The three talks that make up this publication were the 1996–97 Walter H. Shorenstein Distinguished Lecture Series, titled Korea in the 21st Century, held on the Stanford campus in the fall and winter quarters. Each year, the Asia/Pacific Research Center, through the generous support of Mr. Shorenstein, holds a series of public lectures for the university community on some topic related to contemporary economic, political, and social trends in Asia. The lectures on Korea were the second in the Shorenstein series.