Recent Articles AI Governance and Information Rights. (Part 3. The Dilemma of Civil Society) The discourse surrounding artificial intelligence inevitably raises fundamental questions of human rights and democracy: whose lives are affected, in what ways, and who is allowed to participate in the policy decisions responding to those impacts. This perspective lies at the core of the concerns raised by Yeo-kyeong Chang, who argues that AI policy operating within broader structures of labor, care, welfare, public safety, climate, and social power should be understood not merely as a matter of industrial policy, but first and foremost as a matter of social policy tied to citizens’ rights and social justice. Hyejin Yoo AI Governance and Information Rights. (Part 2. Just Digital Transition) As the government and industry accelerate the AI race, civil society groups continue to warn about privacy violations, labor control, the spread of surveillance technologies, and broader human rights concerns. Yet the digital justice movement has not yet grown into a broad-based social movement. Jang Yeo-kyung, Executive Director of the Institute for Digital Rights(IDR), warns that although the harms may still appear fragmented, the rights of citizens and the principles of democracy are already being put to the test. Hyejin Yoo AI Governance and Information Rights. (Part 1. Who Does Technology Control?) interview As generative AI rapidly expands and discourse surrounding an “AI Basic Society” and the ambition to become one of the world’s “Top3 AI Powers” intensifies, calls are growing in South Korea for technology to be understood from more multidimensional perspectives. We spoke with Yeo-kyeong Chang, Executive Director of the institute, about the evolution of Korea’s information rights movement, the demands civil society is raising from the perspective of digital justice in the age of artificial intelligence, and its perspective on the governance shaping AI policymaking. Hyejin Yoo From small rivers a new era rises up Jae-eun Shin The Journey of Hardship: the History of Okinawan Migration to Brazil Lee Myung-won Perceptions of LGBTQ+ Politics through the RUN/OUT Project From September 2025 to January 2026, the LGBTQ+ political participation project RUN/OUT was conducted over four sessions, bringing together a total of 128 participants. Who took part in this project, and how do they perceive political participation? As the pilot program came to a close, we conducted a short survey. Drawing on the survey results and the RUN/OUT experience, we take an exploratory approach to examining how perceptions of LGBTQ+ politics are formed. Jaehoon Jung US Intervention in Venezuela: Europe Must Not Shy Away Now Presidents’ column With the violation of international law in Venezuela by the US, the hegemonic ambitions of the Trump administration are impossible to ignore. The EU’s hesitant response has weakened the Union at a crucial moment. Where should Europe go from here? Imme Scholz, Jan Philipp Albrecht Beyond Washington and Beijing: Why Germany Needs the Global South President's column The US is largely falling away as a partner, China is binding the Global South closer. To help shape tomorrow’s world order, Europe needs new, credible platforms for climate, development, and fair trade rules – together with the emerging middle powers. Imme Scholz Sensing the “Global” During My Trip to Thailand What happens when a quiet observer steps into a global space? A journey from a “small-island mindset” to a more global sensibility. From unexpected moments of solidarity to discovering the power of simple connection, this reflection explores what it means to step beyond familiar borders and join a wider world. Han Lee Gender, Democracy, and Activism: A Trip Report from the Asia Democracy Assembly 2025 A candid reflection from the Asia Democracy Assembly 2025—on Bangladesh, Japan, and Korea; the “masculinity of the state”; and the courage and solidarity found across Asia’s civil society. Ryo Sakamoto
AI Governance and Information Rights. (Part 3. The Dilemma of Civil Society) The discourse surrounding artificial intelligence inevitably raises fundamental questions of human rights and democracy: whose lives are affected, in what ways, and who is allowed to participate in the policy decisions responding to those impacts. This perspective lies at the core of the concerns raised by Yeo-kyeong Chang, who argues that AI policy operating within broader structures of labor, care, welfare, public safety, climate, and social power should be understood not merely as a matter of industrial policy, but first and foremost as a matter of social policy tied to citizens’ rights and social justice. Hyejin Yoo
AI Governance and Information Rights. (Part 2. Just Digital Transition) As the government and industry accelerate the AI race, civil society groups continue to warn about privacy violations, labor control, the spread of surveillance technologies, and broader human rights concerns. Yet the digital justice movement has not yet grown into a broad-based social movement. Jang Yeo-kyung, Executive Director of the Institute for Digital Rights(IDR), warns that although the harms may still appear fragmented, the rights of citizens and the principles of democracy are already being put to the test. Hyejin Yoo
AI Governance and Information Rights. (Part 1. Who Does Technology Control?) interview As generative AI rapidly expands and discourse surrounding an “AI Basic Society” and the ambition to become one of the world’s “Top3 AI Powers” intensifies, calls are growing in South Korea for technology to be understood from more multidimensional perspectives. We spoke with Yeo-kyeong Chang, Executive Director of the institute, about the evolution of Korea’s information rights movement, the demands civil society is raising from the perspective of digital justice in the age of artificial intelligence, and its perspective on the governance shaping AI policymaking. Hyejin Yoo
Perceptions of LGBTQ+ Politics through the RUN/OUT Project From September 2025 to January 2026, the LGBTQ+ political participation project RUN/OUT was conducted over four sessions, bringing together a total of 128 participants. Who took part in this project, and how do they perceive political participation? As the pilot program came to a close, we conducted a short survey. Drawing on the survey results and the RUN/OUT experience, we take an exploratory approach to examining how perceptions of LGBTQ+ politics are formed. Jaehoon Jung
US Intervention in Venezuela: Europe Must Not Shy Away Now Presidents’ column With the violation of international law in Venezuela by the US, the hegemonic ambitions of the Trump administration are impossible to ignore. The EU’s hesitant response has weakened the Union at a crucial moment. Where should Europe go from here? Imme Scholz, Jan Philipp Albrecht
Beyond Washington and Beijing: Why Germany Needs the Global South President's column The US is largely falling away as a partner, China is binding the Global South closer. To help shape tomorrow’s world order, Europe needs new, credible platforms for climate, development, and fair trade rules – together with the emerging middle powers. Imme Scholz
Sensing the “Global” During My Trip to Thailand What happens when a quiet observer steps into a global space? A journey from a “small-island mindset” to a more global sensibility. From unexpected moments of solidarity to discovering the power of simple connection, this reflection explores what it means to step beyond familiar borders and join a wider world. Han Lee
Gender, Democracy, and Activism: A Trip Report from the Asia Democracy Assembly 2025 A candid reflection from the Asia Democracy Assembly 2025—on Bangladesh, Japan, and Korea; the “masculinity of the state”; and the courage and solidarity found across Asia’s civil society. Ryo Sakamoto
