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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A clash between Muslim students trying to build a mosque and residents who oppose it in South Korea's fourth largest city tests the nation's tolerance of increasing diversity.
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An outpouring of criticism has focused on concerns that Seoul gave more than it got, and that the Washington Declaration might even make South Korea's neighborhood a more dangerous place. -
The U.S. and South Korea announced steps on Wednesday to try to deter North Korea from using nuclear weapons, as South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol made a state visit to Washington. -
China usually sends defectors back to North Korea, but Pyongyang wouldn't let them in during the pandemic. That may soon change, and has led to concern among human rights advocates. -
A new survey in Japan shows that most Japanese would prefer rather not to live to the age of 100 or beyond. -
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was in the city of Wakayama, stumping for a candidate in upcoming by-elections when an explosion was heard. At least one person has been detained. -
A Vietnamese woman sued South Korea's government over a wartime massacre in her village by South Korean soldiers. A Seoul court recently ruled in her favor but the government will appeal the decision. -
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida are hoping to overcome historical feuds and domestic politics that have sent relations to their lowest point in decades. -
The complaints allege that Japan advertising giant Dentsu, its main rival Hakuhodo and four other firms and seven individuals rigged bids for Olympic test events. -
The launch comes a day after the U.S. and South Korea held tabletop exercises simulating a North Korean nuclear attack.
