Ramon Pacheco Pardo is the KF-VUB Korea Chair at the Centre for Security, Diplomacy and Strategy of Vrije Universiteit Brussel (CSDS – VUB) and Professor of International Relations at King’s College London. Prof Pacheco Pardo is also Adjunct Fellow (Non-Resident) with the Korea Chair at CSIS, Scientific Council member at Elcano Royal Institute, Steering Committee member at CSCAP EU, Advisory Committee member at Jeju Forum and Advisory Committee member at the Reset Korea Campaign of JoongAng Ilbo. He has held visiting positions at Korea University, the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy and Melbourne University.
His publications include the books Startup Capitalism: New Approaches to Innovation Strategies in East Asia (Cornell University Press, 2025; with Robyn Klingler-Vidra), North Korea: Survival of a Political Dynasty (Agenda Publishing, 2024), Korea: A New History of South & North (Yale University Press, 2023; with Victor Cha), South Korea’s Grand Strategy: Making Its Own Destiny (Columbia University Press, 2023), Shrimp to Whale: South Korea from the Forgotten War to K-Pop (Hurst and Oxford University Press, 2022) and North Korea-US Relations from Kim Jong Il to Kim Jong Un (Routledge, 2019).
Prof Pacheco Pardo has participated in track 1.5 and 2 dialogues with China, Japan, North Korea, South Korea and the United States. He has testified before the European Parliament and consulted and advised NATO, the OECD and the governments of Canada, the EU, South Korea, Spain, the UK and the United States as well as several private firms, among others. Prof Pacheco Pardo is a regular columnist with El Pais and JoongAng Ilbo. He is also a frequent media commentator on North East Asian and Indo-Pacific affairs and Europe-East Asia and Europe-Indo-Pacific relations.
Selected Research
Startup Capitalism: New Approaches to Innovation Strategies in East Asia (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2025) – with Klingler-Vidra, R.
“Beyond Hedging? Japanese and South Korean Responses to US-China Competition”, Asian Survey (early online view) – with Jing, B., Jo, E.A. and Koga, R.
“South Korea’s Resilient Democracy”, Survival, 67(4) (2025): 95-112.
“Communicating the Societal Value of the Entrepreneurial University: Evidence from South Korea”, Technology in Society, (early online view) – with Chalmers, A. and Klingler-Vidra, R.
“South Korea-Europe Relations: From Distant Strangers to Close Partners”, Korea Observer, 56(1) (2025): 77-95
“Bridging Developmental State and Entrepreneurial State Theory: A Typology of Startup Policies’ Incumbent Firm Benefits”, Journal of Asian Public Policy, 17(3) (2024): 524-540 – with Klingler-Vidra, R.
“La Peninsula Coreana: Dos Sistemas Diferentes, Un Conflicto Latente y la Politica Exterior y de Defensa de Yoon Suk-yeol” (‘The Korean Peninsula: Two Different Systems, A Latent Conflict and the Foreign Policy of Yoon Suk-yeol’), Boletin IEEE, 32 (2024): 375-401.
“South Korea’s Economic Security: Prospects for Greater Cooperation with India”, The Journal of Indian and Asian Studies, 4(2) (2023).
“South Korea: Siding with the West and Distancing from Russia”, International Politics, 60 (2023): 1113-1333 – with Kim, S.
“Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine and China-North Korea Relations: Stronger Weak-Great Power Alignment”, Asian Survey, 62(5-6) (2022): 920-944 – with Kim, Y-I.
Selected Policy Analysis
“Kim Jong-un and China’s Victory Day Parade”, Korea Chair Explains, 5 September 2025.
“Lee Jae-myung’s Summits in the United States and Japan”, Korea Chair Explains, 1 September 2025.
“Inter-Korean relations under Lee Jae-myung”, Korea Chair Explains, 6 June 2025.
“Lee Jae-myung’s 2025 Presidential Election Victory”, Korea Chair Explains, 3 June 2025.
“Who are the Candidates? South Korea’s 3 June Presidential Election”, Korea Chair Explains, 26 May 2025.
“The Situation in South Korea After the Impeachment of Yoon Suk-yeol”, Korea Chair Explains, 4 April 2025.
“South Korea Has More Leverage Over China Than You Think”, Korea Chair Explains, 10 February 2025.
“Implications of the North Korea – Russia Partnership for the Trump Presidency”, Korea Chair Explains, 4 February 2025.
“The Declaration of Martial Law in South Korea”, Korea Chair Explains, 4 December 2024.
“The EU-South Korea Security and Defence Partnership”, Korea Chair Explains, 5 November 2024.
