korea Mark Lippert, and former COO for the U.S. Olympic Committee Lt. Gen. Wallace Gregson about behind-the-scenes diplomacy.

Read More →
Feb 10, 2018
NPR WBUR Here and Now: North Korean Olympic performers 'propaganda coup'
Jan 18, 2018
NPR WBUR Here and Now: North Korean Olympic performers 'propaganda coup'
Jan 18, 2018

Jean Lee (@newsjean) is a journalist and Global Fellow at the Wilson Center. She speaks with Here & Now's Robin Young about the Olympic detente that North and South Korea are negotiating, which is leading to a unified march during the PyeongChang Olympics opening ceremony next month, and a delegation of North Korean musicians and cheerleaders attending the games.

Read More →
Jan 18, 2018
NPR, All Things Considered: North Koreans' Attitudes Of The U.S.
Jan 8, 2018
NPR, All Things Considered: North Koreans' Attitudes Of The U.S.
Jan 8, 2018

The relationship between President Trump and Kim Jong Un made headlines again this past week. NPR's Michel Martin talks with North Korea expert Jean H. Lee, of the Wilson Center about how people on the Korean peninsula view the U.S.

Read More →
Jan 8, 2018
C-SPAN: The Rise and Rule of North Korea's Kim Dynasty
Aug 25, 2017
C-SPAN: The Rise and Rule of North Korea's Kim Dynasty
Aug 25, 2017

The Sidebar with Steve Scully: As tensions with North Korea rise, this week we examine the history of that country's ruling Kim family. We spoke to Jean H Lee, author of "Kings of Communism: Inside Kim Jong Un's Bloody Scramble to Kill of His Family" in the September edition of Esquire Magazine. 

Read More →
Aug 25, 2017
PBS NewsHour: North Korea rebukes US as Navy strike group advances
Apr 15, 2017
PBS NewsHour: North Korea rebukes US as Navy strike group advances
Apr 15, 2017

North Korea marked its most important holiday today -- the Day of the Sun, which commemorates the birthday of founding ruler Kim Il-sung. Jean Lee joins Hari Sreenivasan from Seoul for more on tensions with North Korea.

Read More →
Apr 15, 2017

Recent media appearances

Featured
PBS documentary: The Dictator's Playbook, Episode 1, Kim Il Sung
Feb 11, 2019
PBS documentary: The Dictator's Playbook, Episode 1, Kim Il Sung
Feb 11, 2019

He was a legendary guerilla fighter, battling to free Korea from Japanese occupation in the 1930s. He went on to start the Korean war—and establish North Korea as the most controlled society on earth. How did Kim Il Sung rise to power, transform himself into a “living god,” and launch a dictatorship that has lasted for three generations?

Jean H. Lee provides commentary on Kim Il Sung’s rise to power in this PBS documentary.

Read More →
Feb 11, 2019
Discussing the upcoming Trump-Kim summit on VoA's Washington Talk TV show
Feb 9, 2019
Discussing the upcoming Trump-Kim summit on VoA's Washington Talk TV show
Feb 9, 2019

2차 미국 정상회담 일정이 공개됐는데, 이번 회담에서는 실질적인 진전이 이뤄져야 한다는 기대가 커지고 있습니다. 비핵화와 상응조치를 두고 미북 간 어떤 타결이 가능할 지 분석합니다. 회담 개최국 베트남은 북한이 선택할 경제 개방과 외교 관계 개선의 모델이 될 지 살펴봅니다. 진행: 조은정 / 대담: 스콧 스나이더(미 외교협회 미한정책국장), 진 리(우드로 윌슨센터 한국국장) #VOA #워싱턴톡 #2차미북정상회담 #베트남 #하노이 #비핵화 #비건 #김혁철 Originally published at - https://www.voakorea.com/a/4779663.html

Read More →
Feb 9, 2019
Washington Post: He helped Trump confront North Korea. Now Ji Seong-ho wonders whether human rights will be left behind.
Feb 4, 2019
Washington Post: He helped Trump confront North Korea. Now Ji Seong-ho wonders whether human rights will be left behind.
Feb 4, 2019
Read More →
Feb 4, 2019
Quoted in the New York Times: U.S. Appears to Soften Timing for List of North Korea’s Nuclear Assets
Jan 31, 2019
Quoted in the New York Times: U.S. Appears to Soften Timing for List of North Korea’s Nuclear Assets
Jan 31, 2019

“Both the South Koreans and the North Koreans have made a very compelling case for starting the process with at least a declaration,” Jean H. Lee, a Korea expert at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington, said at a talk there on Wednesday.

Read More →
Jan 31, 2019
NPR: Who Is North Korean Diplomat Kim Yong-Chol?
Jan 18, 2019
NPR: Who Is North Korean Diplomat Kim Yong-Chol?
Jan 18, 2019

A top North Korean Diplomat Kim Yong-chol met with President Trump Friday. NPR's Mary Louise Kelly speaks with journalist Jean Lee of the Wilson Center about the diplomat's background.

Read More →
Jan 18, 2019
National Geographic: Inside North Korea's Dynasty
Nov 22, 2018
National Geographic: Inside North Korea's Dynasty
Nov 22, 2018

With North Korea's relations with the rest of the world at a new and unpredictable inflection point, National Geographic Documentary Films presents INSIDE NORTH KOREA'S DYNASTY, a groundbreaking four-episode documentary series that examines the extraordinary history of the world's only communist dynasty, three generations in the making. Featuring interviews with journalist Jean H. Lee.

Read More →
Nov 22, 2018
ABC national radio in Australia: North Korea from the Inside
Oct 28, 2018
ABC national radio in Australia: North Korea from the Inside
Oct 28, 2018

When experienced reporter Jean Lee took on the role of AP bureau chief in Seoul, she was asked to establish a bureau in North Korea’s capital, Pyongyang.

The task, which seemed almost impossible, became even less certain when the Supreme Leader, Kim Jong Il, disappeared. 

Jean managed to open the news bureau in 2012, and was witness to the momentous change brought to North Korea by Kim Jong Il’s death.

Read More →
Oct 28, 2018
NPR Here and Now: Kim Jong Un Agrees To Shut Missile Site, On One Major Condition
Sep 18, 2018
NPR Here and Now: Kim Jong Un Agrees To Shut Missile Site, On One Major Condition
Sep 18, 2018

The leaders of North and South Korea announced a wide range of agreements Wednesday, which they said were a major step toward peace on the Korean peninsula. But the premier pledge of denuclearization contained a big precondition: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said he'd permanently dismantle his main nuclear complex only if the United States takes corresponding measures.

Here & Now's Jeremy Hobson speaks with Jean Lee (@newsjean), director of the Center for Korean History and Public Policy at the Wilson Center.

Read More →
Sep 18, 2018
New York Times: Why Is the U.S. Wary of a Declaration to End the Korean War?
Aug 15, 2018
New York Times: Why Is the U.S. Wary of a Declaration to End the Korean War?
Aug 15, 2018

“You have South Korea moving so quickly on these projects to push for reconciliation with North Korea, and in Washington you have people pushing for denuclearization before anything else happens,” said Jean H. Lee, director of the Wilson Center’s center for Korean history and public policy. “They have very different end games and very different time frames. It’s very problematic.”

Read More →
Aug 15, 2018
CNBC: The US is trying to nail down terms with Pyongyang, while 'South Koreans aren't wasting time'
Jul 13, 2018
CNBC: The US is trying to nail down terms with Pyongyang, while 'South Koreans aren't wasting time'
Jul 13, 2018

"The more protracted the U.S.-North Korean negotiations, the more potential for a gap between Washington and Seoul on North Korea policy as South Korea makes moves to lift its sanctions to allow for economic partnership.”

Read More →
Jul 13, 2018
Washington Post: Documentary shows Trump saluting North Korean general
Jun 13, 2018
Washington Post: Documentary shows Trump saluting North Korean general
Jun 13, 2018

Though only a brief interaction, it was telling that the salute was included in the documentary, according to Jean H. Lee, a North Korea scholar at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington.

“This is a moment that will be used over and over in North Korea’s propaganda as 'proof' that the American president defers to the North Korean military,” Lee said. “It will be treated as a military victory by the North Koreans.”

Read More →
Jun 13, 2018
NPR: What Daily Life In North Korea Looks Like
Jun 10, 2018
NPR: What Daily Life In North Korea Looks Like
Jun 10, 2018

NPR's Audie Cornish talks with North Korea expert Jean Lee about what daily life is like in the country and how much the average person knows about the upcoming summit between President Trump and Kim Jong Un.

Read More →
Jun 10, 2018
CNN: Analysis: The moment the US treated North Korea "as an equal"
Jun 10, 2018
CNN: Analysis: The moment the US treated North Korea "as an equal"
Jun 10, 2018

No matter what comes next in the talks between Kim Jong Un and President Trump, their handshake will remain historic, Jean H. Lee, a North Korea expert at the US-based Wilson Center, told CNN.

"I’m really thinking about how this is going to play in Pyongyang because this is such a powerful moment for the North Korean people," she said.

"It will be celebrated in North Korea as the moment the United States acknowledged and treated North Korea as an equal.”

Read More →
Jun 10, 2018
Politico: Will Trump stand up for free press in Singapore?
Jun 6, 2018
Politico: Will Trump stand up for free press in Singapore?
Jun 6, 2018

When President Donald Trump meets with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore, it will mark the coming together of perhaps the world’s most sealed-off and press-hostile autocrat with a president who frequently rages against the media, all in a country known for its repressive views on free speech. 

Needless to say, journalists are concerned over what access will be granted at the historic meeting.

Read More →
Jun 6, 2018
CBS News' Face the Nation
Jun 6, 2018
CBS News' Face the Nation
Jun 6, 2018

Jean Lee joins host Margaret Brennan and Sue Mi Terry of CSIS to discuss the latest on North Korea on Face the Nation.

Read More →
Jun 6, 2018
BBC: Kim Jong-un: The new kid on the diplomatic block
Jun 6, 2018
BBC: Kim Jong-un: The new kid on the diplomatic block
Jun 6, 2018

Kim Jong-un has suddenly become the new popular leader in the political class of 2018. 

After years in isolation, he has emerged as a powerful player. Leaders from China, Russia, Syria, South Korea and the US have all met or are due to meet Mr Kim this year.

Read More →
Jun 6, 2018
NPR Weekend Edition: Latest on the North Korea Summit
May 27, 2018
NPR Weekend Edition: Latest on the North Korea Summit
May 27, 2018

NPR's Lulu Garcia-Navarro speaks to Korea expert Jean Lee of the Wilson Center about the latest on North Korea and a meeting between Kim Jong Un and President Trump.

Read More →
May 27, 2018
NPR: What To Know About North And South Korea's Leaders Ahead Of Their Summit
Apr 26, 2018
NPR: What To Know About North And South Korea's Leaders Ahead Of Their Summit
Apr 26, 2018

NPR's Ailsa Chang speaks with Jean Lee, Director of the Center for Korean History and Public Policy at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. She talks about what is known about the leaders of both North and South Korea, and what this summit means for both of them.

Read More →
Apr 26, 2018
NPR: What To Expect From Friday's Summit Between North And South Korea
Apr 25, 2018
NPR: What To Expect From Friday's Summit Between North And South Korea
Apr 25, 2018

There's reason for caution when it comes to expectations about North Korea, warns Jean Lee, director of the Hyundai Motor-Korea Foundation Center for Korean History and Public Policy at the Woodrow Wilson Center. Kim's understanding of "denuclearization" of the Korean Peninsula — a key U.S. goal — may be very different from what President Trump expects, says Lee. 

Read More →
Apr 25, 2018
Award-Winning Reporter Jean Lee to Lead Wilson Center’s Korea Studies
Apr 10, 2018
Award-Winning Reporter Jean Lee to Lead Wilson Center’s Korea Studies
Apr 10, 2018

WASHINGTON – Jean H. Lee will serve as the new Director of the Wilson Center’s Hyundai Motor-Korea Foundation Center for Korean History and Public Policy, drawing upon her unique experiences as a Pulitzer-Prize-nominated journalist and expert on South and North Korea.

Read More →
Apr 10, 2018

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SEARCH RESULTS

AP: @AP views of North Korea via Instagram and the wire →

February 28, 2013
← Copy of Bend Bulletin: Tweeting in North Korea Tweets, pics give real-time peek into North KoreaMacleans: Jean H. Lee's Instagram from North Korea →

Latest Posts

Featured
Jan 22, 2019
Asia Dispatches: We Need a Roadmap: Second Trump-Kim Summit Needs to Be More Than Just Another Photo Op
Jan 22, 2019
Jan 22, 2019
Sep 19, 2018
Wilson Center: 'Face-Saving,' Promises, and Propaganda: Jean H. Lee on the Inter-Korean Summit
Sep 19, 2018
Sep 19, 2018
Jun 11, 2018
Wilson Center: A Historic Handshake
Jun 11, 2018
Jun 11, 2018
Jun 10, 2018
Wilson Center: ‘Kim Jong Un, International Statesman’
Jun 10, 2018
Jun 10, 2018
May 15, 2018
NPR: 2 Generations, 2 Different Perspectives On Korean Reunification
May 15, 2018
May 15, 2018
Feb 12, 2018
BBC Radio 4: A Korean Thaw?
Feb 12, 2018
Feb 12, 2018
Feb 8, 2018
New York Times Sunday Review: Will North Korea Win the Gold Medal for Deceit?
Feb 8, 2018
Feb 8, 2018
Jan 21, 2018
Getty Images: Skiers at North Korea's Masikryong ski resort
Jan 21, 2018
Jan 21, 2018
Dec 18, 2017
KEI: Soap Operas and Socialism
Dec 18, 2017
Dec 18, 2017
Oct 10, 2017
Prospect: Kim Jong-un has realised there’s a benefit to behaving badly
Oct 10, 2017
Oct 10, 2017
Copyright Jean H. Lee 2014