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 mother and her young son were found dead in July, apparently of starvation. The case has refocused attention on the circumstances of defectors, who often struggle to start new lives in the South.
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Hong Kong's police force was once known for its professionalism and impartiality, but now protesters accuse officers of brutality and demand an independent investigation.
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In 2014, Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement was beset by divisions. Now various protest factions are working together. "If either one gets hurt, we feel the other's pain," says a moderate lawmaker.
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A South Korean security official says the pact "does not serve our national interest." Japan's foreign minister says Seoul's decision "completely misreads the security situation."
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After another weekend of protests, David Greene talks to Wong Yik-Mo of the Civil Human Rights Front about what's next for the anti-extradition bill movement in Hong Kong.
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Protests in Hong Kong continued for the 11th weekend in a row as thousands of people gathered for a nonviolent rally against an extradition bill.
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China's popular messaging app, WeChat, has some 300 million users and has become a way for Chinese to rally around a cause, something that's difficult in a country with strict government controls.
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Many residents of a politically conservative neighborhood were born in China's Fujian province and came to Hong Kong for greater opportunities. They accuse protesters of hurting the local economy.
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The Pentagon has signaled a possible shift in the military balance in the region, calling for the U.S. to deploy land-based, intermediate-range missiles in Asia.
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South Korea's finance minister said Seoul, in turn, will take Tokyo off its own list of trusted partners. Experts worry the dispute could undermine U.S. security ties with chief Asian allies.