Professional Affiliation

M.A candidates, Department of Political Science and International Relations, Seoul National University

Expert Bio

JeongHyeon OH is a M.A Candidate in Department of Political Science and International Relations, College of Social Sciences at Seoul National University(SNU). Before coming to Wilson Center, He worked a year and a half as a research assistant in Institute of International Studies at SNU. He also did an internship at East Asia Foundation(EAF) in Korea. His research interests include Security issues in East Asia, Inter-Korean Relations, Cold War history in East Asia, and U.S Foreign Policy. At the Wilson center, His project will be focused on ‘1954 Geneva Conference’ as a key event of shaping formation of the Cold War in East Asia and the permanence of the division in Korea.

Wilson Center Project

Digging up the untold history? 1954 Geneva Conference and the Division of Korean Peninsula

Project Summary

This study will shed light on the cause of the failure of the talks and the subsequent division of the Korean Peninsula through the lens of rivalry game of U.S-China and alliance game of U.S-Korea. By studying this case, It will not only clarify the discourses of international society for reunification of the Korean peninsula at that time, but also the circumstances of 1954 that have not been accessed by Korean war researchers so far, such as the origins of the U.S. alliance system in East Asia, the China’s initial foreign policy strategy, and the escalated Korea-U.S conflict during the process of the mutual defense treaty’s effectuation.