Katharine H.S. Moon
Nonresident Senior Fellow - Foreign Policy, Center for East Asia Policy Studies
Katharine (Kathy) H.S. Moon is nonresident senior fellow and the inaugural holder of the SK-Korea Foundation Chair in Korea Studies in the Center for East Asia Policy Studies at The Brookings Institution. She also is a professor of Political Science and Wasserman Chair of Asian Studies at Wellesley College. She received her bachelor's magna cum laude from Smith College and a doctorate from Princeton University in the Department of Politics. She was born in San Francisco.
Kathy Moon’s analytical approach is to bridge domestic politics and foreign policy. Moon is the author of "Protesting America: Democracy and the U.S.-Korea Alliance," which illustrates 1) how democracy has given rise to Korean civil society activism relating to the U.S.-Korea alliance; 2) the comparative politics of U.S. overseas basing; and 3) the institutional and procedural changes needed to improve the management of the alliance. Kathy Moon also authored "Sex Among Allies: Military Prostitution in U.S.-Korea Relations," which explains how foreign policy decisions affect local communities and the lives of poor and marginalized women. Moon’s research encompasses the U.S.-Korea alliance, East Asian politics, inter-Korean relations, socio-political changes in North Korea, and the role of Korean-Americans in U.S. foreign policy. She also studies democratization, nationalisms, women and gender politics, migration and identity, and comparative social movements in East Asia, including human rights. Her publications include:
“Influencing South Korea's Democracy: China, North Korea, and Defectors”
“Challenging U.S. Hegemony: Asian Nationalism and Anti-Americanism in East Asia”
“Beyond Demonization: A New Strategy for Human Rights in North Korea”
“Resurrecting Prostitutes and Overturning Treaties: Gender Politics in the South Korean ‘Anti-American’ Movement”
“Ethnicity and U.S. Foreign Policy: Korean Americans”
Moon is currently working on a book that analyzes the impact of demographic change in South Korea on Korean democracy and foreign policy. She is also editing a volume on Korean-Americans as new actors in American politics and in U.S.-Korea relations.
Research support from organizations such as the Henry Luce Foundation, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, The George Washington University, The Fulbright Program, the American Association of University Women, the National Bureau of Asian Research, and the Social Science Research Council have facilitated Moon’s research. Moon also served in the Office of the Senior Coordinator for International Women’s Issues in the U.S. Department of State and as a trustee of Smith College.
Affiliations:
Korea Working Group, Harvard Kennedy School
Asia Society, New York, associate fellow
The National Committee on North Korea, Steering Committee member
Consortium on Gender, Security and Human Rights, Advisory Board
Katharine (Kathy) H.S. Moon is nonresident senior fellow and the inaugural holder of the SK-Korea Foundation Chair in Korea Studies in the Center for East Asia Policy Studies at The Brookings Institution. She also is a professor of Political Science and Wasserman Chair of Asian Studies at Wellesley College. She received her bachelor’s magna cum laude from Smith College and a doctorate from Princeton University in the Department of Politics. She was born in San Francisco.
Kathy Moon’s analytical approach is to bridge domestic politics and foreign policy. Moon is the author of “Protesting America: Democracy and the U.S.-Korea Alliance,” which illustrates 1) how democracy has given rise to Korean civil society activism relating to the U.S.-Korea alliance; 2) the comparative politics of U.S. overseas basing; and 3) the institutional and procedural changes needed to improve the management of the alliance. Kathy Moon also authored “Sex Among Allies: Military Prostitution in U.S.-Korea Relations,” which explains how foreign policy decisions affect local communities and the lives of poor and marginalized women. Moon’s research encompasses the U.S.-Korea alliance, East Asian politics, inter-Korean relations, socio-political changes in North Korea, and the role of Korean-Americans in U.S. foreign policy. She also studies democratization, nationalisms, women and gender politics, migration and identity, and comparative social movements in East Asia, including human rights. Her publications include:
“Influencing South Korea’s Democracy: China, North Korea, and Defectors”
“Challenging U.S. Hegemony: Asian Nationalism and Anti-Americanism in East Asia”
“Beyond Demonization: A New Strategy for Human Rights in North Korea”
“Resurrecting Prostitutes and Overturning Treaties: Gender Politics in the South Korean ‘Anti-American’ Movement”
“Ethnicity and U.S. Foreign Policy: Korean Americans”
Moon is currently working on a book that analyzes the impact of demographic change in South Korea on Korean democracy and foreign policy. She is also editing a volume on Korean-Americans as new actors in American politics and in U.S.-Korea relations.
Research support from organizations such as the Henry Luce Foundation, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, The George Washington University, The Fulbright Program, the American Association of University Women, the National Bureau of Asian Research, and the Social Science Research Council have facilitated Moon’s research. Moon also served in the Office of the Senior Coordinator for International Women’s Issues in the U.S. Department of State and as a trustee of Smith College.
Affiliations:
Korea Working Group, Harvard Kennedy School
Asia Society, New York, associate fellow
The National Committee on North Korea, Steering Committee member
Consortium on Gender, Security and Human Rights, Advisory Board
Many South Koreans look at North Koreans not simply as blood relatives, but as a potential source of cheap labor. As long as the dream of unification exists, foreign workers from other countries will be stuck in a kind of holding tank — without movement toward integration. [Most South Koreans] are still very reluctant to entertain the possibility that immigration can be a dynamic, innovative force.
The word [a North Korean defector] used [to describe the women in South Korea] meant tough, almost obnoxious. He said it was radically different from women of the North, who are so traditional. [Even in the North, however, t]heir husband’s income is just not enough. [E]xpectations of a good life are rising [among the elite] and for the lower middle class, they work because their husband[s] have lost their factory jobs. The production system is so antiquated [that] many women come and participate [in the workforce].
[Kim Jong-un's sister is] a novelty item. The princess of North Korea came to town and unveiled herself for the first time, so it’s natural to be both curious and impressed. But she is part of that regime, part of that family. [North Korea holds a] traditional view of women as lower and obedient. South Korean women have been pushing and fighting their way out of it, while North Korean women never had that way out.
[After coming to power, Kim Jong-un] really began to put money and political energy and time into developing an internationally competitive athletic prowess.