Anthony Kuhn
Anthony Kuhn is NPR's correspondent based in Seoul, South Korea, reporting on the Korean Peninsula, Japan, and the great diversity of Asia's countries and cultures. Before moving to Seoul in 2018, he traveled to the region to cover major stories including the North Korean nuclear crisis and the Fukushima earthquake and nuclear disaster.
Kuhn previously served two five-year stints in Beijing, China, for NPR, during which he covered major stories such as the Beijing Olympics, geopolitical jousting in the South China Sea, and the lives of Tibetans, Uighurs, and other minorities in China's borderlands.
He took a particular interest in China's rich traditional culture and its impact on the current day. He has recorded the sonic calling cards of itinerant merchants in Beijing's back alleys, and the descendants of court musicians of the Tang Dynasty. He has profiled petitioners and rights lawyers struggling for justice, and educational reformers striving to change the way Chinese think.
From 2010-2013, Kuhn was NPR's Southeast Asia correspondent, based in Jakarta, Indonesia. Among other stories, he explored Borneo and Sumatra, and witnessed the fight to preserve the biodiversity of the world's oldest forests. He also followed Myanmar's democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, as she rose from political prisoner to head of state.
Kuhn served as NPR's correspondent in London from 2004-2005, covering stories including the London subway bombings and the marriage of the Prince of Wales to the Duchess of Cornwall.
Besides his major postings, Kuhn's journalistic horizons have been expanded by various short-term assignments. These produced stories including wartime black humor in Iraq, musical diplomacy by the New York Philharmonic in Pyongyang, North Korea, a kerfuffle over the plumbing in Jerusalem's Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Pakistani artists' struggle with religious extremism in Lahore, and the Syrian civil war's spillover into neighboring Lebanon.
Prior to joining NPR, Kuhn wrote for the Far Eastern Economic Review and freelanced for various news outlets, including the Los Angeles Times and Newsweek. He majored in French literature as an undergraduate at Washington University in St. Louis, and later did graduate work at the Johns Hopkins University-Nanjing University Center for Chinese and American studies in Nanjing.
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North and South Korea have reopened a hotline that was closed for nearly 14 months. "We hope that inter-Korean communications are never again suspended," a South Korean official said.
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Driven by perceptions of an increasing threat from China, Japanese politicians have publicly and unprecedentedly said that if China attacks Taiwan, Japan should defend the island with the U.S.
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Growing alarm about the Tokyo Games resulting in a surge of coronavirus cases has pushed Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga to announce a new round of emergency measures.
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Tokyo 2020 aims to be the most environmentally friendly games, offsetting carbon emissions and using sustainable materials. But some environmental groups say the symbolism exaggerates the reality.
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A fresh wave of COVID-19 infections looms over the Olympics less than three weeks before the start of the delayed summer games in Tokyo.
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North Korea has revised its highest law of the land. Erasing, at least on paper, its goal of overthrowing South Korea's government by inciting revolution. Experts are debating what the changes mean.
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Olympic organizers on Monday decided to allow some spectators at events. The decision follows the first case of an Olympic athlete being denied entry to Japan, after testing positive for COVID-19.
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With the Summer Olympics set to begin in just over six weeks, organizers say they have protective coronavirus measures in place. But many experts and Japanese citizens remain skeptical.
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The the first international athletes have arrived in Japan ahead of the Olympics that start on July 23. The country has also started vaccinating its own athletes.
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South Korea faces a choice: allow immigration or suffer demographic decline. The country has many migrants toiling on its farms and fisheries, but it remains difficult for them to become citizens.
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The U.S. has issued a do-not-travel advisory to Japan due to concerns with the pandemic. The Olympics are scheduled to take place in Tokyo in less than 60 days. U.S. athletes are expected to attend.
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On Friday, South Korea's President Moon Jae-in and President Biden will meet to discuss their alliances, mutual interests and dealing with China and North Korea.