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.
-
The massive reservoir behind China's Three Gorges Dam was supposed to be filled to capacity this month. But landslides on the reservoir and water shortages downstream have delayed the process. Questions have been raised about the dam, which is the world's largest hydropower project, and what it might mean for the Yangtze River. -
A native of Beijing, author Diane Liang sometimes simplifies some of the Chinese names and details in her books for the benefit of her foreign audience. Nevertheless, her fiction is still steeped in the sights and sounds of her homeland. -
Stock markets in Asia took a big hit Tuesday after Wall Street's 504-point drop on Monday. Most Asian markets were closed Monday for a holiday, so Tuesday was the first time investors reacted to the news of Lehman Brothers' bankruptcy and Merrill Lynch being bought by Bank of America.
-
North Korean leader Kim Jong Il is reported to be in failing health. North Korean officials denied the report, while a U.S. intelligence official told NPR that Kim may have suffered a stroke in recent weeks.
-
The Beijing Olympic Games have ended in a blaze of fireworks, with the largest share of gold medals going to the host country. Chinese citizens and state media said that their success in holding the games for the first time would make China a more confident and open country.
-
North Korea on Thursday submitted its long-awaited declaration detailing its nuclear weapons activities. In turn, the Bush administration said it will lift some trade sanctions against the country, and move to take it off the U.S. terrorism blacklist.
-
South Korean protesters took to the streets this week, angry over a new trade deal that would allow the importation of U.S. beef. Fears of mad cow disease prompted a ban on U.S. beef several years ago. South Korean trade officials visiting Washington this week are hoping to reach a compromise that will calm fears at home.
-
Rising global food prices are often blamed on China's increasing consumption. But some economists, who note the country's high export rates, say it's not that simple. One factor: More wealth has brought an appetite for more meat. -
Taiwan elects a new president, who is promising to strengthen ties with China. Ma Ying-jeou is a graduate of Harvard University and former mayor of Taipei. Ma's victory is seen as an opportunity to defuse long-simmering tensions with Beijing over the outgoing president's pro-independence moves.
-
The Dalai Lama on Tuesday said he would step down as the leader of a Tibetan government in exile if protesters in Tibet continued their violent protests. China's Premier Wen Jiabao blamed the Dalai Lama directly for the anti-Chinese riots in Tibet's capital.
