Korea Centre, East Asian Institute

Peace and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula are vital not only for East Asia, but the whole world. South Korea’s New Southern Policy Plus has raised its partnership with ASEAN to the level of relations with its traditional four major diplomatic partners of the United States, China, Japan and Russia. For Singapore in particular, its good relations with the United States and North Korea had landed the city-state with the important role of hosting the 2018 US-DPRK summit, the first historic summit between the two.

The establishment of a Korea Centre in Singapore serves as the knowledge hub for sharing Korea’s development experience. The East Asian Institute’s (EAI) Board approved the setting up of a Korea Centre in its meeting in June 2021. The Centre has the endorsement of the embassies to Singapore of the Republic of Korea and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, and the financial support of the Korea Foundation.  It is the first such centre in Southeast Asia focusing on contemporary Korean politics, economy, society and international relations, as well as North-South interaction in the Korean Peninsula.

The Korea Centre’s mission is to analyse issues on governance, peace and development in the Korean peninsula to enhance understanding and interaction between the two Koreas and ASEAN countries. Its vision is to be the best Korea Centre in the Indo-Pacific outside of the Republic of Korea dedicated to the study of contemporary issues of public policy, peace and development in the Korean Peninsula and its international relations. Some of its activities include hosting conferences and seminars, publishing a quarterly Bulletin and interacting with its counterparts from the two Koreas.

The Korea Centre has an advisory board and core staff from EAI. The Centre also draws on a network of adjunct research fellows with internationally recognised expertise on the Korean Peninsula and manages an ASEAN-Korean Peninsula network among interested researchers. Administratively, the Korea Centre is an integral part of EAI and is headed by Dr Lam Peng Er, Principal Research Fellow of EAI.