Wooyeal PAIK is associate professor at the Department of Political Science and International Studies, deputy director, Yonsei Institute of North Korean Studies, and head, BK “Interdisciplinary Political Science Lab” Program, Yonsei University. Previously, he was an assistant professor at the Academy of East Asian Studies and vice director at Sungkyun Institute of China Studies, Sungkyunkwan Uni-versity in Seoul, Korea. Prof. PAIK received a B.A. in political science from Yonsei University, a M.Phil. in public and social administration from City University of Hong Kong, and a M.A. and a Ph.D. in political science from the University of California at Los Angeles. His recent research focus-es on the interactions between domestic politics and international politics in Asia along with their global implications. He also tries to create a new field, politics of things—e.g. interdisciplinary ana-lytic approach to semi-conductor, plastic, coffee, AI, etc. His recent publications appear in The China Quarterly, Political Science Quarterly, International Political Science Review, International Envi-ronmental Agreements, Modern China, Journal of Contemporary China, The Pacific Review, The Pacif-ic Affairs, Asia Europe Journal, The Pacific Focus, Issues and Studies, Korean Political Science Review, Korean Journal of International Studies, and multiple policy-oriented journals|edited volumes. (Homepage: https://sites.google.com/site/wypaik)

Janet Pau is the Director of The Economist Corporate Network in Hong Kong. She brings her experience working with top executives throughout Asia, coupled with economic knowledge and industry insight to help organisational leaders and their teams gain a holistic, practical appreciation of the opportunities and challenges in Greater China and across Asia.

Before joining The Economist Corporate Network, Janet was Program Director for the Asia Business Council, developing and delivering content for private forums for an all-CEO membership in Asia for more than a decade. Prior to that, she was Manager at the Global Business Policy Council at consulting firm A.T. Kearney in Washington D.C., where she led consulting projects and intellectual capital publications for senior executive clients in both business and government.

Janet’s publications include Through the Eyes of Tiger Cubs: Views of Asia’s Next Generation (Wiley, 2012) and Building Energy Efficiency (Encyclopaedia of China Publishing House, Chinese edition, 2008). She was an op-ed contributor and columnist for the South China Morning Post from 2011 to 2019. She has also contributed opinion pieces and book chapters, and spoken at various local and regional business conferences.

She serves on the leadership team of Hong Kong-based charity Beyond Foundation, which advocates for children with special needs and their families. She was a member on the Hong Kong Government’s Antiquities Advisory Board, Museum Advisory Board, and Central Policy Unit.

Janet received a Bachelor of Arts degree in international studies and psychology with honours from Yale University and a Master in Public Policy specializing in economic policy and competitiveness from Harvard University.

Lena Schipper is Seoul bureau chief for The Economist. Previous to this role she worked as assistant news editor in London. Before joining the paper in 2016, Lena was a freelance journalist in Beirut and a staff reporter on the business and economics desk of Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung, a leading German weekly. Prior to becoming a journalist, she worked as a researcher for the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in Paris, for the German Institute of International and Security Affairs in Berlin, and as a political-risk consultant for clients across the Middle East and Africa. She studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics and International Relations at Oxford University.

Jenny Town is a Fellow at the Stimson Center and the Deputy Director of Stimson’s 38 North Program. Her expertise is in North Korea, US-DPRK relations, US-ROK alliance and Northeast Asia regional security. She was named one of Worth Magazine’s “Groundbreakers 2020: 50 Women Changing the World” and one of Fast Company’s Most Creative People in Business in 2019 for her role in co-founding and managing the 38 North website, which provides policy and technical analysis on North Korea.

Ms. Town is also an expert reviewer for Freedom House’s Freedom in the World Index, where she previously worked on the Human Rights in North Korea Project; an Associate Fellow at the Foreign Policy Institute at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), a Member of the National Committee on North Korea, and an Associate Member of the Council of Korean Americans. She serves on the Editorial Board for Inkstick, an online foreign policy journal for emerging scholars.

From 2008-2018, Ms. Town served as the Assistant Director of the US-Korea Institute at SAIS. She holds a BA in East Asian Studies and International Relations from Westmar University and a Master of International Affairs from Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs.

Takuji Okubo is the North Asia Director of The Economist Corporate Network, managing the Networks in Japan and in South Korea.

Prior to joining The Economist Group, Takuji was the Managing Director and Chief Economist at Japan Macro Advisors, serving global fortune 500 companies and financial institutions in Japan and abroad. In his past career, Takuji was a Chief Economist at Societe Generale, in charge of Japan and of South Korea, and a senior economist at Merrill Lynch and at Goldman Sachs. Outside his role at ECN, Takuji also serves as a non-executive director at Japan Risk Forum, an association of Chief Risk Officers among Japanese financial institutions.

Takuji holds B.A in Economics from Tokyo University and while at the university he was a recipient of prestigious INOUE scholarship. He holds MBA from INSEAD and Msc. In Economics from UPF in Barcelona. Apart from work, he enjoys motor-cycling, scuba-diving, cooking as well as worrying about the future of the Japanese economy.