Scenic Jeju island is one of South Korea's best places for public diplomacy. It has natural beauty and a story to tell. If President Moon Jae-in has to visit Jeju Island for public diplomacy, the best timing could be one for the annual Jeju Forum and the other for the Jeju 4.3 Uprising memorial service. [...] Holding international conferences is a common way to promote public diplomacy. It's no wonder then that international conferences are often held in scenic places, such as Jeju. Jeju Island is a Korean version of Hawaii or Hainan or Okinawa. 

The international community has poured billions of dollars into aid, services and protection for civilians in Afghanistan hoping that winning their support would help the fight against insurgents. But new research shows that strategy has an unintended consequence: villages where residents support the international forces are more likely to face attacks from the Taliban-led insurgency.

The good news, however, is that propaganda is back. I don’t mean the unfragrant mob of internet miscreants — hacking is to propaganda what stalking is to romance. I mean the impulse to choose a side and press its case with wily elegance. Those of us who grew up in the Cold War have rather missed it — the persistent, well-designed, all-encompassing salesmanship of Life’s Correct Path, backed up with textbooks, posters and unspeakable stockpiles of nuclear weapons.

Last week, a report from a committee of the House of Lords offered a brutal judgement on British and European policy toward Russia. Europe went “sleep-walking” into the crisis in Ukraine, said the report, and Western countries had lost the “robust analytical capability” to understand Russia. The truth about UK policy toward Russia, however, is much worse.

Scholars and journalists from South Korea and the United States kicked off a forum on public diplomacy Monday, exchanging assessments and ideas about how better to reach out and win the hearts and minds of the people of the two allies.