The Unbearable Heaviness of Being: America Between Japan and Korea

Moynihan Institute of Global Affairs

Korean Peninsula Affairs Center presents

The Unbearable Heaviness of Being: America Between Japan and Korea

Even before the horrible COVID-19 pandemic erupted in late 2019, it was tempting to blame everything wrong with American foreign policy on Donald Trump’s presidency. However, the problem for Americans is that in some instances the Trump administration has simply unveiled the crass and often racist practices that have long informed US government behavior. Put differently, Donald Trump and his supporters exacerbate bad situations, yet some of the situations were bad to begin with. This is abundantly clear with regards to American policy towards mutual Northeast Asian allies, South Korea and Japan.

Alexis Dudden

Professor of History

University of Connecticut

Alexis Dudden is professor of history at the University of Connecticut, where she teaches modern Japanese, Korean, and international history. She publishes regularly in print and online media and is completing a book project tentatively called, The Opening and Closing of Japan, 1850-2020. Dudden received her BA from Columbia University in 1991 and her PhD in history from the University of Chicago in 1998. Since 1985, she has lived and studied for extended periods of time in Japan and South Korea.

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