North Korea Demystified By Han S. Park

He holds an MA in Korean studies, economics, and international relations as well as a PhD in economics. He spent one semester as a language student at Kim Il-sung University in Pyongyang (1991–1992) and has been following North Korea ever since. His research focuses on the transformation of state socialist systems in East Asia, governance in East Asia, and regionalism in East Asia, with a strong emphasis on the Korean peninsula. He also held positions at Humboldt–University Berlin, Columbia University and Korea University. He is a coeditor of the yearly volume Korea: Politics, Economy and Society and of the book series Brill's Korean Studies Library. He has authored or coauthored seven books and over 80 articles on Korea and East Asia and was a consultant to European and Asian governments on Korean affairs, including a testimony before the European Parliament in Brussels and a report on North Korea for the French government. At the University of Vienna, he is responsible for coordinating social science­based research on contemporary East Asia. In June 2011, Professor Frank was invited to join the World Economic Forum, Global Agenda Council on Korea.

Geir Helgesen is Director of the Nordic Institute of Asian Studies in Copenhagen, Denmark and leading coordinator of the Eurasia Political Culture Research Network (EPCReN). He is also a senior advisor to the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Korean matters, as well as a frequent guest lecturer and a widely­used commentator in public media on Korean issues. Dr. Helgesen holds both MA and PhD degrees in Cultural Sociology from Copenhagen University in Denmark. His previous academic appointments include Senior Research Fellow at the Center for Pacific Asia Studies (CPAS) at Stockholm University and a Guest Researcher at the Institute of Comparative Politics, of Bergen University in Norway. In addition, Dr. Helgesen is a consultant to Nordic companies with activities in Korea, as well as a course instructor for the Federation of Danish Industries (DI) concerning Korea and cross­cultural business matters. He is the author of several journal articles and four books, including Good Government: Nordic and East Asian Perspectives, which is coauthored with Uichol Kim; and the forthcoming Politics,