I am a historian of modern China and expert on US-China relations and Korean Peninsula affairs. After two magical years in Rome, I returned this summer to Seoul, where I am doing independent research, analysis and consulting as I work on a trio of book projects. You can also find a steady stream of commentaries on my Substack, Thoughts from Seoul (https://johndelury.substack.com/). 

In 2023 I was honored to be the inaugural Tsao Fellow in China Studies at the American Academy in Rome, opening up new directions in my career. In the fall of 2024 I was invited as Visiting Professor of International History and Politics at Luiss University, and in the spring of 2025, Visiting Professor of Political Science at John Cabot University. Before Rome, I was based for over a dozen years in Seoul as Professor of Chinese Studies at Yonsei University, where I was promoted to full professor with tenure in 2019.

My book, Agents of Subversion: The Fate of John T. Downey and the CIA’s Covert War in China, was published by Cornell University Press in 2022 and reviewed widely, from American Historical Review to Foreign Affairs. Agents of Subversion combines Chinese and US history in order to tell the hidden story of the two nations’ Cold War struggle. Unraveling the tangled skein of a Korean War-era covert op gone wrong, the book weaves together intellectual, intelligence, and diplomatic history of the US-China relationship from the end of World War II up through the Nixon visit to Beijing. Given the ‘new Cold War’ vibe today, it is useful to take a fresh look at the actual, historical Cold War relationship between Washington and Beijing.

My previous book, Wealth and Power: China’s Long March to the Twenty-first Century, was co-authored with Orville Schell of the Asia Society, where I am a Senior Fellow.  A history of modern China written around biographical sketches of a dozen key leaders and thinkers, Wealth and Power was published by Random House in 2013, just as Xi Jinping was coming to power. Sadly, the book’s thesis only gained relevance in the decade since. 

My sinological work of late centers on the question of empire. I am revising a book manuscript tentatively titled “Ideal of Empire: The Life and Thought of Gu Yanwu,” about a leading Confucian thinker of the 17th century. The manuscript explores the historical moment of China’s last imperial transition (from the Ming to the Qing dynasty) and how the vestiges of classical thinking about empire shape mentalities today.  Another project looks at China and the United States through the lens of imperial history– stay tuned!

I also carefully watch and analyze developments on the Korean Peninsula. Another research and writing project under development takes a hard look at the utter failure of North Korea policy, and offers a radically new approach. 

The articles, essays, op-eds, and book reviews on this site are mostly related to my attempt to use historical thinking to shed light on current issues in China, the two Koreas, and US policy in East Asia– from politics and ideas in the PRC, to the intensifying US-China rivalry, to the intractable problem of what to do about North Korea. Thanks for reading!